Nancy,
Excellent question. Texas is different than most other states and many of the websites like Trulia or Zillow have had a difficult time sorting this out with regards to prices. Most states record sales prices at the courthouse as public record. Texans have long fought against this. What does get recorded is the deed of trust which shows the amount of the loan. This is then picked up as the "value" of the house. You are correct is stating that this might not be market value. In some neighborhoods where 100% financing was common 1-3 years ago this might be in the ballpark of values, but in neighborhoods that are older or might tend not to have 100% financing, but perhaps 50% financing the numbers could be way way off. The best remedy is for us to set you up on an MLS search that will email you the properties of your choice in the right price range and with the right features you need. I've got a friend in Canyon Lake who is an excellent Prudential Realtor and I'd love to put you in touch with her.

Hi Nancy,

Unfortunately as splendid and wonderful as Trulia.com really is; it may not be the absolute freshest source for listings as there are alot of listings that won't be listed on Trulia if their brokerage is not currently in a partnership with Trulia.com. The best most reliable source for up to date listings will be straight off of the MLS that you can get from a Realtor.

As for listing the "deed of trust" and remaining balance on a home; i'm not quite sure what you are referring to on this one. The actual note owed on any home is public record most of the time; so you may want to pull up the county clerk's main office to find what you are looking for there?

Hi Nancy, I do not where they get the information that is sent to you. I can set up an auto email program from our MLS system with the criteria you are looking for and it will send you an initial email of homes currently on the market and will notify you everytime something new matching is entered into the mls. Let me know if you would like for me to do that for you. Thanks, Mary Smith 830-708-5254 marysmith@satx.rr.com