How to Buy Los Angeles Foreclosures

California mortgage lenders protect themselves through the process of foreclosure. When a mortgage goes into default because the owner fails to make payments for a certain period of time, the lender may sell the property at a public auction. Prospective buyers of Los Angeles foreclosures must first look for required public foreclosure notices. They can then prepare funds for bidding and bid to buy foreclosed homes in Los Angeles.

Step 1:

Find Los Angeles foreclosure listings to locate foreclosed properties in the L.A. area. Unfortunately, California law does not require posting of foreclosure notices in a newspaper. This makes it a bit harder to find foreclosed properties in Los Angeles. Nonetheless, the lender must post the notice of foreclosure sale in a public place. The first place you should look is the county courthouse in Los Angeles County and the other counties in the Los Angeles area. You should also ask the county court clerk where foreclosures are typically posted in the Los Angeles area.

Sites like Foreclosure.com also have a 7-day trial for their foreclosure service. You may or may not want to pay for this service, so take the trial and see if you are happy with the Los Angeles-area foreclosure listings you can find using an online service.

Note that some Los Angeles foreclosures may involve a judicial lawsuit. Check with the Los Angeles county sheriff to get more information on these foreclosures. The sheriff also sells some properties due to failure to pay taxes. These tax sales provide an additional opportunity to buy Los Angeles foreclosed properties.

Step 2:

Look at the individual listings to determine the address of the Los Angeles foreclosed homes or other properties and the schedule for the auction. While the properties may be sold in any place, expect many of the auctions to occur at the county courthouse or a related public building.

Step 3:

Check out the properties and come up with a maximum bid. You should visit the actual Los Angeles properties to see what kind of property and condition you would be buying. Although there is no right to inspect foreclosed properties in California, you should at least find out about the neighborhood and try to approximate a fair market value. This is important because you don’t want to overbid on a property. The best thing to do is work with a real estate appraiser or agent if you want to start buying foreclosed properties in the Los Angeles area. You could even set up a deal where you pay the agent a certain percentage when reselling a property or some other reasonable arrangement.

Step 4:

Prepare the funds for bidding on the Los Angeles foreclosures. In all California foreclosures, you are entitled to pay by cash or various certified funds. The statute is rather complex, but suffice it to say that you can pay by a standard bank-guaranteed check (but not necessarily a personal check). Make sure you have the proper amount to pay whatever is due on the Los Angeles foreclosure sale date if you win at auction.

Step 5:

Attend the auction and bid on your desired properties. Once you win, present the bid money according to the trustee’s instructions (the sheriff in some cases). You then need to get a property deed.

Step 6:

File your property deed in the recording office for Los Angeles County or whatever other county the property is located. You need to do this to preserve your new ownership interest in the Los Angeles foreclosed property.

Sources:

Foreclosure.com Page on California Foreclosures