Posted by Gina Hinds on April 13, 2000 at 17:56:09:
I would use this data as a preliminary (octitle), because I have found many cases of mis-information on data I have been looking at in California. They will show the property is not delinquent in taxes when in fact it is, they will show the purchase price as $185,000 instead of $18,500.
Octitle Vs Realtor Comps (and Progress Report 3) - Posted by George(OH)
Posted by George(OH) on April 12, 2000 at 15:44:18:
Hello, all…
I’m currently going through the rental ads from Sunday’s paper. I will be mailing them a letter similar to the “Tired Landlord” letter a la Mr. Kaiser.
I’ve sent out 41 more FSBO letters, also from Sunday’s paper. I will be trying to L/O these.
We rode around for about 1 1/2 hours, and I came back with 15 abandoned properties. I will be trying to flip these. I plugged the addresses in the Octitle site, pulled the transfer, tax, and physical info, as well as comps. From there, I plugged the owner’s name into the reverse directory site and got a current address and phone number. I’ll be calling/mailing letters over the next day or two.
My question is: How reliable are the comps from Octitle? Should I also be trying to find a Realtor to provide me with comps. If they are accurate, I could have a goldmine in those abandoned properties!!! If they are not, can someone suggest an alternate source? I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks again,
George(OH)
I’d be a little careful - Posted by Stacy (AZ)
Posted by Stacy (AZ) on April 12, 2000 at 18:19:54:
George, I use Octitle, and for the most part the data is good. However, I’ve seen errors for the Phoenix area, and I’ve heard others mention the same thing for other areas.
I also use FARES (pay service), I check the tax county records online, and occasionally I get comps from the MLS if I find I need them. One thing to be aware of is that tax record comps need to be further filtered to be sure the properties are like kind, and in the same general condition as your subject. Another check needs to be made to be sure the sales you are using for comparison reflect normal market sales. For example, you will periodically see a few properties listed for much less than the others. These may be properties in bad condition, or they could be foreclosures bought at auction. But the only way to be sure is to check further.
I’ve also seen completely incorrect data in the Octitle database, such as a property listed as sold for 14,500, when it actually sold for 145,000, and the wrong APNs for properties.
Just verify the data, and you should be OK.
Stacy
Re: Octitle Vs Realtor Comps (and Progress Report 3) - Posted by Mark (SDCA)
Posted by Mark (SDCA) on April 12, 2000 at 17:44:49:
THey jsut pull the tax records… So they are actual sales results. You may have to do a little interpreting. But it doesn’t get much more accurate than that… Could you post your reverse directory URL??
Thanks,
Mark
So should I… - Posted by George(OH)
Posted by George(OH) on April 12, 2000 at 19:30:00:
…then verify the comp properties? I have modified the filter within Octitle (bedrooms, baths, distance, etc). Should I also verify the sales info for the matches they come up with?
Thanks to everyone for your help. By the way, one of the owners to an abandoned property I found lives in Florida. I got his number from the reverse directory and gave him a call. He said he would not sell this property because he would be rehabbing it and selling it. He said he would be “up there” in about a week.
Should I now approach this guy as someone I could flip to, knowing that he rahabs and retails? Or is this a bad idea because he is an out-of-towner?
George(OH)
Thanks!! www.555-1212.com (nt) - Posted by George(OH)
Posted by George(OH) on April 12, 2000 at 18:20:37:
nt
Re: Octitle Vs Realtor Comps (and Progress Report 3) - Posted by Neil Roseman
Posted by Neil Roseman on April 12, 2000 at 17:58:45:
Here is a link for almost every reverse directory you could want.
Re: So should I… - Posted by Stacy (AZ)
Posted by Stacy (AZ) on April 13, 2000 at 24:26:32:
George, you can always drive by the comp properties to get a general idea if they look “comparable” to your subject. You can also call agents that have houses for sale in the neighborhood to find out if they are similar to your subject, and to find out what they are asking. But, asking price is different than selling price, so be careful here as well.
I don’t know what other services you have available to you. I cross check every property with Octitle, FARES and the county tax records, which show more info than the number of baths and beds. Actually, for my area, the number of bedrooms isn’t listed in Octitle; only the number of rooms is shown. Then, as I said, if the property doesn’t have enough recent sales to compare it to, I’ll get an MLS report.
What I’m trying to tell you is to be careful of relying strictly on Octitle to price your properties. Maybe it’s very accurate for your area, but then again, maybe it’s not. And maybe it’s a small enough risk that you feel comfortable taking it.
Good luck-
Stacy