Secret to Finding Pinellas Bank Owned Homes

In June, there were 2,708 Pinellas County foreclosures listed in the Pinellas MLS for sale.   That includes pre-foreclosure Pinellas short sales and those that have already been foreclosed on, which are Pinellas bank owned homes, also know as REO’s.   These are homes that went to public auction but did not sell.

We’ll get more in depth on this topic in upcoming posts, but first, you may be wondering just how does one go about finding all of the Pinellas bank owned homes?

• The truth is that “Secret” lists of Pinellas County foreclosures don’t exist.
• 99.99% of the time banks will list their Pinellas County foreclosures with Realtors.
• Many of the banks have websites that list their REO inventories.  We’ve yet to find one of those listings that isn’t already listed with an agent and is also on the MLS!
• Online or other companies that sell ”foreclosure” lists are in it to make money.  Keep yours in your wallet!
•  Keep in mind that Florida is a judicial foreclosure action state.  Translated, deliquent borrowers are allowed their day in court and can redeem or pay their mortgages in full any time prior to the final public auction date.

• Just because notices have been filed does NOT mean that these homes are for sale!  Truth be told….most aren’t yet.  Sellers still have the right to redeem their loans, and at this stage of the game, most haven’t even begun to explore their options. 
• The data on foreclosure lists is all public information and includes homes that:
  1. Are already on the MLS;
  2. Are up for Auction on the courthouse steps or by 3rd party auctioneers (a horrible option unless you’re a very experienced all-cash investor);
  3. Have Borrowers that are 30+ days late which have been reported to the credit bureaus.  This late payment information is then resold to the consumer on many of these sites as some sort of  “magic bullet” of information on these properties; or
  4. Have Lis Pendens notices filed with Pinellas County (a Lis Pendens is the legal notice that the banks file that officially starts the foreclosure process).

To recap, the homes that are for sale are on the MLS!

If you’re interested in purchasing Pinellas foreclosures, give us a call at (727)366-0324.  We’ll present all of the homes that are available that meet your criteria.

By the way, in the very near future, you’ll even be able to search The Pinellas Peach for Pinellas Bank Owned Homes!  Stay tuned …..

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