As there are hundreds of online foreclosure providers, it takes some effort to find the most useful, free sites. Finding the best sites will depend on your ability to recognize and understand the difference between data and information.

Information is actionable data. Data by itself is confusing and can be more aggravating than beneficial. So let's look at some of the online resources and how they do business.

Most Web sites offering foreclosure data charge a monthly subscription fee. This can be tricky because their data is intentionally old and out of date. They do this so they can claim to provide more data than their competitors. This holds true for non-foreclosures as well.

The average person may look at a list of 2000 homes for sale in their area and think that this is more information, when in fact it is just more data. The number of foreclosure homes provided is not a sign of good information; it is just data.

The inflation of data allows the pay-per-use Web site to present itself as if it is culling more information than its competitors, and is therefore more enticing to prospective users. However, the data can be categorized into several unuseful categories:

- Old data that is no longer actionable and has not been purged from the database.

- Preforeclosures (trustee sales) that provide little opportunity.

- Trends and other filler data with little relevance.

Still, the best sources for actionable data are free. Such sites as USHUD.com, ALLHUD.com and HUDEX.com are completely free and have current, relevant information that can be used as the properties listed are updated daily. These sites are relied upon by real estate professionals and are not inflated with useless filler.

For more foreclosure news and information, visit America's only free foreclosure resource, www.USHUD.com.