Eugene Azarskis

Finding those 'hidden' foreclosures takes a bit of detective work, but it's a great way to find opportunities before the rest of the market even knows they exist. In Missouri, the process moves pretty fast because we're a non-judicial state, so you really have to know where to look. Here is how I'd track those down for you: Public Record Deep Dives: We start at the County Recorder of Deeds. I look for 'Notice of Default' or 'Lis Pendens' filings. These are the first legal flags that a lender has started the process, often months before the home ever hits a listing site. The 'Legal Notices' Strategy: By law, a 'Notice of Sale' has to be published in local papers (like The Lake Sun) for four weeks before an auction. Monitoring these weekliesaEUR"or the MO Public Notices databaseaEUR"is the most reliable way to find the exact auction dates for unlisted homes. Direct Bank Portals (REOs): Sometimes after an auction, a bank takes the property back but hasn't assigned an agent to list it yet. I check the internal 'Real Estate Owned' (REO) portals for the big lendersaEUR"like Chase, Wells Fargo, or Fannie MaeaEUR"to see what's sitting in their inventory. Pre-Foreclosure Outreach: If we find a property in the early default stages, we can actually reach out to the owner directly. This opens the door for a short sale, where you buy the home before it ever goes to auction, which can be a win-win for everyone involved. Professional Aggregators: I also use specialized databases like Foreclosure.com or RealtyTrac. They do the legwork of pulling courthouse records and mapping out properties that aren't on the MLS yet. The key in Missouri is speedaEUR"once that notice is published, we usually only have about 20 to 30 days before it hits the courthouse steps.