Foreclosures are at an all time high and are growing daily as the financial meltdown gathers pace. Not a week goes by without some more bad news about write-offs by banks, waves of resets on adjustable-rate mortgages, tighter lending practices and deathly slow real estate markets. Even willing buyers are finding it hard to find a bank who will loan to them without significant money down and proof of high credit worthinesss.

Real estate investors know that knowledge is power because to make effective offers to sellers they need some very specific property information. Knowing the exact financial situation of the property/seller is vitally important. So what type of information do you want? How can you use it? And how do you find it?

The type of information is simple but critical:
the price and date of the last sale, the amount of each mortgage, when the mortgages were taken out, the terms of the loan(s) and what other liens encumber the property.