All Forum Posts by: Sean OToole

While ListSource is a great product, albeit expensive, CoreLogic is hardly "the source" to all others. They buy lots of data from other providers, as does everyone else, each usually with their own unique strengths. For example, their foreclosure data is too stale to be usable in some counties. There are a lot of companies around the nation that source property, demographic, bankruptcy, foreclosure and other data, like The Warren Group, LPS/Black Knight, Experian, Equifax, Axciom, First American, and COUNTLESS others including many smaller regional specialists that have built specific areas of expertise, and which offer great services at various price points, and with various areas of focus.

Do companies buy from each other rather than do it all themselves when it is cost effective, and the data is usable - you bet. Is one company the source for all others - no, absolutely not.

@Michael Quarles To be fair, I've never said "I can't advertise". I have ZERO issue with BP's no ads policy. Just really hard for me to not be allowed to answer questions about my company in full detail. I really do have a LOT to say. That's why I started adding "I can't say more here, but feel free to contact me". I honestly just want to provide more help then I can here, and it's a simple offer to do so - even if I have to do it one-on-one where no one else benefits. Seemed to me like the best way to both honor BP's rules, and let people know I'm here to help answer their questions.

Advertising is a different subject, and not really my focus, but I appreciate the suggestions and I'll pass them along to my team.

@Danny Bower I definitely appreciate the more detailed explanation. I know BP is working hard to keep these forums ad free so I better pass on offering discounts for posts. :-)

I'd require an explanation of the $193k sale, both from XYZ and, if possible ABC since they still hold a note. There may be a solid explanation. I would also absolutely do my due diligence on the sober living company. I'd require talking to them pre-purchase and to some of their other landlords assuming they lease their other facilities (if they don't, why not). If your lease is similar to their others and they have a good reputation with the other landlords that would be ideal. I agree with @Wayne that if there was any inside connection between the sober living co, and either of the LLCs that had ownership in the property I'd likely pass.

@Account Closed said "Are you able to import their exports directly into a mailer or is there some manipulation that needs to happen?"

Yes, typically without any manipulation. Would love to say more, but I can't in this forum, but you (and anyone else) is welcome to private message me for more info.

@Scott Williams You are absolutely right regarding being careful with your comps! Note that PropertyRadar shows what is in the public record, while the MLS shows whatever the Realtor entered. ;-) Pretty surprising to find three examples in one list of comps, but note that there are two likely possibilities behind the discrepancies - a) that those comps with higher values in the MLS have un-permitted work, or b) the local assessor is doing a lousy job of updating the assessment rolls based on permitted work. Either way, they can definitely impact value in a variety of ways. If this is common in that area, then my guess is that valuations overall are a mess - likely with appraisal review problems since they typically rely on public records, and if anything use discrepancies between public records and MLS values as a red flag.

@Chris Berg the loan position information in PropertyRadar is based on computer models, and while it is a great starting point it should not be relied on for purchasing at auction, as per the disclaimer in the software. Also, the transaction history in PropertyRadar only includes voluntary liens and transfers - it does not include involuntary liens (mechanics liens, tax liens, judgements), so you will still need to research those regardless.

As @David Mitchell said, the best answer is to educate yourself on the title search process, and then you can easily verify the loan positions in PropertyRadar and check for involuntary liens using your local county recorder (often online).

Note that even if you pay the title company $150-250 for a title search, those searches do not come with a guarantees and the title companies themselves do make mistakes - thus the reason for title insurance. I'm not trying to scare you off doing trustee sales, just want to be clear that getting a title search from a title company doesn't guarantee it to be accurate - unless it is backed by an insurance policy.

That said, and depending on your planned volume, we do have title companies that will provide free title searches in exchange for your title business. Feel free to PM for contact info. I would say this is what the majority of our customers do, followed by a group that has educated themselves and do their own, followed by a few folks who truly do just wing it. I personally bought 150+ properties at auction doing my own title work and only had a couple that came back to bite me.

We took a VERY different approach to comps by using an automated valuation model to pull the initial comps rather than the typical +/- 200sf approach in all other comp systems. The idea being to help you find comps you might otherwise miss using the traditional approach, but with any comp engine you should carefully review each comp and eliminate those that are inappropriate using your local knowledge.

Hi Barry,

I'm not allowed to provide any help on this forum, not even which states we support, but feel free to connect and/or private message me and I'd be happy to help.

Best Regards,
Sean O'Toole

On trustee sales I can hook you up with a title company team that will research title for you in exchange for opening your escrows with them. This team does it for most of the major trustee sale investors in CA. PM me for the contact.