First-time foreclosures saw a 33 percent jump year-over-year in New York City, reaching a total number of 1,560 in 2014. Pre-foreclosures, on the other hand, have shown signs of improvement, dropping 17 percent compared to 2013.
The highest increase in foreclosure auctions was in Queens, where the number rose 56 percent to 617 in 2014 from 395 in 2013, according to data powerhouse PropertyShark.com. Not surprisingly, more and more people are looking into the option of investing in distressed properties, which in fact may turn out to be real bargains. Are you equipped with the right tools to discover the best investment opportunities in a timely fashion?
In real estate, information is king.
As the only service in NYC that doesn’t miss a single foreclosure auction, PropertyShark allows you to tap into the depths of foreclosure real estate while helping you stay on top of the housing market. The real estate website gives you access to a complete list of distressed properties currently on the market, with essential information on auction dates and lien amounts.
Additionally, you’ll be able to browse through online property reports and find out all there is to know about a specific property, including physical characteristics, sales history, assessment history, HPD violations and building permit filings. All this data will help you make educated buying decisions while saving you tons of time and effort.
Finding investment opportunities has never been easier.
Interested in finding foreclosed properties in a particular area? Look no further. PropertyShark allows you to research distressed properties by type and location, and narrow down your search by combining different criteria such as auction details and property characteristics, in order to match your exact needs.
Moreover, you can pinpoint distressed properties in all five boroughs on interactive maps of foreclosures and pre-foreclosures, updated daily. The NYC Queens Foreclosures map for example will highlight all distressed properties in Queens currently scheduled for auction and the NYC Queens Lis Pendens map will allow you to identify all properties in Queens for which a lis pendens has been filed in the last seven days.
In addition to researching lis pendens and foreclosures, you can also see auction results and sift through REOs (properties owned by the bank or lender), which have become another attractive alternative for investors. REOs are often regarded as the more cautious investment option as the property sits vacant and is free of title liens. Once a property becomes an REO, the bank or lender usually takes care of such things as fixing up the property and prepares documents for the issuance of a title insurance policy for the buyer.
