Rick Sharga

You must have been signed up for a discounted multi-month program that rolled over automatically at the end of the initial term (we also have some multi-month programs that simply end at the end of the initial term, so they don't roll over at all). Those are simply the contract terms you signed up for initially. Having said that, if you'll get in touch with me, I'll try to arrange a solution to your problem that you're more comfortable with - I'd much rather have you as a happy ex-customer than an unhappy current one. - Wed Aug 20 2008, 14:36

Hi. This is Rick Sharga from RealtyTrac. Just to set the record straight, RealtyTrac doesn't charge anyone's card during the 7-Day Free Trial. After that, the card is charged on a monthly basis until a subscriber cancels his or her account. There are both an 800 number and web-based instructions on how to cancel in the "Contact Us" link on the RealtyTrac homepage.

The honest answer to Home Buyer's question is that there are many other ways to find the foreclosure information you're looking for. If you're simply looking for a house to live in, the easiest way might be to contact a Realtor who specializes in selling bank-owned homes and ask the agent to help you find a property. You can find agents in your area by doing a property search on RealtyTrac, or there's a directory of brokers who specialize in REOs (bank owned homes) on this website: http://reoredbook.com/index.cfm.

If you'd like to find the property yourself, you can sort through the records at the county courthouse. Your county may make some of the records available online as well. Accessing these shouldn't cost you anything. Most states also make it mandatory for lenders to post notices of auction sales in local newspapers. You'll probably have to pay for the paper, but it's almost free.

Services like ours are really intended for people who want more than the basic foreclosure notice. Typically, they're looking for loan information, comparable sales and estimated property values so they can determine if the property represents a good bargain. They want photos and other images and details about the property (beds, baths, square feet) so they can be sure it's the kind of home they're interested in. And they might want an interactive map that shows them where the property is located and if there are other foreclosures in the neighborhood (which may indicate a problem).

It's those kinds of features - plus the convenience factor of being able to search anywhere in the country without leaving your desk - that people pay for. You really can use the site to your heart's content for 7 days absolutely free, but based on what you indicated in your question, you'd probably be best off working with a real estate professional to find what you're looking for.

There's a boatload of free information on foreclosures, state laws, buying strategies and other related information that might be useful to anyone in the market at this link: http://www.realtytrac.com/foreclosure/overview.html. No subscription (or credit card) required.

Good luck with your search! - Tue Apr 15 2008, 18:47

You got some great advice below, especially regarding the relative ease of purchasing an REO rather than trying to do a short sale. We've typically seen savings between 25-30% in your area on foreclosure home purchases, so bidding 10% (or in some cases, even 20%) below list price isn't unreasonable.

Two things to keep in mind:

First, it helps to know what you're asking for a discount FROM - in other words, what did the property last sell for...how much did the bank take it back for...what's the average price depreciation in the neighborhood...a Realtor can often help you come up with that information.

Second, it helps to know how much foreclosure activity there is in the area, and how long the property you're interested in has been on the bank's books. I just did a quick search on our site and found almost 700 foreclosure properties and almost 550 bank-owned homes in Chula Vista alone; that gives you tremendous negotiating leverage when dealing with the lenders.

Good luck! - Fri Aug 8 2008, 11:10

We're almost definitely not seeing a general market uptick, but there are pockets of the Southern California region that are either stabilizing or even appreciating somewhat. These are offset by continuing depreciation throughout the Inland Empire, parts of San DIego, Los Angeles and Orange County. Even where we see evidence of increasing numbers of sales, the sales prices are weak due to the incidence of bank-owned properties and short sales. Until some of that foreclosure inventory is worked out of the system, the recovery is going to be slow.

Rick - Fri Aug 8 2008, 10:53

Lea:

If the bank has already taken possession of the duplex, you should be in the clear. Generally speaking, the primary mortgage wipes out all secondary liens, so there shouldn't be anything related to the duplex that can cause you trouble.

Title Insurance is a MUST in this case. And it probably wouldn't hurt to touch base with a real estate attorney who specializes in foreclosures if you want to be extra safe. You can find a list of these attorneys at http://www.usfn.org.

Good luck! - Mon Apr 21 2008, 13:30

Becky:

This is Rick from RealtyTrac. Assuming that you're from Bonham, Texas, and actually looking to buy something in the same area (or at least the same state), you have some options. Some are even free.

Texas is an unusual state in that it only has two stages of foreclosures. The first stage is the notice of sale, which 21 days later results in the house being auctioned off on the courthouse steps. You can find those listings posted for free in the county courthouse, but will need to be ready to move very, very quickly in order to either negotiate a deal and execute a purchase within 21 days, or arrange to have cash financing to purchase the house at the auction.

Because most homebuyers don't want to rush into that kind of lightning fast purchase (and there are some risks involved at the auction stage), many Texas foreclosure purchases are at the second stage (REO), when the bank takes the home back. These files are also in the county courthouse, but are harder to find. Some banks will post the properties they've repossessed on their websites, generally for free.

If you're new to the foreclosure game, and looking for a home to live in, your best bet might really be to work with an agent or broker who specializes in REOs. If you need help finding one in your area, let me know, and I'll see if there's someone in our network that I can recommend. For what it's worth, there are very few foreclosure or REO properties in Bonham right now...but that can change at any moment in a market like this.

RealtyTrac isn't a free search engine like Google or Yahoo!. It, like most other companies who collect and distribute this data, is a subscription-based service (although you can use the site free for up to 7 days). This data is extremely hard to come by and expensive to compile, as much of it is hand-gathered from over 2,200 counties every month. What services like ours provide beyond just the list is some of the information you'd need in order to research the property (loan amounts, delinquency amounts, comp sales, photos, etc.), and convenience. There are also local companies in Texas who provide regional listings of foreclosures and REOs; the only one I'm personally familiar with is the Roddy Report, which costs between $125 -$325 a month, which is much more expensive than RealtyTrac.

Good luck with your search! - Mon Apr 21 2008, 13:24