San Francisco Bay Area

[#1]

Is their a way to access all forclosures in my area that aren't listed on the MLS without having to pay a website for access?

[Kerry McCarty]

No; you will need to access the lists.  An important detail to remember is that those list providers are only interested in selling the lists, not the homes.  So, the accuracy of the lists is often circumspect.  More and more, banks put the homes that they intend on selling on the MLS because it gets them the most exposure to the greatest amount of clients.  The 'shadow inventory' is not part of these lists.

[John H.]

Well yes.  You can find out what's forclosed. If you pay.  BUT!!  I probably won't help you buy one except at auction.  Are you ready to compete with the pros? 

It appears that the banks are holding inventory off the market to drive up prices.  Gilroy market is starving fo listings.  Short sales are just come on's (bait and switch)  Low price listed but bank won't take that price.  Now we are seeing 5 or six offers at over list for desperate buyers trying to get a home.  The banks are being successful at their monopoly.  Only way to get in on unlisted foreclosures seems to be BFF with the VP of assets at the bank.  Gilroy in the $300k to 500K had 269 foreclosures, only 8 for sale's in a recent search.  Good luck

[Leah M.]

Then what should a person with excellent credit, 20% and closing costs available in cash, a pre-approval mortgage letter, no contingencies and a desire to move to the area do? We've been looking at a place that has been listed as sold, being auctioned, and available depending on which site you use. The house doesn't show up on my saved search though it meets the requirements, but I can type the address in directly.

[Rahima S.]

^Leah,

I have been searching for a property for 3-4 months and I find ZipRealty and Redfin to be the most reliable. ZipRealty only list active "on the market" properties.  Redfin has both active and pending listing. Redfin also list recently sold properties.

Zillow and Trulia websites are not updated. Many properties listed on Zillow and Trulia are no longer active meaning not on the market.

The  helpful thing about  Zillow and Trulia is that they provide the contact information of listing agents. Once you know the listing agent you can visit their website to check if the listing property is still on the market.

Hope this helps

[Carlotta K.]

Auction.com has free access when you register with email address; but don't cover all.  Realtytrac monopolizes most of the bay area foreclosures.