Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the difference between the three reports?

Notice of Defaults (NOD's) are the first step in a foreclosure. After a delinquency of 3-5 months (every lender has their own criteria), the lender (also called the beneficiary) instructs the trustee (a third party) to file the NOD.

After a minimum of 3 months, if the delinquency hasn't been resolved, an auction is scheduled (the Notice of Trustee Sale or NTS). It is generally scheduled 3-4 weeks after the NTS has been filed.

After the auction is held, title is passed to either the lender, or if someone bids at the auction, to that third party. The document is called a Trustee's Deed. REO stands for Real Estate Owned - lender jargon for property they take back.

Q: How many foreclosures are there? (1996 - current)

	NOD's	NTS's	REO's
January, 1996	295	147	91
February	251	172	84
March	295	162	116
April	310	103	60
May	323	163	58
June	252	149	90
July	267	216	101
August	267	208	142
September	237	187	129
October	302	162	127
November	264	180	93
December	241	175	145
January, 1997	286	184	133
February	250	190	106
March	275	180	128
April	263	179	122
May	226	197	128
June	253	139	122
July	239	169	117
August	218	157	110
September	221	171	119
October	248	181	138
November	211	127	86
December	222	153	90
January, 1998	217	158	90
February	197	127	78
March	237	178	81
April	216	147	108
May	189	146	77
June	196	139	88
July	197	129	86
August	156	108	76
September	154	94	63
October	174	122	71
November	163	89	64
December	176	108	61
January, 1999	160	99	64
February	164	102	37
March	189	100	59
April	157	85	45
May	111	77	40
June	132	75	47
July	138	83	39
August	131	63	38
September	164	65	43
October	162	61	30
November	157	45	30
December	131	80	16
January, 2000	151	74	28
February	173	59	40
March	144	71	26
April	115	61	15
May	137	75	26
June	121	43	37
July	121	51	15
August	128	65	23
September	121	55	24
October	148	49	21
November	130	30	15
December	134	47	9
January, 2001	164	68	12
February	147	63	15
March	170	61	19
April	132	58	16
May	127	62	17
June	147	63	14
July	152	56	17
August	147	36	13
September	110	65	8
October	153	57	30
November	160	71	26
December	133	42	9
January, 2002	181	64	16
February	180	59	7
March	188	75	29
April	148	54	20
May	131	72	15
June	131	71	8
July	138	60	13
August	133	54	29
September	100	49	16
October	139	40	11
November	104	50	11
December	130	65	8
January, 2003	127	42	19
February	122	37	5
March	124	40	3
April	131	53	7
May	101	43	11
June	106	41	10
July	94	46	6
August	100	40	6
September	101	40	5
October	98	30	7
November	87	32	3
December	102	35	10
January, 2004	104	25	2
February	92	31	5
March	101	36	1
April	62	36	4
May	72	24	0
June	75	23	4
July	109	27	4
August	86	16	3
September	79	25	6
October	100	18	1
November	98	29	1
December	101	33	5
January, 2005	120	26	2
February	78	30	4
March	98	39	5
April	97	31	3
May	104	35	4
June	106	24	4
July	85	26	4
August	104	35	5
September	94	34	4
October	108	21	8
November	132	27	4
December	132	33	3
January, 2006	151	45	5
February	118	33	5
March	195	58	8
April	148	53	8
May	158	56	16
June	172	58	19
July	175	68	21
August	227	84	28
September	210	82	33
October	242	59	43
November	282	109	40
December	291	107	42
January, 2007	327	123	59
February	314	175	75
March	361	168	83
April	322	146	105
May	368	219	97
June	425	188	126
July	438	235	143
August	526	233	166
September	481	280	159
October	563	365	206
November	375	283	141
December	637	394	237
January, 2008	727	431	294
February	748	272	312
March	795	498	240
April	847	567	338
May	783	639	378
June	805	682	448
July	712	705	459
August	749	676	538
September	273	337	461
October	263	411	251
November	452	489	256
December	756	451	253
January, 2009	754	408	237
February	908	326	245
March	1109	591	207
April	831	574	193
May	798	775	200
June	880	558	330
July	863	754	312
August	702	635	251
September	681	618	276
October	690	704	270
November	579	484	237
December	456	458	309
January, 2010	439	482	231

Q: Can I arrange for a down payment or financing to buy at these auctions?

No! It literally requires cash on the barrel head at the time of the auction (in the form of cash or cashiers check). That's why most properties go back to the lender.

Q: On the REO's I noticed the "minimum bid" and the "amount paid", which was substantially less than the minimum bid. Could I have bought that property for the amount paid?

Unfortunately, no. We get this question all the time! Frankly, we don't know what the "amount paid" represents (and we've been doing this for years) - we tell everyone to let us know if they find out. We suspect it could be some type of internal tax accounting. The data is on the Trustee's Deed and so we publish it.

Q: What happens when a lender gets a propery back? Can I buy it directly from them?

It depends. Many lenders are from out of the area (out of California) and many hire a real estate agent to market the property. However, some will entertain offers directly; every lender is different. The REO's are an excellent resource tool for real estate agents looking for listing leads, as well as individuals looking to buy a property.

Q: Are foreclosure properties a "good deal"?

Not necessarily! Like everything else, you need to do your research and know values. However, having said that, YES, there can be excellent deals in foreclosure properties. Many individuals have used our data to acquire properties at significantly reduced prices - especially from lenders trying to reduce their inventory of REO's.

Q: How do I subscribe? How much does it cost? Is there a contract? How long do I go?

To begin service, print out the order form and the confidentiality agreement and mail them back to us with your check to:

Foreclosure List Service
P.O. Box 5433
Ventura, CA 93005

Upon receipt of your order, you'll be given access that day.

For one report - $39 a month

For all 3 reports - $49 a month

We have no contract; you go on a month to month basis. We'll mail you a courtesy invoice prior to the upcoming month and as long as we keep getting your checks, you keep getting the data!

Q: How often does the data come out and how current is it?

The reports are published daily (except Friday) and is posted on the network late in the afternoon when we finish that day's data. We buy the microfilm from the County Recorder's office and that day's data comes from that day's microfilm. It is within 48 hours of recording.

Q: What happens if I miss a couple of days?

We have 16 business days (one month) worth of current data for each report. Just choose the days you've missed to catch back up.

Please feel free to give us a call!

We'd be more that happy to answer all your questions!

(805) 647-6400

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