Everyone is looking for a foreclosure “deal” these days – and there’s lots to choose from these days, but be careful… just because a property is in foreclosure, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a “deal”. In fact, nowadays, it takes more time to sift through the leads to find the really good opportunities within the foreclosure market.

The more potential foreclosure properties you have to sift through, the higher your chances are for finding a deal.

The top 5 ways to finding foreclosures are:

1. Bandit Signs
Bandit signs are plain white or yellow corrugated signs with metal stands that stick into the ground. You can find preprinted signs or you can buy plain signs and handwrite your message on the signs. Place them on corners of busy intersections or in neighborhoods in which you want to purchase a foreclosure home.

2. Foreclosure Listing Services
There is no shortage of foreclosure listing services available on the Internet. Make sure to do some homework before subscribing, however as the quality of each service can vary greatly. Find out where they get their information, how frequently the data is added, and when/if they clean out or update existing data so that you’re not wasting time or money on old leads or false information.

3. Realtors®
Realtors® often have access to foreclosure deals well before the homeowner has even started the formal foreclosure process with the bank. When selecting an agent to work with, make sure that he/she knows the foreclosure process, how to negotiate with the banks, and how to handle often stressful situations that arise when a homeowner is faced with foreclosure.

4. Courthouse
If you’re feeling ambitious, consider going down to the courthouse and looking up the foreclosure records. You will be able to access all of the lien information, assessed value, etc. The attorney handling the case on behalf of the bank will be listed as well. You will be looking for “Notices of Default” or the “Lis Pendens” records. If it’s your first time going to the courthouse, ask the clerks or the employees that are working there to point you in the right direction and use their knowledge to learn more about the foreclosure process.

5. Loss Mitigation Specialists
You may or may not have hear of a loss mitigation specialist. A loss mitigation specialist’s goal is to help the homeowner stay in the home and work out their situation with the bank. Many times, they are able to work with the bank on behalf of the homeowner. However, there are also many instances where the seller’s situation doesn’t allow him/her to work anything out with the bank (i.e. divorce, job loss, illness, etc.). Often, these same sellers find themselves facing foreclosure several months later or are simply unable to work something out with the lender, thus need someone to come in and buy the home outright or negotiate a short sale with the bank.

These are the 5 easiest ways that you can find foreclosure deals. If you are truly looking to get your hands on a great deal for yourself, or if you are an investor looking to make a business out of foreclosures and short sales, it’s important to use as many of these techniques – and more – to find motivated foreclosure sellers.

It is quite a challenge to find a reputable free foreclosure listing and because real estate investors earn the bulk of their income through purchasing properties cheaply and selling them for profit the demand for foreclosed properties is very high.

For those looking to buy a bank owned or foreclosed home as an investment they can expect to save between 20-50%. But the problem many people have is actually gaining access to foreclosed property lists. Although there are many sites offering foreclosure listings you will need to pay a subscription fee to them. That can be an option if you want to shortcut the process. But there are some sites who advertise free listings and there are many advantages and disadvantages to be gained from these types of listing services.

When searching for a free foreclosure listing online you will come across several sites that offer free information, however this information is usually provided only on a trial basis. You will find that the majority of listing services available online involve you paying a subscription fee prior to you carrying out any searches of their listings.

But do not worry - there are many services around which will offer a free trial, but it is important to note that before you can take advantage of any free trials the listing service will ask you to provide them with your credit card details. Unfortunately with these services they will bill you at the end of the free trial and then continue you to bill you until you request your credit card to cancel their standing order.

Although free foreclosure listings are not easily accessible, once you do locate a good one then you will be provided with the opportunity of purchasing an inexpensive home. The best way of finding a free foreclosure listing is through a realtor website as when banks work with such people they are given properties to sell and are able to list such homes on their personal or company sites. Plus in some states you will find that they compile a free foreclosure listing of properties throughout the region.

The benefit of a free foreclosure listing to a potential investor is that they can find homes for as little as $10,000 on them. Plus choosing a property from such a list allows you to shop for a home without having to move away from your computer. All free foreclosure listings include pertinent details on the property in question, such as square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and any additional features, as well as the condition of the property and the sale price.

There are however a couple of negatives points to free foreclosure listings and that is that the information provided on these lists is readily available to anyone and normally such properties will have already been picked up by real estate investors just as you get to know about them. Moreover free foreclosure listings are not updated on a regular basis so it may be wise instead to spend a bit of money of getting an accurate and useful list sent to you.