Check bulletin boards in local restaurants, health clubs, places of worship, food co-ops, supermarkets, laundromats, barbershops, or hairdressers, or other places that are frequented by large numbers of community members. The Internet also has a large selection of real estate listings. Check the real estate classified ads in your local newspapers daily for new listings. You can do some initial shopping and price comparison by spending weekend afternoons looking at houses being displayed by real estate sales professionals. If you are already working with a real estate sales professional and you attend an open house, make the person in charge aware of this.
Some buyers take advantage of foreclosure sales.
A foreclosure results when a homeowner is unable to pay the mortgage. The lender takes the house back and resells it in order to recover the money it loaned. Often these homes are sold for a price that is lower than the market price would be. Contact specific lenders in your area to obtain a list of properties that have been foreclosed upon. In addition to bank foreclosures, there are a number of different government foreclosures which may be available.