Best data sources

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Either I am becoming more liberal or PAM is becoming wayyyy to conservative. Typically, MLS data is considered reliable as to the basic information about the comparable sale. Tell me what source would provide more information about the property. Usually the seller has moved away, the new owner is still suffering from "buyers remorse", and the agent/broker can't remember anything. Using information from MLS is the best we have. Since we are required to verify the sale from at least two sources...I use public records (deed recording) as the second source. It will give me four things (El Paso County Records). Sales price, date of sale, terms, and if it is an arm's length transaction.

I stopped calling REALTORS® several years ago UNLESS I need special information not found in MLS. After 32 years as a REALTOR® and 21+ years as an appraiser, I have found that they seldom pull the file when called. They give you information off the top of their heads which may or may not be correct. In fact, I have called about the same property on different occassions and received three different answers.

The law says verify with two sources. MLS is one, public records is the other! This leads me to two really good questions. 1. What is the date of sale? MLS will have one date, the public record will have another (date of recording). 2. What is correct square footage for the comparable? MLS will say 1200SF, public record will say 1300SF. Which one would you use and why? Ours is an in-exact art, we do the best with can with the information available. What ever you do, be consistant and CYA. My addendum says..."I have used data from sources usually considered reliable, but not guaranteed". When in doubt, I use the public record data since it is "of record".

 

[Em Tee]

Toast:

On CMDC you can get 80 searches for $140. There's other plans with more or less searches. Each additional search over your plan limit is billed at $2.00 per search. They charge $1.50 per plat map.

Win2Data has a similar "per search" pricing plan, but their definition of a search is the subject AND all the comps. So if it finds 20 comps, that's 21 searches! CMDC doesn't care if you pull up 100 comps - it's still only one search. Much better!!!

Good luck!

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Mike Garrett said:

Either I am becoming more liberal or PAM is becoming wayyyy to conservative. Typically, MLS data is considered reliable as to the basic information about the comparable sale.

OK, OK, I've become more conservative, with reasons. I normally use MLS data and online County data. The MLS system tax data is way too often very wrong. The online County data I've found quite reliable. There are now too many local Realtors here that intentionally misrepresent items in their MLS listing/sale information. I have stacks of them here that someday I want to do something about them. I have numerous MLS sales that are higher than the recorded sales. The Realtors doing this use them to solicit listings in that area showing the poor potential sellers how much more they can get for their house. I have MLS sales that were grossly overstated in GLA with the listing Realtor stating she upped it so the property would be shown more often. I have quite a large collection of MLS sales in heavy investor/REO areas that are showing a list price of say $20,000 and a sale price of $20,000 with a recorded deed price of $55,000. These are where the Realtor has an investor in between that kept the difference at closing. Straw buyers? Probably. Currently, the MLS data here is so bad it really cannot be used as 'considered reliable'. Too many Realtors will not call an appraiser back unless it's something regarding a current transaction. I've been a Realtor on and off for about 30 years and I've never seen it as bad as it is here right now.

Regarding the County Records reporting services such as Win2data, my experience with it is that it is not reliable at all. The Florida Appraisal Board agrees and their opinion is that MLS and a data source that is not directly from the real county records is not enough.

 

[Tom Hildebrandt]

Mike Garrett

Like your comments regarding what is the right source. If I have contradictory information between public records and MLS, I choose MLS because I assume that the broker actual saw the property during the period it was listed. The tax information in our county public records may be based on a site inspection 10-15 years back. If the difference is not easily reconciled or if the data otherwise is a really good comp, I will call the broker and get specific answers. Of course, if it is easier to find another comp that is just as good, why bother the broker.

AS an item of interest, what law says two sources for verification? I am preetty certain this is a guideline for lending work only but if there is auniversal rule for verfication, I would like the reference.

Best regards

Tom Hildebrandt GAA

 

[Shelby]

Great information!

I have a couple of data source names to throw out there. Mary Adamson mentioned CMDC. There's also NDC and FARES.

Thoughts on CMDC vs. NDC vs. FARES forumites?

Thanks!!

Shelby in CA 8)

 

[Shelby]

...Also, anyone who can help me :roll:

Is Win2Data and FARES the same thing? I'm confused.

Shelby in CA 8)

 

[Shelby]

AHA!! Bingo...

First American Real Estate Solutions (FARES) publishes Win2Data

I'll write back to myself.

Shelby in CA 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Toast:

On CMDC you can get 80 searches for $140. There's other plans with more or less searches. Each additional search over your plan limit is billed at $2.00 per search. They charge $1.50 per plat map.

Mary,

Thanks for the info but I think I'll pass on CMDC. I got signed up for a trial run and the results were brutal!

The data that was returned was very raw to say the least. I did get about 75 comps returned on one property but none of them contained any information that was of any use. Of the 75, none had even a basic room count, gross living area, or any other property characteristics. All of them had a pin number, legal description, taxes paid, and sale amount but I can get all that on line for free.

A couple weeks ago Lake County in Illinois made all plat maps for the county available on line at no charge. Nice!


Thanks anyway.

Toast

 

[Sergei Kolesnikov]

Thanks Joe, but lets talk about what the out of state banks use to check all of the reports we submit, the MLS data, comps inc, geo comps, nassau/suffolk profiles, red book (all local data) win2data (national) ect... I have them all. Does anyone know of other national data source besides win2data. The banks are not subscribing to all these local sources. Or are they?

Regards
Mike in NY

I am looking for source "geo comps" that mentioned here. Would you be kind to provide their information - phone, website address if known.

Thanks so much

-sergei

 

[Austin]

Today I was in the city tax assessor’s office and he told me that by Christmas all of their data would be online. They have good data, accurate property features, sale histories research program, all property features with a price breakdown, and I have devised a system of using their value factor dollar numbers. I can sit in my office and do ten drive-by’s a day in the city. My record to date is 9. They also have an excellent GIS program with color aerial photos with property lines, sewage line, water lines, etc. Every day that goes by makes Realtors more irrelevant. AVM will never work in a town like this one. Almost no cookie type subdivisions. You can have three different neighborhoods on the same street.
I told the tax assessor and staff that they would not be seeing us appraisers anymore. They replied: We may not see you any more but the rest of those birds will still be coming because they haven’t figured the Internet out yet. With Marshall and Swift going on line, ample on line data, etc., in a few years we won't even have to leave the office. In five years I predict over half of the existing appraisers will be history. It will be one person sitting at the keyboard turning out ten or more a day.