Realty Trac do you find it helpful in finding deals?

Question

I was wondering if anyone would be able to provide input on foreclosure websites for instance Realty Trac?  Has anyone had good success with it?  Do you recommend other sites?  Any input would be helpful!

Wael O mouala · Answer

hello to everyone. i have noticed many of you are asking about realty trac. i have to say No it has not ben helpful at all the just put properties on there with out doing any research on it what so ever. all there properties do not have the accurate info on it. they will say for example property has foreclosed to the bank and you check with public record it will tell you a different store so after wasting so much time researcher the property its just ben refinanced not foreclosed. and almost all there properties are the scenario. sad and done  its not good. i hope i was helpful. thank you and good luck

Sean OToole · Answer

Of the national foreclosure notice abstractors, RT is the best, though their professional list services are better then the consumer site. Like Jeff mentioned, in many states you can access foreclosure notices and the associated document images for free online, though it does take some work to type the data into a spreadsheet or CRM software to make it usable. Unfortunately in CA the recorders don't make images available free online, so unless you like spending a lot of time at the county recorder, you need to use a service. Definitely check out that site Jeff mentioned. ;-)

David Dachtera · Answer

@Ashley Hernandez,

Where I am here, RealtyTrac's data was always rather stale. Didn't find it as useful as I had hoped.

Jeff Kehl · Answer

@Ashley Hernandez I don't find Realty Trac particularly helpful but I suppose that could vary by geographic area. Here in Georgia, I find all of the foreclosures in my local newspaper or the corresponding website georgiapublicnotice.com. For post-foreclosure properties, there are many sites to look at Homepath.com,homesteps.com, hudhomestore.com, hubzu.com, auction.com, hudsonandmarshall.com.

I've heard there is a site on the westcoast called property radar you might want to check out.

Joel Owens · Answer

Just remember by nature people tend to be lazy and want things easy and that applies to many investors as well.

So these lists and companies you are getting to try and make things easier so are thousands to tens of thousands of investors or more.

The GOLD with any asset class is to dig up the deals that nobody else knows about so you can negotiate one on one with the seller. That is where generally the most value is extracted for price and terms when you buy.

So even if you get a 3 days or 1 week jump on the competition doing it yourself then 1 purchase could get you a big payday. If a seller gets a ton of letters from people at the same time they feel like they have tons of options and think the can slant price in their favor even when facing foreclosure etc.

Some services in years past were 4 to 6 months behind in updating which is the equivalent of having a bad list. There are some investors that follow people that have filed BK and wait for them to get dismissed and then try to be the first one in that way when foreclosure picks back up. There is a gap in time between being transferred from the lender BK department back over to the foreclosure department to start the process.

As an investor you have to capitalize on those small windows of time other investors do not know about to buy a property.

Sean OToole · Answer

Hi Heather, you can definitely get it directly from the county recorder, and it's even free, but there are some challenges:

1. The data is recorded at the county as a document, so you have to "abstract" (manually type) the data from the document into whatever form you want it.

2. The document images are only available free if you view them at the county. If you want to take the documents, most counties charge $1 or more per page.

3. The documents only include the address of home, not the beds, baths, and other property details. For those you have to go to the county assessor.

4. In order to evaluate whether or not its a deal, you'll also want to see more of the history, which is contained in other documents - grant deeds, deeds of trust, assignments, other foreclosure notices, etc. So to get a complete picture of each property you'll need to abstract multiple documents.

5. Some services add additional info like maps, estimated home values, estimated equity, and other details that aren't directly available from the county at all.

All of this is why new notices take a few days to get added to 3rd party services, and why if you value your time, it's usually cheaper to use a service then do it yourself.

Ashley Hernandez · Answer

Hi @Heath Clendenning I did find the Realty Trac information super out of date!  But I really liked property radar!! Lots of really good information,easy to use and very informative.  Also checking in the local newspapers was a fantastic suggestion as well!!

Heath Clendenning · Answer

Hi @Ashley Hernandez, I am also looking for this type of accurate (and updated) data. On another thread someone mentioned going directly to the first tier source - the counties. Any knowledge you have on connecting with your local county for this information?

Doug Starks · Answer

I saw this thread and thought I would jump in to help out if possible.  I have figured out how to fill in the blanks to get emails, phone numbers, etc. from the limited amount of information you can get from county assessor offices or other resources.   If you would like more information about this just hit me up here and we can connect.

Heath Clendenning · Answer

That is good information to share. Accurate data is so important.

Realty Trac do you find it helpful in finding deals?

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