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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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You may select a FAQ category or browse all FAQ entries below.
Listings
Accounts
E-mail Updates
Privacy
Site Usage
Getting More Information on a Property
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Listings
Where do you get the foreclosure listing data?
All of our foreclosure listing data is provided electronically by participating
foreclosure trustees, attorney firms, and loan servicers. While other foreclosure
sites manually search public records to find foreclosure listings, we receive all
foreclosure data directly from the source.
How often are the listings updated?
Nearly all of our foreclosure listings are updated in real-time. Our direct data
feeds from major foreclosure trustees, attorney firms, and loan servicers allow
us to receive listing updates automatically 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most
of our data providers (supplying over 96% of our listings) push updates to us every
five minutes. The remainder push updates to us at least once each day.
When do you update the minimum bid amount? Why does the minimum bid amount sometimes
not get updated until sale time?
Lenders/loan servicers determine the minimum bid amount. Because the minimum bid
amount includes all fees and costs incurred during the foreclosure process, it is
typical for the minimum bid amount to be provided only one or two days before sale.
This allows loan servicers to recover fees and costs that are incurred late in the
foreclosure process. Because we get all of our listing data directly from foreclosure
trustees, attorney firms, and loan servicers, we are able to provide the minimum
bid amount just minutes after it is determined by the servicer.
Note, however, that some servicers do not determine or communicate the minimum bid
amount until just minutes before sale. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for sales
to be postponed 30 to 60 minutes while the auctioneer awaits the minimum bid amount
from the servicer.
What's a Hot Property? How do you determine which properties are Hot Properties?
We flag some of our listings as Hot Properties when we believe they are particularly
attractive to potential bidders. We use a proprietary algorithm to analyze our listings
regularly throughout the day and highlight properties that may be of interest to
you.
Accounts
Do I need an account or password to access your website?
You do not need an account or password to search for properties. However, creating
an account gives you access to features such as a Favorite Properties list and automatic
e-mail updates when properties are added or change status. You can easily create
an account from the
My Account page accessible by clicking the My Account tab at the top of
any page.
Why should I create an account?
Creating an account gives you access to features such as a Favorite Properties list
and automatic e-mail updates when properties are added or change status. You can
easily create an account from the My Account page accessible by clicking the My Account
tab at the top of any page.
How do I search for properties?
To learn more about searching for properties, check out How To Find a Property.
When I try to login I just keep getting the login page over
and over
You must have cookies enabled in order to log in. If you keep immediately returning
to the login page every time you enter your username and password, you probably
don't have cookies enabled in your browser. Also note that third-party security
software, such as McAfee Privacy Service, Norton Personal Firewall, and Zone Alarm,
sometimes blocks cookies. You will need to disable or reconfigure these programs
so as not to block session cookies.
E-mail Updates
Why do I never receive e-mail updates?
First, make sure your e-mail address is entered correctly and that e-mail notifications
are set to On. You can check this easily on the Change E-mail Settings page.
Note that a handful of e-mail providers incorrectly reject e-mail from USA-Foreclosure
as spam. This is done before the message ever has a chance to get to your spam folder
-- you will never know it was rejected. Yahoo e-mail does this on occasion as well
as e-mail accounts for sites registered through GoDaddy.com. We suggest either complaining
to your e-mail provider or using an alternative e-mail account such as Hotmail.
If I provide you my e-mail address will you spam me or disclose my e-mail address
to anyone else?
No. We will only send you e-mail when you request it by using Favorite Properties
or Favorite Areas. We have no interest in disclosing your e-mail address to anyone.
For more information, please see our
Privacy Policy.
Privacy
If I provide you my e-mail address will you spam me or disclose my e-mail address
to anyone else?
No. We will only send you e-mail when you request it by using Favorite Properties
or Favorite Areas. We have no interest in disclosing your e-mail address to anyone.
For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.
If I add properties to my Favorite Areas or Favorite Properties list, will you use
this for marketing purposes or in some other way report to others?
No. Favorite Properties and Favorite Areas are provided solely for your convenience.
We have no interest in providing this data to anyone or targeting you for any kind
of marketing purpose. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.
When I go to accept the disclaimer, I am asked to fill in my name, e-mail and phone
number. What do you do with this information?
