He discovered a major national bank held the deed, meaning it was now REO (Real Estate Owned) . Phase 2: The Gatekeepers
📍 You don't contact the old owner. You contact an REO specialist agent or a Trustee , depending on whether the house is headed to auction or sitting on a bank's books. If you’d like to start your own search, tell me: What city or county are you looking in? Do you have a pre-approval letter or cash ready?
Depending on the type of loan the previous owner had, Marcus found three different "sellers" to contact: who do i contact to buy a foreclosed home
To find his way inside, Marcus had to navigate three distinct gates. Phase 1: The Paper Trail
If the home had an FHA loan, he had to go through the HUD Home Store website. He discovered a major national bank held the
For government-owned foreclosures (like HUD homes), Marcus found he must use a broker registered with the government to even place a bid. Phase 3: The Source of the Deed
Banks hire specialized Realtors to manage their foreclosed properties. Marcus looked for the name on the yard sign; that agent was the direct line to the bank’s asset manager. If you’d like to start your own search,
The document listed a "Trustee"—the third party handling the auction.