RESS software for finding pre-foreclosures?

Question

Hi everyone,I'm getting started in real estate investing and working very hard to not end up as one of those people who "give up, fail, or never get started" (love the BP podcast! ;-) I'm partnering with my parents who live in Brenham, TX and we are working on starting in the nearby College Station market with SF rentals.My parents have gotten involved in Legacy Education (the ones that draw you in with the free "Rich Dad" seminar), which seems to have really pushed them toward wanting to look for pre-foreclosures / notices of default. It comes with a trial of the "Real Estate Success Software" (RESS). Before they spend money to continue to be able to use this software, I'm wondering if anyone has actually found it of value (they suspect that many of the listings are out of date, etc). I've also heard about realtytrac.com on BP, which seems similar and perhaps better, so I'm also wondering if folks have had success finding pre-foreclosures with that. As I understand it, you probably do better getting the information by going straight to the source, e.g. courthouse if you can. Or perhaps we should re-think the pre-foreclosure strategy altogether.Any advice is appreciated, thanks! And thanks Bigger Pockets for being such a great resource!!Annchen

Tom Knodt · Answer

Hi Julian, Yes, I will concur with Annchen that it seemed like the RESS was pointing to 2 or 3 month - past foreclosures. It could be that if you are in a larger market, there will be more happening and a greater likelihood that it could provide you with current information. It would be great to hear of your results on that, because I was given some extended trial periods, and talked to Elite about my experiences; they seemed to act like they had concern, but no results came through.

Jim Cummings · Answer

@Annchen Knodt. I'm not familiar with the software you mentioned. The strategy of pursuing sellers who have received a Notice Of Default (NOD) is a viable strategy. However, in present market conditions, it going to take lots of effort in the Brazos County, Texas area, due to the limited number of NODs being processed. In September there were approximately 10 properties (Homes, Mobile Homes, Land, etc) that received NODs. Of those NODs delivered, some manage to bring their loans current, and escape foreclosure for the immediate term. So, the pie gets really small. You might create viable opportunities by taking the properties posted - but not foreclosed - and create a mailing list. Again, probably lots of effort for minimal return. But certainly, if you acquire 1-2 annually, the return would be worth the effort. You can go here to look at the NOD / Foreclosures for 2018 (by month) for Brazos County, and what is currently posted for October. http://www.brazoscountytx.gov/index.aspx?NID=481 .

Julian Gonda · Answer

Hey @Tom Knodt, will definitely update you with results on the software as I continue to experiment with it in my area. Thank you for the info!

Sam Shueh · Answer

realtytrac.comYou can pay them by the month.

Julian Gonda · Answer

Solid input. Taking this into account moving forward and I do agree with the connecting in person being more beneficial! Also thank you @Jim Cummings for the info on NODs. Still familiarizing myself with that data here in the Bay Area but good to know it is a viable strategy.

Annchen Knodt · Answer

Hi @Julian Gonda, congrats on getting started in REI! After we learned more, we came to the conclusion that these types of software generally aren't the best use of money / time - it seems they are mainly designed to profit off of aspiring investors that are looking for an "easy" way to find deals and don't know enough to recognize that the information they provide has generally low value. For example, we found that lots of the data we saw in RESS seemed to be pretty out-of-date, and realized that we would do much better going straight to the courthouse and connecting with people who could help us get straight to the source of the data. We are operating in a smaller town in Texas, so it could be that it's more useful in your area, but just my two cents! @Tom Knodt was the one working more directly with the software, so he may have something to add.Definitely connecting with people in your specific area and learning what works there will get you so much farther than any of these software packages!

Julian Gonda · Answer

Good day Annchen! I acknowledge this post is over a year old, but I do have access to the same software as well after having attended a few seminars by the same company. I have analyzed a few deals with the NOD's (as I'm still in the learning stages) but haven't yet began marketing to these types of sellers. I'm wondering if you've had any luck with this strategy? Hope the new year has been well and fruitful otherwise!

Account Closed · Answer

Thank you also for speaking with us, @Jim Cummings! I am slow to get on these forums, but have downloaded all the podcasts to a jump drive, and listen to them in the car.

Annchen Knodt · Answer

Thanks so much @Jim Cummings! This is very helpful!