Well, it happened again! I received a call from a buyer looking for a Bargain home. The buyer said she received my name off of a "network" she joined, looking for foreclosures and other Bargain homes. I asked her which property she was wanting information on, and she rattled off the address of a property I had listed-  2 years ago! Actually, it sold in August of 2005, so that tells you how out-of-date this information she had paid for really was, and she was not the first to call about this and other properties that had sold long before... Many are getting their information from the same site as she did, others have found these outdated listings on other sites, but the one thing they all have in common? You have to pay for the information.

     What's wrong with that, you might wonder. After all, nobody wants to pay more than they have to for a home, and many people are eager to buy foreclosed properties and try their hand at acheiving the same results they see on shows such as "Flip This House."   I understand. I like getting a good deal, too. I REALLY like helping others find good deals and then helping them resell when they have repaired the house. But I DON'T really like to see people get suckered. I don't like to know that there are businesses out there whose sole goal is to make people pay for information that they can get free elsewhere, especially false information. OOPS! I forget- these websites usually have disclaimers that state that they are not responsible for the content that they present, that some or all of the homes may have already been sold, and (the award for the best I have seen was...) that the photos and descriptions of the homes on this site are samples only, and that these homes may or may not actually exist and may or may not actually be for sale at the stated prices. I guess every weasel needs his clause...

     So, what is wrong with paying a small fee to get information that might help you find a great bargain? Well, first of all, the information may be innacurate (house has already sold, price may have changed, it may be listed with a different agent) or flat-out fraudulent (homes they show do not exist in the area they say, may not be for sale, and not likely at the prices they show). So not only are you paying a fee for bad information, you are also providing your credit card info to a company that has already shown they cannot be trusted. Not a good idea, from my point of view!

    Okay then, how do you find information on foreclosures in a certain area without paying for this service? Simple. Get in touch with an REO broker. REO means Real Estate Owned by banks/lenders, usually through the foreclosure process. Banks usually list these properties with agents experienced in handling foreclosures. If you don't know which agent(s) in your area handles REO, you might want to check a site called REONetwork.com. You can type in a zip code and you will get a list of agents covering that area. Call the agents and see who is willing to work with you and help you find the right property. When you find the right agent, be forthcoming about what you are looking for (bedrooms, baths, house size, price, how much work you are willing to do, etc), and why (you are  looking for an affordable home, an investment/rental property, a rehab/resell property). Your agent can then inform you what is on the market NOW that might meet your needs. If the right property isn't available at this time, your agent can keep an eye on the market and call you when something comes on the market. Experienced REO agents also often know what is coming up BEFORE they get put on the MLS.

     And what are the benefits of working with a local REO agent? First, the information you get is likely to be more up-to-date. Second, you aren't wasting money or giving credit card info to unreliable companies. Third, odds are, once you find the right property, you will need an agent to write the offer and help you through the process anyway, so why not get that relationship started a little sooner? And fourth, if you keep working with one agent, you will build a beneficial relationship and you will be more likely to be informed of properties first and thereby have the best chance of getting what you are looking for.

     So next time you see an ad for foreclosure information, promising homes for pennies on the dollar, and all you need to do is provide your credit card information to get started, remember it's probably too good to be true...