Distress, handled correctly.

Two filings, one category.

A Notice of Default (NOD) is a public record filed by a lender after a homeowner falls 90+ days behind on mortgage payments. A lis pendens is the equivalent in judicial-foreclosure states, filed when the lender begins court proceedings. Both signal that the homeowner has roughly 90 to 180 days before the property reaches sheriff-sale or trustee-sale. During that window, most homeowners want to sell, not foreclose.

Why brokers convert here.

A pre-foreclosure homeowner has a problem and a deadline. Selling preserves equity, avoids credit damage, and clears the legal proceeding. The broker who arrives with a realistic timeline and a buyer-network is solving a real problem, not chasing a soft lead. Conversion rates rival valuations when the outreach is competent and respectful.

Cooling-off window.

ListingHammer enforces a minimum 24-hour gap between NOD or lis pendens recording and the lot's first appearance on the floor. The homeowner gets the legal-counsel window the law expects them to have before broker contact begins.

TCPA + DNC pre-screen.

Every pre-foreclosure contact is screened against the National Do Not Call Registry and per-state DNC lists at lot publish time. Numbers on either list are excluded from the contact data delivered to the winner. The lot may still auction with email-only contact if available, with disclosure on the lot detail.

Per-record opt-out tokens.

Each winning bid arrives with a unique opt-out token. The token is required on every outreach attempt and must be honored within 10 days of the homeowner's request. Failure to honor an opt-out triggers automatic suspension and a refund clawback on subsequent wins.

State-by-state eligibility.

Distressed lots auction only in states where post-NOD broker contact is permitted under current law. ListingHammer maintains a per-state eligibility matrix updated quarterly with outside counsel. Brokers see only lots they can legally contact.

Maximum-bid escalation cap.

To prevent predatory bidding patterns, ListingHammer caps maximum-bid escalation per pre-foreclosure lot at four times the floor's per-category median. A bidder who would have paid ten times market rate to win a distressed lead does not get to. The category is not a place for hot-money bidding wars.

Pre-foreclosure lots are refundable on the standard bad-data conditions (disconnected phone, duplicate, off-market, wholesaler contact) plus two distressed-specific conditions: if the recorded NOD is rescinded before broker contact, or if the homeowner files Chapter 13 between award and contact. Refunds clear within 24 hours.