If you're interested in buying foreclosures as a way to build your real estate wealth, then free listings are a gold mine just waiting to be discovered. But where do you start to look? And how much time are you willing to invest?

When you first start looking to buy properties in foreclosure, you can simply ring your local Bank or Credit Union and ask for a free listing of their foreclosed homes. Many are happy to oblige, although some won't. They may even be happy to send you their weekly listing as it's published, so that you can keep up to date.

Although this is a great way to get started, it's limited. Most banks will only have a few houses available at a time, and you’re not going to be the only one wanting to buy them. So the time will probably come when you want to expand your search. The next step is to talk to local Real Estate companies, and ask if there's an agent who specializes in foreclosure homes. It's possible they'll have some they're handling themselves, as well as access to properties in the Multiple Listing Service.

Scan your local newspaper or legal paper. They publish Notices of Foreclosure on a regular basis, quite often daily. If you find there are lots of good listings there, grab a copy and start buying.

Get in touch with the foreclosure departments at HUG, VA and FNMA. They may be able to give you a website to visit for regular updates, or else be willing to email you information as it comes to hand. They also place ads in local newspapers announcing their upcom

You can place an ad on Craigslist.org or other free classified boards, letting people know that you buy distressed property or homes that are in preforeclosure. You're unlikely to be overwhelmed by the rush of responses, but then again, you only need a few motivated sellers and you'll have some great deals to choose from.

Check out your County Recorder's Office. There's an enormous amount of information available from there, and that includes foreclosure listings. It can be worth visiting regularly, and making friends with some of the personnel. If your local office is large, you might find that one visit will give you enough data to keep you busy for weeks afterwards.

Your local police department, the IRS, FBI and DEA are more sources of information, as they all handle seized property information. Some of them will provide you with the foreclosures listings on a regular basis if requested, and others may supply auction dates.

Finally, try searching online for "free foreclosure lists". This is good up to a point, because most of these services are only free for a short time. Still, if you find one you like, it can be worth paying a small monthly fee to access it, simply because of the amount of time it saves you. I've always found Seized Real Estate very helpful.

In the end, it doesn't matter how many foreclosure listings you come up with - if you do nothing with them, then you're wasting your time. So don't just get stuck in the collecting data phase; get on the road with your camera, notepad and pen, and start building your real estate wealth.