I was out showing one of my Short Sale listings today. The showing went well, but the house did not really work for them. Before I could ask them if I could help them find something else, they asked me about a property they had seen on RealtyTrac.
RealtyTrac bills itself as a ”Foreclosure Real Estate Listings” site. According to their website, “Save up to 50% off market value! RealtyTrac lets you search the most foreclosure properties in your neighborhood.” It’s a pay site after a free trial period.
In Texas, it appears RealtyTrac gets some of their data from the county records. The property they showed me was not listed, had not been foreclosed on, and the owners were still living in it. I suspect the lender filed for a substitute trustee (one of the recorded first steps in the trustee sales process) or actually posted it for a trustee sale.
Even if the property had been foreclosed on, it may not be available for purchase. The lender has to make sure the property is vacant and in some cases, wait for the redemption period to expire before they list it with a local REALTOR®. They asked about contacting the lender to purchase it directly from the lender. While I don’t have extensive REO experience, I have two big REO agents in my office and they tell me that it’s not possible to purchase a single property directly from the lender.
I explained this to them and I told them if they were truly looking for active foreclosure listings, the data was available in the MLS. I offered to set up a foreclosure search for them.
My advice to them was to work with the MLS data as it is likely the most accurate source of actual foreclosure real estate listings unless they wanted to try to purchase a property at a trustee sale.
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Source: http://www.thebranchteam.com/wordpress/2011/02/05/i-saw-a-foreclosure-listing-on-realtytrac/
Tom Branch and Gina Branch, The Branch Team with RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs, service the greater North Dallas suburbs including Dallas, Plano, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, Lewisville, and Carrollton. While Gina concentrates on traditional listings and buyer/tenant representation, Tom specializes in assisting distressed homeowners to avoid foreclosure. Tom and Gina have published two books (Achieving Rock Star Status and The Field Guide to Short Sales) and are available for speaking engagements in the greater Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex. Subscribe to The Branch Team Blog.
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Tom,
I'm not really sure what value they add to our business.
I see they are quoted a great deal on CNN business and Wall Street Journal.
They try to sell subscriptions to Realtors.
Tom, so many homes I find on Realty Trac are already sold. It's terribly outdated.
Hi Tom, I got a call from a buyer about a property he found on Zillow. Same thing. I went to the home and the owners were living there and they were not being foreclosed on. I even checked the public record to verify it. The home was listed for $65,000!
Jackie,
There are reasons for the data being on Zillow. See my Members Only blog titled, "MLS Violations and Copyright Infringement"
It's all caused by wild syndicaton of listings and sometimes bandit listings to attract buyers.
Tom
Before the internet there were magazine and newspaper articles advertising a list of foreclosed properties - seems like the price was about $20 or $30.
It always made me feel bad that people had wasted their money that way when they would walk into the office or call wanting to see those homes. Very few, if any, of them were actually for sale. Some HAD been for sale - and sold a year or two earlier.
I always explained that I could find the foreclosures through MLS (except for HUD listings - which were with a MLS at the other end of the state. Someone thought Idaho was a small place.)
But they were often sure I was wrong, because they thought they had paid for some kind of "insider" information.
So now - the same kind of people are wasting people's time and money - just in a different venue.
I hear ya on this one.
I hate in when they go there and tell me they want to see such and such.
I go to the MLS...not there.
Then they think I am holding out on them.
Tom,
As you know we get calls on this subject all the time since RE/MAX.com put the forclosure link on their webpage. Thank you so much for this info. I pretty much say the same thing to buyers that you said here , so glad to know I am on track. I really wish they would remove the forclosure link, I think it is misleading to the buyer.
Tracy,
I agree with you. Unless one is looking to buy at a trustee sale, there's no need for this kind of data. Buying at a trustee sale involves heavy risk and requires cash-in-hand. Not a good fit for most buyers.
Tom
Tom believe me when I say that Realty Trac and their postings on Zillow and Trulia are as much of a deception sometimes as Zillow's Zestimates. I really feel for those poor people that chase foreclosure listings without ever enlisting the help of a qualified and licensed buyer's agent.
Thanks for this information. It doesn't sound like a great site to get accurate or current info.
Thanks, I guess I won't pay for the subscription! You saved me some money!
Excellent information, with which I agree 100%! Thank you for sharing it with us!