Pre-Foreclosure Homes in South Florida: How to Find Them
A pre-foreclosure is a home whose owner has been served with a foreclosure lawsuit but has not lost it yet. Here is how the Florida process works, where the information actually comes from, and how to reach these owners before anyone else does.
A Florida foreclosure starts when the lender files a lawsuit and records a lis pendens, a public notice that the home is the subject of litigation, at the county clerk's office. From that filing until the clerk sells the home at auction, the home is in pre-foreclosure, and that period commonly lasts a year or more. Crucially, the owner still owns it. Nobody has to sell, nothing is listed, and there is no pre-foreclosure section of the MLS, which is why no website can hand you a complete list of pre-foreclosures for sale: almost none of them are for sale. What exists instead is public record. Lis pendens filings are searchable through the Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach county clerks, and paid data services repackage those same filings as leads. Reaching those owners means direct contact, which in Florida is regulated: homeowners in foreclosure are protected by the Foreclosure Rescue statute and by the Do Not Call rules, and a clumsy approach is both illegal and ineffective. The realistic ways in are the short sales already on the market, an auction bid at the courthouse, and a patient, compliant outreach campaign to owners who have just been served. We run all three, and we will tell you honestly which one fits what you are trying to do.
Pre-Foreclosures That Are Actually for Sale: Short Sales
These are short sale listings, not a pre-foreclosure list. A short sale is a pre-foreclosure whose owner has decided to sell before the auction, which makes it the only part of the pre-foreclosure market you can tour, inspect and finance today.
47 listings, newest first.
$620,000
16575 Cove Road, Westlake FL 33470
5 bd · 3.5 ba · 2,512 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$450,000
3472 NE 2nd Street, Homestead FL 33033
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,621 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$425,000
2851 NE 42nd Avenue, Homestead FL 33033
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,443 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$405,000
1672 Many Road, North Fort Myers FL 33903
3 bd · 3 ba · 2,805 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$432,500
134 NW Heather Street, Port St. Lucie FL 34983
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,546 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$597,000
11238 NW 56th Street, Doral FL 33178
4 bd · 3.5 ba · 1,808 sq ft · Townhouse
$424,900
4345/4347 Skyline Boulevard, Cape Coral FL 33914
0 ba · 2,334 sq ft · Duplex
$859,000
430 NE 29th Street 1203, Miami FL 33137
1 bd · 1 ba · 723 sq ft · Condominium
$610,000
1450 NW 35th Street, Miami FL 33142
0 ba · 1,825 sq ft · Duplex
$424,000
5603 White Cedar Lane, Tamarac FL 33319
2 bd · 2 ba · 2,123 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$455,000
9957 W Elm Lane, Miramar FL 33025
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,185 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$499,990
12505 SW 124th Court, Miami FL 33186
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,491 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$449,900
5261 KIM Court, West Palm Beach FL 33415
4 bd · 2 ba · 1,637 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$498,000
15860 KEY BISCAYNE Lane, The Acreage FL 33470
2 bd · 2 ba · 1,677 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$609,000
20302 NW 39th Court, Miami Gardens FL 33055
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,610 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$1,399,000
418 NW 47th Street, Miami FL 33127
0 ba · 3,050 sq ft · Quadruplex
$484,999
1411 SE 26th Road, Homestead FL 33035
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 2,024 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$425,000
2309 Cody Street, Hollywood FL 33020
4 bd · 3 ba · 1,260 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$399,000
5021 S La Sedona Circle, Delray Beach FL 33484
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,484 sq ft · Townhouse
$600,000
15461 SW 173rd Lane, Miami FL 33187
3 bd · 3 ba · 1,906 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$570,000
762 NW 188th Drive, Miami Gardens FL 33169
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,896 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$585,000
240 E 39th Street, Hialeah FL 33013
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,940 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$390,000
8283 NW 39th Street, Coral Springs FL 33065
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,209 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$410,000
11902 SW 245th Terrace, Homestead FL 33032
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,695 sq ft · Townhouse
$700,000
857 WANDERING WILLOW Way, The Acreage FL 33470
4 bd · 3.5 ba · 2,384 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$500,000
1160 NW 20th Street, Fort Lauderdale FL 33311
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,876 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$686,900
398 NE 5th Street 2004, Miami FL 33132
1 bd · 1 ba · 443 sq ft · Condominium
