When a homeowner borrows money to finance a home and can’t pay the mortgage it goes into default. To recoup its money, a lender will usually foreclose on the property and sell it at a public auction to the highest bidder.

In some states the Sheriff for each county manages, conducts and holds these public foreclosure sales. That’s the reason is is called a “Sheriff Sale.” The dates, time and locations of these auctions are often required to be publicly announced prior to the actual auction dates and usually take place in designated county courtrooms.

Countless properties throughout the United States are purchased at Sheriff Sales for considerably less than their market value – sometimes 30-50 percent!

To make it easier to find theses great deals, as well as the times and locations nationwide, Foreclosure.com just introduced a new “Sheriff Sale” tab on our search pages.

Here’s what it looks like:

The options within this tab allow you to search via the Foreclosure.com Listing ID, City, Zip Code and/or a range between auction dates. Therefore, if you want information about Sheriff Sales taking place in your area from December 1, 2007, to January 1, 2008, just key in those dates and click the “Search” button.

It’s that easy! No more combing through the local newspapers or pouring over documents in the county courthouse. Foreclosure.com has done all the hard work and collected all the data that you need and filed it in one convenient location.

To search for Sheriff Sales and public foreclosure auctions in your area right now click here.

Note: Want to know what it’s like to attend a Sheriff Sale? To read a detailed account of the experience in Palm Beach county, Fla., click here.