Questions about the Foreclosure Process and ForeclosureRadar

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code7700_IHB

code7700_IHB

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I have noticed that a number of my favorite web sites (e.g., www.irvinehousingblog.com and www.southoctracker.com) are using www.foreclosureradar.com to source data.



While I am not ready to jump into the market yet, I did want to check out ForeclosureRadar and learn about it so that when the time came, I would better understand the overall foreclosure process (and their website).



My main goal is not to buy a property at auction (as I understand it, if you bid and win you must have that amount of money on hand as ?traditional financing? is not an option), but instead to investigate pre-foreclosures and REOs.



I signed up a few days ago and have been ?playing? with the system during my free time. All the data is a little overwhelming, so I wanted to see if I was on the right page and if the kind residents of IHB had any comments.



Pre-foreclosures: My understanding is that these are properties where a Notice of Default (NOD) has been issued. In some cases this might be a small cash flow issue for the owner, and they honestly intend of fixing the problem right away or it could be the owner has major financial issues and has no intention of making further payments. My logic here is to compare MLS marketed homes (that I like) against ForeclosureRadar as a negotiating tool with the seller and buy the home with traditional financing. I?ve seen a few people online say that they'll print off all the pre-foreclosures and drive by them. If it a home they like they?ll contact the owner to see if they want to sell. To me, this seems like the real estate version of E-mail spamming and like all junk mail, I?m guessing it would have a low response rate. Of course, I could be wrong.



Auction: This is the one I?m a bit confused about. I believe (in ForeclosureRadar language) this means that a Notice of Trustee Sale (NTS) has been sent and that the property is scheduled for auction. My question here is this: In this stage is it still possible to purchase the property from the owner using traditional financing? Or is this no longer an option and the property can only be purchased in at the auction?



Real Estate Owned: Unless purchased at an auction by a third party, the property is acquired by the bank. Then the bank will try and resell it (usually through a real estate agent that specializes in real estate owned property). My thinking here is similar to the pre-foreclosure logic, that I can compare homes listed on the MLS against the ForeclosureRadar as a negotiating tool with the seller (in this case, the bank), then buy the home with traditional financing. I did have one question here: When does the past tenant (the one that was living in the home when the bank acquired it at auction) get evicted? I assume it is after the auction and before the home goes back on the market?



I?m sure this is much more complicated (and ugly) than I?ve briefly stated, but I?m just trying to get an overall feel for the process so I can learn more about this topic. As always, your comments are most appreciated.



P.S. I did a quick search online, but didn?t see the ?perfect answer? ? so if this topic is covered elsewhere please just point me to that post. :)
 
Welcome!



I, too, signed up for Foreclosure Radar this weekend. It's pretty good, but not perfect. Their updates are a little slow, and I'm sure they are capturing all the data. I would suggesting finding and reading the "<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/346/">Foreclosure and Distressed Property</a>" thread. At the beginning, it has a lot of info you want, courtesy of Graphrix.



Preforeclosures: A Notice of Default *usually* goes out when the loan becomes 90 days past due. One of the notable things about this downturn has been the number of owners who can't or won't cure the default (i.e., pay the past due amount, plus interest, fees, etc.). The number of NODs that convert to foreclosures is very high (was it 85%?). So the odds of a green pin turning red later is pretty good. The info for you as a buyer is (likely) only good if you are willing to try a short sale process - which means that you will be offering to buy for less than the total amount of the loan balance(s) (i.e., first, second, HELOC, etc.). Search for "short sale" to see how fun and successful this process usually isn't.



Auction: If you have started the sale and/or short sale process (offer *and* acceptance), you will likely be able to get the auction postponed to complete the private sale.



REO: This has been interesting lately. I see that many homes have gone back to the bank, but have not been listed. In that case, find out who the bank is and call their REO department. They would love to cut one or both Realtors out of the loop and not have to pay the commission. In some areas, I have seen the bank offer the home for less than they took it back for. Unless there is one home you really, really love and have to have, skip the short sale process, let it go to REO, and buy it then. Downside? You have to wait, and, I believe, that you purchase the home as is. Oh, and the current occupant will either leave on their own before the sale, or when the bank (finally?) gets around to evicting them. Whichever comes first. The bank may be in no hurry, though.