This information is meant solely for internal purposes and will not be sold
or made available to anyone outside of USA-Foreclosure.com, LLC or the trustee whose
property is being viewed. Entering valid information will help ensure that we can
-- without assuming any duty to do so -- contact you if necessary about a particular
file. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.
Does this website use cookies?
Yes. This site uses a cookie to remember the user's name, e-mail and phone number,
however, the purpose of this cookie is to save the user time from entering their
personal information each time they visit the site. This information is ONLY
used internally and is NOT for sale. For more information, please see our
Privacy Policy.
Site Usage
The website is not working. Is the problem on your end or mine?
The website has been fully tested on the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Mozilla
Firefox, and Netscape Navigator. Our first recommendation is that you download the
latest version if you are using one of these browsers. In addition, due to the dynamic
nature of the site, we can only guarantee that the site will display correctly while
using the DEFAULT security settings for your browser. If you have checked all of
these settings and are still unable to use the website, please
e-mail us with your questions or concerns, as the issue may lie on our end.
Why do I have to enter my personal information EVERY time I view a different property
in Netscape Navigator?
Netscape Navigator has security settings that do not write cookies to your machine
unless you specify. In order for the USA-Foreclosure.com site to remember your personal
information as a cookie, you must set it as a "Trusted" site.
In order to set USA-Foreclosure.com as a trusted site, navigate to the "Tools" menu
in Netscape and choose "Options". Next choose "Site Controls" and click the "Add
Site" button. Copy the URL from the address bar on the USA-foreclosure.com home
page and paste it into the "Domain" textbox. Change the "Initial Trust Setting"
to "I Trust This Site" and hit "Add Site". Finally, change the "Rendering Engine"
radio button to "Internet Explorer". Close your browser and renavigate to the site.
Once you enter your personal information at the disclaimer agreement page, your
information will be remembered as a cookie in the future and you wont have to retype
it everytime you view new properties.
Sometimes, when I switch between different states or properties, I am prompted to
agree to the disclaimer again. Why?
Because USA-Foreclosure.com is a national database, there may be instances when
multiple trustees are represented in the same state or multiple areas. For each
individual trustee, there may exist a completely different set of "Rules of Auction".
In order to protect the trustee, as well as USA-Foreclosure.com, LLC., we require
users to agree to each set of "Rules of Auction". Please note, however, that each
time you agree to a trustee's "Rules of Auction", a variable is set that lasts for
your entire browser session. This means that after you accept the "Rules of Auction"
for an individual trustee, you will be able to view all of that trustees properties
without being asked to re-accept their "Rules of Auction". This session variable
lasts until you close your browser or the session times out (20 minutes of idle
activity).
How far back in time and how far forward into the future can I see sales and sales
results?
Generally, four weeks before and after the sale date, however, you should check
the area that you are interested in order to see the range of sale dates. This may
differ from state to state, and from county to county.
What does an "Active" sales status mean?
A sales status of "Active" means that the sale is currently on track and
proceeding through the foreclosure process. In this case, the Bid Amount will
often show as "not provided by lender yet" since lenders usually do not supply the
bid amount until shortly before the sale date.
What does "Sold to 3rd Party" mean?
A sales status of "Sold to 3rd Party" means that the property was sold
(probably to a user of USA-Foreclosure.com) either at auction or during preforeclosure.
What does "Cancelled" mean?
"Cancelled" means that the sale is cancelled. This can occur for a number of reasons.
If you are interested in a property where the sale has cancelled, keep watching
our website to see if it might reappear.
What does "On Hold" mean?
"On Hold" means that the sale is delayed. A hold could happen due to a variety of
reasons. Because it may involve a matter not of public record, such as a repayment
plan, we are not at liberty to disclose the reasons for the hold. If you are interested
in a "On Hold" property, keep visiting our website to follow its status.
Getting More Information on a Property
How do I contact you to find out more information about a property?
All of the information we have for each property is displayed on the website. For
legal reasons, we cannot and will not respond to e-mail messages asking for more
information about a property. For more information about a property you found on
USA-Foreclosure.com, or how to proceed in purchasing a foreclosure property, we
suggest following the links located under the title "Additional Information" on
the Property Details page for each property.
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