Should pre-foreclosures be on your home buying list?

We get it. Zillow is a really cool site, has a whole forum to ask questions and find answers, and it doesn’t force you to share any of your information to look at allllllll of the houses for sale.

Except that they aren’t all actually for sale. The “pre-foreclosures” are displayed on the website, but they aren’t on the market.

According to Zillow, a pre-foreclosure is:

The lender initiated foreclosure proceedings on these properties because the owner(s) were in default on their loan obligations….These properties are not found on a multiple listing service (MLS)

Your first hint that these homes are not really for sale is the statement that the properties can’t be found on the MLS. That’s because they Are. Not. For. Sale.

Let me repeat that. They are NOT FOR SALE.

What has happened is that the lender has filed a lis pendens (essentially the notice required to begin foreclosure proceedings) because the homeowner is delinquent on their mortgage payments. Being delinquent is not the same as actually being in default or having been foreclosed on.

While we appreciate every buyer’s enthusiasm for finding a deal, this isn’t the place to start. There is a fairly long process that happens to move from pre-foreclosure status to being a bank-owned property and it likely doesn’t fit your schedule for when you need to be in your next home.

If you want to hang out and wait, that’s cool. If you want to find a house today, give us a call at 504-327-5303. We’d love to show you around.