**Please note** I have only learned this from reading the blog. The pros may have other (and better informed) opinions.
 
Mine is defintely not an informed opinion of lenders decisions, but more an experienced opinion working in bureaucracies. My speculation is the lenders are very hesitant to complete short sales because somebody would have to make a decision on price and loss instead of following procedure. The folks in charge of selling REOs are not so concerned with realtor commissions or other costs or whether it will cost more to foreclose than to sell short. Their main concern is covering their tail and if the best way to cover their tail is to do things by the existing book and not take any chances, even if the existing book adds cost. It is not their money. It is their job. Their job is not to save the bank money. Their job is to follow procedure and cover their a__. That is how they became the manager of a bank.
 
No service is perfect, but at least from my experience foreclosureradar is much more updated than Realty Trac. If you want to track daily foreclosure auctions and get good stats, foreclosure radar is probably your best choice. If you're actually considering trying to buy properties, then check out foreclosureradar's deal analysis tool. I don't use the site for those purposes so I don't use it, but it seems pretty cool.



Realty Trac has more detailed loan info, though - it will tell you loan type, where foreclosureradar will not. That is one advantage of using Realty Trac.



I personally found Realty Trac to be a very clunky site to use. But obviously everyone is different. The good thing is you can try both free for 7 days to see which one works for you the best.
 
I know I could probably Google the answer, but I'm feeling lazy. How much do ForeclosureRadar and RealtyTrac charge per month ? Are there any added fees, or does the monthly charge cover it all ?



Do both cover the whole U.S.A. or only California ? I would be interested in learning about foreclosures in Connecticut, but not sure if either of these would work for me.



Thanks !
 
[quote author="Trooper" date=1214272542]I know I could probably Google the answer, but I'm feeling lazy. How much do ForeclosureRadar and RealtyTrac charge per month ? Are there any added fees, or does the monthly charge cover it all ?



Do both cover the whole U.S.A. or only California ? I would be interested in learning about foreclosures in Connecticut, but not sure if either of these would work for me.



Thanks !</blockquote>


Both are $49.95 as far as I know. That covers everything. Thanks for reminding me about where they cover - that is another plus of Realty Trac. They cover the whole country, foreclosureradar.com only does California.
 
I only care about California. :) I guess the trick for me will be to see how I can use the data to my advantage in the way I stated above. One funny story on this, I matched a house on the MLS (one that was having an open house yesterday) against a notice of default on ForeclosureRadar. The data I pulled up showed that the owner was behind in his payments by $20,000 -- but at the open house the real estate agent told me, "The owner is firm about the price and feels it is a fair price given the current market conditions. Plus, the current owner is not in a huge rush, they are simply upgrading to a bigger place." I nicely replied with something like, "So, their desire to move has nothing to do with the notice of default that was sent out a few weeks ago and the $20,000 they owe the bank?" His reply was, "Oh, you're right, I must have this home confused with one of my other listings." It was pretty funny.
 
I got a chance to do that with a Palm Springs realtor last year. I track one neighborhood in particular and Redfin notified me that a property had sold for XXX dollars. I was down there a month later and saw an open house sign, so I stopped in. I actually posted about this....this is the listing where the realtor was sitting in the vacant living room, in a folding lawn chair.



Well, they had tacked quite a bit on to the price they had purchased it at a month earlier....so I asked her, "who owns it". She gave me the schpiel that it had been in the family for a long time and they were getting too old, so moved closer to family. LOL ! I busted her with the Redfin info.....she just gave me a blank stare...like, "Sh*t, that didn't work".



You realtors must HATE the info that's available to us now ! :lol:



Oh, and the obvious flip attempt has flopped. It's STILL for sale...
 
hahaha... a listing agent once told me how come I knew so much info regarding the property - comps, previous sale price and etc. "are you a realtor they ask?" I always say nope but I'm a member of IHB thats close enough :)
 
[quote author="code7700" date=1214292769]I only care about California. :) I guess the trick for me will be to see how I can use the data to my advantage in the way I stated above. One funny story on this, I matched a house on the MLS (one that was having an open house yesterday) against a notice of default on ForeclosureRadar. The data I pulled up showed that the owner was behind in his payments by $20,000 -- but at the open house the real estate agent told me, "The owner is firm about the price and feels it is a fair price given the current market conditions. Plus, the current owner is not in a huge rush, they are simply upgrading to a bigger place." I nicely replied with something like, "So, their desire to move has nothing to do with the notice of default that was sent out a few weeks ago and the $20,000 they owe the bank?" His reply was, "Oh, you're right, I must have this home confused with one of my other listings." It was pretty funny.</blockquote>


That is freakin' classic. Good job!
 
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