How can I find out if my neighbor bailed out on their mortgage?

I haven't seen a car in their driveway in almost two months. . .  Grass not cut and it's starting to get long now that it's warmed up.  They used to have this yappy dog I heard all the time - not there.  I take my dog out to walk and I haven't seen a light on in the house at night. . .

How can I find out if they bailed?  I don't see mail spilling out of the mailbox, I don't see any signs left at the door or yard about anything, I haven't seen anyone else over there I don't recognize (like realtors/bankers/etc).  I wasn't really friendly with them before they left so I'd feel weird if I went up to their door or window and started peering in to see what is there.  They JUST put up a brand new shed like 5 months ago and built a mini-doghouse for their dog about the same time. . . I'd have to think that if they were planning on bailing, they wouldn't have done that stuff. 

Let's say they did bail - if they (the bank) has to sell the house in foreclosure for half the price, how does that affect the value of my house when they do a neighborhood scan on last sold houses?  It's a direct next door neighboor, and the last thing I want to see is the house sold for $40 a sq foot or something. 

Thoughts?

Probably a couple of dead bodies laying around in there

That thought crossed my mind too, but I don't smell anything, and all the cars are gone.  Plus, I figured at least one light would have probably been left on.

go to the city and look up to see if they have a tax lean on it....its public record.

You pay the taxes and its yours the bank will give it to you for cheap.

you should be able to see if its on foreclosure easy.  look it up by zip code

How would I go about doing that?  I wouldn't really know the first place to look once I got to the website, nor how to know for certain what it is I'm reading. . . is there someone with a title in particular I could call?

My first thought was complain to someone about them not taking care of the yard, but didn't know who I would talk to there either. . . I really don't have much love lost for these people, I was about one more night a few months ago from calling animal services on them about leaving their 6lb yappy Chihuahua outside in the freezing cold overnight.

OK dudes, I gotta run back to work, will check up on it when I get back. . .  Thanks for the tips, I'll let you know what I find

That still falls under the line of making me a little uneasy Alex, but it's something to keep in mind.  In retrospect, I can tell you I'm outside at least 3-4 times a day taking the dog out and doing other things, and I haven't noticed the outside A/C unit turn on once. . .

I'm having my realtor look into things for me. . . let you know what she finds

I'm about to have to call shenanigans on your claim that you are in RE.  How can i be 10x more informed then you about your own profession? 

G8R, there was a moratorium on foreclosures that was (very quietly) lifted on March 31.  That means that given your info, it's very possible that these yocals walked on the house. Bustin Piles is right, check with the County first.

You asked how this will effect the value of your house, negatively.  When a scuzzbucket realtwhore does comps in your zip code, foreclosures are a bitch. My .02, sell yours, and buy theirs

House prices will likely decline for the next decade, so if you are asking because you are selling or thinking of selling shortly, my advice would be to clean your place up, maybe mow the neighbors lawn, and get your place listed asap.

If they were doing improvements 5 months ago, the kind that would make you assume that they were there to stay, then right about now is when the foreclosure process would likely start, but you wouldn't find any public info for months.

After they miss 3 or 4 payments, the lender or servicer sends them a Notice of Default, informing them that they have entered the foreclosure process.  After another 5-6 months, lender sends borrower a Notice of Trustee Sale, which gives them the date that house will go up for public auction.(which is normally another month to 2 months later)

So as you can see, this can easily take a year. Factor in our current crisis, and gov't interventions, and loopholes people are finding, and I HIGHLY DOUBT that your neighbors house has been foreclosed, (yet). Many people that are underwater and know what i know, that the worst is yet to come, are doing 'Jingle Mail' sending the keys back to the lender, or just flat walking so that they can get into a choice rental while their credit is still good and before 1/2 of Americas homeowners are forced to become renters

pm me if you have any questions

Gator, buy the house for cheap.

Everything above that I read is fairly true. Then rent it for whatever the note costs you, more of course if you are able.

IF??  and what if he can't you're suggesting that he take on property for negative cash flow

Real Estate is poison right now. Only buy if you are using as a primary residence, or if you are prepared to take a loss. OR, in the rare case that you actually can get a good deal

by good deal, i mean pre 2000 price

Good Stuff guys

Honestly, the thought in my head is, how can I get that shed they just built fair and square, because I need one

I haven't heard back from my realtor yet, hoping to hear tomorrow about what she found out

that's wierd because when i read what you wrote about the new shed, my first thought was to tell you to take it . 

Be Easy, yup. Just what I said....If you are able, so what if there is some negative cash flow. This is real life, not an infomercial at 4 am.

As I have read, I cam imagine where he can get it squared arond and basically do paperwork on it, and then make a profit. If he makes positive cash flow ....great. Fantastic., but no one in this thread knows what liens may be against it,balance, taxeas, etc..........

It easily might not be worth it, but clearly should be looked hard at. Still sounds good to me.

A slight negative cash flow isn't always a bad thing depending on the situation. 

I could easily drag it over to my yard. . .

I wish I knew. . .  that would suck if they got back from a three month long European vacation and found their shed in my yard

mow their yard once or twice, and take it in lieu of payment , your not hiding it, and if anyone gives you shit about it, just give it back

Hell, if they took out a second against the house, i would think a shed would be considered permanent fixture, and it would stay with house, no recourse for the lender

G8R, meant to tell you

NEVER TRUST A REALTWHORE

They are waaaaay worse than used car salesman

Be Easy, no, I don't sell real estate. Just have studied it a lot. Used to be in financial services for what seemed to be a long time.

Carry on......