Build a ZIP-code foreclosure watchlist in Python without maintaining five scrapers

I maintain Foreclosure Finder, a paid API on RapidAPI with a free evaluation plan. This walkthrough shows how to turn a location search into a small CSV watchlist. The same pattern works for other APIs that return a meta object and a listings array. Disclosure: this article was prepared with AI assistance. The example search was checked against the live RapidAPI service. The workflow We'll search within 25 miles of ZIP 30067, keep single-family homes with at least three bedrooms, and filter for advertised prices or opening bids from $50,000 to $250,000. We'll export the first 100 matching listings, cheapest first, with links back to the sources. Foreclosure Finder combines Auction.com, HUD HomeStore, Fannie Mae HomePath, Freddie Mac HomeSteps, and Redfin. Their inventory and fields differ, so the useful output is a shortlist to inspect, not a claim that every row is an available bargain. Auction.com can include private-seller listings; inspect assetType and status if your workflow requires strictly foreclosure or bank-owned inventory. 1. Get your API key Subscribe to Foreclosure Finder on RapidAPI . BASIC includes 300 requests per month. The search below uses free-tier fields. PRO is $10/month for 10,000 requests and the full data fields. Save your key as an environment variable, rather than writing it into a script you might share: export RAPIDAPI_KEY = 'YOUR_KEY' On Windows PowerShell: $ env : RAPIDAPI_KEY = 'YOUR_KEY' 2. Fetch a watchlist and write a CSV This uses Python's standard library; no packages to install. Save it as watchlist.py and run python watchlist.py . import csv import json import os import urllib.error import urllib.parse import urllib.request host = " foreclosure-finder1.p.rapidapi.com " params = { " zipcode " : " 30067 " , " radius " : 25 , " minPrice " : 50000 , " maxPrice " : 250000 , " minBeds " : 3 , " propertyType " : " SINGLE_FAMILY_HOME " , " sort " : " price_asc " , " limit " : 100 , } url = f " https:// { host } /zipcode/all? { urllib