RealtyTrac
I signed up for RealtyTrac and I have a question about some of the info they give you. On houses that have a NOD, they list an opening bid price. Does anyone know what this refers to? You can't put bids in on houses until they've been foreclosed right? Just curious.
I recently signed up with RealtyTrac for their 7-day FREE TRIAL, so you can imagine I have spent many, many hours using as much of that 168 hours as possible.
In reference to your question regarding the NOD "opening bid price", I have noticed that it is equal to the balance of the lien-in-question. Keep in mind that there may be other liens (junior liens and so forth) that are in addition to that one. In that case, they usually list them separately with different Property IDs to show the different lenders, trustees, and balances. Since the balance on the lien is a certain amount of dollars, that is the amount of money the lender (or lienholder) wants to resolve the debt, thus the minimum amount of the bid. The lender will bid at least that amount to recover their money. Therefore, they can "assume" that the bid will open at that amount -- which makes sense.
I am a newbie to the foreclosure market as well, and I am learning more each hour. I hope my small amount of knowledge about RealtyTrac helps you better understand though.
I would be willing to stay in touch with you on a regular basis and share information as we learn about the foreclosure market.
Brian 8-)