foreclosure information sites?

11 years ago

I'm sorry if this has been asked before ad nauseum--searching the site didn't help me.

I believe that my neighbors' house is going / has gone into foreclosure. The husband told me that the family was moving a few months ago, but that his father-in-law was probably going to move in. I haven't seen any life next door and I believe the family has essentially abandoned the property. Someone from an organization called Pineland Preservation was in the yard last month, figuring out a bid on mowing. She told me that Pineland is a company that services foreclosures--hired by the mortgage company to keep the yard up.

Research into the title of the house has shown me that the couple, who bought twelve years ago, kept afloat by borrowing increasing sums of money every couple of years, paying off the previous mortgage with the subsequent loan. This ended about four years, when money got harder to borrow...now they would appear to be in debt for about twice what the house is currently worth.

What is the best way to find out whether the house is in foreclosure or not? All signs point to yes, but of course, this doesn't even mean that the bank will be interested in selling at this time.

My interest is that this is my next-door neighbor and I'm considering defensive action against my own house values plummeting due to this abandoned property, which every day becomes sadder looking. May wish to buy the property myself. But I need info!

Do I just have to wait until its listed in "RealtyTrac" or some such? What are your favorite sources of info for this type of thing?

Thank you for listening to my all-too-common tale of woe.

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Comments (7)

brickeyee
11 years ago
"What is the best way to find out whether the house is in foreclosure or not? "

You can try and fin out who owns the note, and is now the owner.

It should be available at the courthouse that deeds are recorded at.
Any taxing authority should also know who owns the place.
shadygrove
Original Author
11 years ago
Still listed in their name under the tax assessment rolls. Perhaps that is that and the wheels are just grinding slowly....
ritamac
11 years ago
A listing in the tax rolls doesn't mean it hasn't sold. In my state, the tax rolls are updated only once a year, and then it happens sometime after the first of the year. You should go back to the courthouse and look for the lawsuit records. Search in the name of the owner in the Indirect index, that means this would be the person who was sued. Then, you can pull the actual lawsuit record (or check the computer file) and see if it's gone to judgment, set for sheriff sale, etc.
berniek
11 years ago
"Do I just have to wait until its listed in "RealtyTrac" or some such?"
That probably is your best source in the absence of a County Trustee website.

Here is a link that might be useful: RealtyTrac
writersblock (9b/10a)
11 years ago
In our local county, the county appraiser's office site is the best source of information. Unlike wherever ritamac lives, it's updated weekly. Doesn't show lis pendens, though.

(Personally i don't think much of realtytrac--the info is often months out of date for our area.)
shadygrove
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you! I did go back to the courthouse today, and there's no lien / suit in evidence per their records.

Its so sad--just a little country house being ignored and left to lose its gutters and have a dropped tree in the yard.

I appreciate everyone's advice.
ncrealestateguy
11 years ago
Why not just get hooked up with an agent and have them put you on a dedicated search for that property? If it comes active, it will shoot you an email the day it comes on the market.