real estate website information (Sarasota, Bradenton: sale, rentals, HOA fees)

[d4g4m]

ADOM and CDOM are not public view items on myfloridahomesmls. But you can get an estimate if you start a date/list # with a new listing. Each region now has an identifier letter. A= Sarasota, C= Charlotte/NP, M= Manatee, D= Venice. Plus the listing # is now 7 digits.
The original price/current price is on the listing.
Trulia and realtor have a lot of sold homes still listed, doesn't have enough information about the home [this is the 'call the lister for more info' ploy] and now that so many listers are using the 'address witheld' routine, those two sites are somewhat useless.
And there are a lot of us that know how to find the address of a 'address witheld' listing, but didn't divulge it on here because MFRMLS might start witholding that info also.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by d4g4m

ADOM and CDOM are not public view items on myfloridahomesmls. But you can get an estimate if you start a date/list # with a new listing. Each region now has an identifier letter. A= Sarasota, C= Charlotte/NP, M= Manatee, D= Venice. Plus the listing # is now 7 digits.
The original price/current price is on the listing.
Trulia and realtor have a lot of sold homes still listed, doesn't have enough information about the home [this is the 'call the lister for more info' ploy] and now that so many listers are using the 'address witheld' routine, those two sites are somewhat useless.
And there are a lot of us that know how to find the address of a 'address witheld' listing, but didn't divulge it on here because MFRMLS might start witholding that info also.

If I remember right I think it was you d4g4m that got the whole public side of the MLS discussion going. In turn you ended up with the public MLS after many phone calls and back and forth emails.

I knew I had seen the ADOM and CDOM on the customer copy of the MLS sheets I had given out. I pulled up a few properties and emailed myself the customer copy of them. So, here's the deal. If a Realtor sends you the MLS sheets it will have that info on them but if you pull it up in the MLS by yourself the info doesn't show on the sheet. Really is silly, don't know why that info wouldn't be something that would appear regardless of who pulls it up.

I guess it goes back to what you were saying d4g4m, the old phone call thing

[Dreamy46]

SoFlGal,

All of this goes back to my comment earlier in the thread: the Realtor sites are typically oriented towards keeping data away from the buyer to ensure the seller and the agents get the maximum sales price they can for a property. Information is power and it's clearly being withheld.

I use, and recommend that people employ an online data arbitrage system on the properties they are serious about before they even talk to an agent. I'll share what I do here for the less experienced buyers:

1. Find a property via the MLS and not a site like Realtor.com due to the outdated listing/data problem.

2. Run Google searches for the home's address and use sites like Trulia to try and decipher how many times the house has been listed to get a handle on the true days on the market. Look for signs of relisting. Bounce that data off what you later get from an agent. "Oh this just came on the market!" Next, you're fired.

3. Check the MLS sales statistics data. Find out the average list price versus the average sales price. Listings are usually overpriced during their first month on the market. Look for the two-week price cut. Example: average list price is $200k, but average sales price is $165k. Why would you overpay $35k? Check total number of listings over the past 24 months. Inventory going up or down? Up is bad. Check how many listings are being sold versus how many new listings are being taken in. High number of months supply for sale is bad. Price trend is downward.

3. Use sites like Zillow, Trulia, SwiftEstimator ($10), and For Sale By Owner to get an informal online appraisal value for the property.

4. If possible use Google's Street view mapping service to do a virtual drive-by. You can do this easily on Trulia's page for any given address if it's been mapped. Use Google's aerial view to look for neighborhood nuisances such as a yard full of cars behind a fence that might affect property values. Check for nearby noise hazards such as airports or airfields.

5. Look up the property in the county tax records. Check the assessed value. Check for recent sales to detect flipping. Look at the turnover rate and prices for recent sales on the street and neighborhood. Many appraisers and agents won't use foreclosure prices as comps, but those sales are all in the tax records. Check how many owners are homesteaders/principle residence versus investors on the street or neighborhood.

6. Look in the civil action database and check if the property has a foreclosure initiated. Usually someone tries to sell early in the foreclosure process and it often isn't disclosed that it's a distressed sale. Check to see if you can learn why the property is being sold such as a recent divorce filing. Don't pay for foreclosure information/lists, it's free in these public records.

7. Look at the deeds on the county site and try to determine how much money has been loaned against the property. Often times properties are priced at what's borrowed against them and then the sales commission price tacked on, which is usually an unrealistic value. Plain and simple, they're overpriced, and the price can't be cut, so they're a waste of a buyer's time if not a short-sale.

8. Check the crime database. First check the real estate agents and mortgage folks you're using. Look for foreclosures, liens, lawsuits and undesirable behavior. Logic being, if you're agent's house is in foreclosure, then they need to make money at any cost, and they might be dishonest with you to do so. Next check the owner's. It might give you a glimpse into a problem you should be aware of such as the house having a negative history. Maybe a big drug bust, marijuana growing operation, or God forbid, a murder occurred there. If the owner has a criminal history, you may not be getting honest info concerning disclosures about the house.

