How current are NYC pre-foreclosure lists?

It varies widely. Many lists add a case once and never update it, so they keep cases that settled or ended long ago. Hercules refreshes every open NYC case daily.

Why do pre-foreclosure leads go stale?

New York foreclosures often take years, and many end in a modification, a sale or a discontinuance. A list that only records the first filing keeps cases that ended long ago.

Which is best for New York City specifically?

A tool that reads each NYC case to its current stage. Hercules lists every open NYC case on Elite and up, and the Pre-foreclosure Intelligence add-on adds the stage, amount owed and equity.

Best ways to find NYC pre-foreclosure leads

The short answer

For New York City pre-foreclosures, the choice is between a national lead-list tool such as PropStream, BatchLeads or DealMachine (broad, flags a case but not where it stands), a foreclosure listing site such as RealtyTrac or Foreclosure.com, or an NYC tool like Hercules that tracks each case to its current stage.

The options

Option	Good for	What it misses
National lead lists (PropStream, BatchLeads, DealMachine)	Many markets, skip tracing, mail and dialers	A pre-foreclosure flag rarely says how far the case has gone
Foreclosure listing sites (RealtyTrac, Foreclosure.com)	Browsing distressed listings across the US	Built for browsing; thin on NYC case detail
Hercules	Every open NYC case, its stage, amount owed and equity, with a CRM	New York City cases only

What to check on any list

Whether each case is still open, or was settled or discontinued.
The stage it has reached: a new filing is years from a sale; a scheduled auction is weeks.
The amount owed against what the property is worth, so you know whether there is equity to work with.
Who owns the property today, and whether the owner is an LLC.

See open NYC pre-foreclosures

Questions

How current are NYC pre-foreclosure lists?: It varies widely. Many lists add a case once and never update it, so they keep cases that settled or ended long ago. Hercules refreshes every open NYC case daily.
Why do pre-foreclosure leads go stale?: New York foreclosures often take years, and many end in a modification, a sale or a discontinuance. A list that only records the first filing keeps cases that ended long ago.
Which is best for New York City specifically?: A tool that reads each NYC case to its current stage. Hercules lists every open NYC case on Elite and up, and the Pre-foreclosure Intelligence add-on adds the stage, amount owed and equity.