Another way to locate foreclosure real estate

We've covered different ways to find foreclosure properties in previous posts. Another good way to locate foreclosed homes is to work with a realtor who implements a key word search of the MLS owner field.

For example, your realtor can specify an MLS owner key word search that includes the terms *bank*, *lender*, *corp* and *corporate* to surface properties that are owned by lenders after having gone through the foreclosure process. As soon as a property with an MLS owner matching one of these terms either enters the market or undergoes a price change, you will be notified via email of the new listing or price reduction. From there you can view the online listing to learn more about the property specifics.

Remember, the MLS is a database, so you and your realtor can combine a key word search with other search criteria such as price, age, location, style, size, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms and a host of other criteria.

If you're targeting foreclosed homes, it's best to cast a wide net and use a variety of search strategies. Each method is likely to surface different properties. The more methods you use, the more likely you are to find the property for you.