$545,000
15809 NW 91st Court, Miami Lakes FL 33018
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,838 sq ft · Townhouse
$590,000
31 SE 5th Street 3916, Miami FL 33131
2 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,335 sq ft · Condominium
$500,000
6161 NW 44TH Terrace, Coconut Creek FL 33073
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,668 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$545,000
2535 NE 41st Avenue, Homestead FL 33033
4 bd · 2 ba · 2,160 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$390,000
281 NE 41st Street, Oakland Park FL 33334
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,140 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$550,000
3649 SW 16th Street, Fort Lauderdale FL 33312
3 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,176 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$648,800
5861 SW 149th Court, Miami FL 33193
5 bd · 3 ba · 1,764 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$575,000
3176 NE 4th Street, Homestead FL 33033
5 bd · 3 ba · 2,170 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$478,000
730 NE 58th Street, Oakland Park FL 33334
3 bd · 3 ba · 1,248 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$425,000
1360 NW 3rd Street, Florida City FL 33034
5 bd · 3 ba · 1,810 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$390,000
17210 NW 47th Avenue, Miami Gardens FL 33055
3 bd · 1 ba · 1,274 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$500,000
719 SW Andrew Road, Port St. Lucie FL 34953
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,065 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$1,499,000
, Miami FL 33145
5 bd · 5.5 ba · 2,540 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$550,000
, Miami FL 33177
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,403 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$494,000
1307 Tangled Orchard Trace, Loxahatchee FL 33470
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,952 sq ft · Villa
$457,000
1534 SW Abingdon Avenue, Port St. Lucie FL 34953
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,337 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$399,000
159 Kristi Drive, Indian Harbour Beach FL 32937
2 bd · 2 ba · 1,218 sq ft · Townhouse
$610,000
8953 SW 53rd Street, Cooper City FL 33328
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,745 sq ft · Single Family Residence
$390,000
10197 Eagle Creek Center Boulevard, Orlando FL 32832
2 bd · 2.5 ba · Townhouse
$569,000
23745 SW 108th Place, Homestead FL 33032
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,644 sq ft · Single Family Residence
Pre-Foreclosures: Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I see a list of pre-foreclosure homes for sale?
- Not as listings, because a pre-foreclosure is a court filing rather than a home on the market. The owner has been sued but has not decided to sell, so there is nothing in the MLS to show you. Sites that advertise pre-foreclosure listings are showing you county lis pendens filings, which are public record, or short sales, which is what the list on this page is.
- Where does pre-foreclosure data actually come from?
- The clerk of court in each county. When a lender sues, it records a lis pendens against the property, and that filing is public. Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties all publish searchable official records. Commercial data services buy or scrape those records and sell them back as leads, which is why the same names appear on every paid list.
- How do I buy a home in pre-foreclosure?
- Three routes. Buy a short sale, where the owner has already chosen to sell and the lender is involved, which is the only route with an inspection, financing and title insurance. Bid at the clerk's foreclosure auction, which is cash, as-is and sight-unseen. Or approach the owner directly and buy before either happens, which takes time and has rules attached.
- Is it legal to contact a homeowner in foreclosure?
- Yes, within limits, and Florida takes those limits seriously. Chapter 501 of the Florida Statutes regulates foreclosure-related rescue services and what can be promised, federal and state Do Not Call rules restrict cold calls and texts, and any equity-purchase agreement with a homeowner in default carries disclosure and cancellation requirements. We keep this outreach compliant, in writing, and run by the broker.
- I am the homeowner and I have been served. What are my options?
- More than you think, and they shrink as the case moves. You can reinstate the loan by paying the arrears, apply for a modification or forbearance with the servicer, sell the home on the market if there is equity, sell it as a short sale if there is not, or hand the property back through a deed in lieu. Selling before the judgment usually protects your credit better and, where there is equity, puts the surplus in your pocket instead of the clerk's registry. We will look at the numbers with you and tell you where you stand, with no obligation and no fee.
- Will you tell me what my home is worth if I am behind on payments?
- Yes, and it is free. Ask for a valuation or a cash offer through the forms on this page. If a straight sale nets you more than a cash offer we will say so, even though that is the slower path for us, because the point is that you make the decision with real numbers in front of you.