9. Run the HOA's name if applicable through the civil database. How many people are they suing for dues, or other issues?

10. Use the tax site to get the next door neighbors names and run them through the crime database. See what you're going to be living next to.

11. Run separate Google searches on the house address and the owner. See what turns up on local news sites. The address might be featured in a mortgage fraud article. Run a search for the subdivision name. See what turns up. Chinese drywall? Check Rotten Neighbor dot com.

12. Check the Sex Offender Registry. See where they're living in relation to the house.

13. If applicable, check if the property has been subdivided. Flippers will buy homes with large lots, strip off some of the land, and sell the house and the now smaller lot for what they paid for it. Looks for differences in the acreage in public records and listings. See if the plat is available online.

14. If the property is a foreclosure, verify the bank's asking price on their site. Agents will often price a foreclosure at a higher price than the bank actually wants to compensate for the low-ball offers they know they will get.

15. Check the zip code to see if it is a declining market. That means the banks expect prices to drop. So should you.

HousingMarketMonitor

16. Check FEMA flood maps. Learn the flood designation. It affect insurance.

FEMA Map Service Center -

Flood Zone Definitions (http://www.floodinsights.com/floodlookups/floodzon.htm - broken link)

17. Check if the property is a principal residence. Rentals get beat up from furniture going in and out and deserve a lower price.

18. Check professional licensing databases. Seller's might be real estate agents that aren't disclosing such affiliations. A bad sign.

19. Post questions in this forum and local forums asking about the specific neighborhood. Local forums are even better. You'll find them with Google searches. Be skeptical of results and ask tough questions. Seller's often post and pump their neighborhoods.

20. Check to see if the property is for sale on online auction sites such as the REDC. For how much?

21. Check local classifieds and rental sites to see if the house or similar ones are for rent. Many houses are both for sale and for rent. For how much? How does it fair on a rent versus own calculator? If rent doesn't cover the payment, it's overpriced.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/bu...T_GRAPHIC.html

22. Check for nearby environmental hazards.

CERCLIS Database | Superfund Information Systems | US EPA

Anyone else have any online searches they perform to contribute? If so, please post them.

[SoFLGal]

That's an awesome list Dreamy! One question for you. Are you looking for a job? I think it's time to get your real estate license and come work with me. Nice job, I think the above will help out tremendously in helping people to search more efficiently. I would give you rep points but the system won't let me. Love your location and tag line-really funny!

[Dreamy46]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

That's an awesome list Dreamy! One question for you. Are you looking for a job? I think it's time to get your real estate license and come work with me. Nice job, I think the above will help out tremendously in helping people to search more efficiently. I would give you rep points but the system won't let me. Love your location and tag line-really funny!

Thanks for the offer, but no more jobs for me. Nothing in the future for this old kid, but some walking on the beach (next year), and some occasional drinking in the moonlight...

And, if this crazy real estate market ever finishes sorting out this financial mess, I'll eventually buy something. Till then, I'm a renter...

[Dreamy46]

23. View the crimereports.com crime map:

Search CrimeReports.com

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Dreamy46

23. View the crimereports.com crime map:

Search CrimeReports.com

That's a really cool website, if I could only get it to work properly. For instance, when I type in North Port, FL it comes up with stuff in Arcadia. I would assume there's some kind of crime in NP. Any tips?

[Dreamy46]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

That's a really cool website, if I could only get it to work properly. For instance, when I type in North Port, FL it comes up with stuff in Arcadia. I would assume there's some kind of crime in NP. Any tips?

I don't know the answer to your specific question, but here's the quirks I do know of:

1. It's a relatively new website, and I think it only came online in early 2009, so the data doesn't reach far back and is dependent upon Police Department participation.

2. You have to play around with the date ranges to figure out which month your County actually started reporting. Otherwise you get nothing shown if you go too far back. For example, it looks like Fort Meyers started reporting on June 01 if I remember right. Select May 01 and today's date and you get nothing displayed etc.

3. You need to change the crime types to "ALL" for best results and I go ahead and check the "list sex offenders" box.

If it's actually a mapping problem, then I would urge you to contact the website so they can fix it.

Overall, it's an awesome tool that I hope stays around for years to come.

[Dreamy46]

24. Check FEMA's site to see if a "LOMC" has been filed that would affect the property's flood designation code:

"A LOMC (Letter Of Map Change) is a letter which reflects an official revision to an effective Flood Insurance Rate Map. LOMCs are issued in place of the physical revision and republication of the effective map."

FEMA Map Service Center - How to Find a LOMC

[SoFLGal]

Two more good/helpful websites:

To compare insurance rates:
http://www.shopandcomparerates.com/HOCompareRates.htm

Walkability Score:
http://www.walkscore.com/