Finding Mortgage Values

MrNightly

Another question... (you guys can thank me later for my questions. ha.)

How do I find mortgage values online for free? I found this site, https://www.intelius.com/purchase.php, but they want a fee to find the public records. Do I just need to go to the courthouse and look up the public records? Or what?

Trying to research a few properties around town, and want to know the value of the current mortgages.

Any experts or people out there that have done this?

Share the knowledge!!!

SKsolutions

Google up your Registry or Recorder of Deeds or it's equivalent, which also may be under your County or Probate. I'd be surprised if it wasn't online. Finding your way around the interface and records is another matter. If there are no marginal references to connect unrelated property transactions, it's easy to get lost when tracking a history. If you find something that you want a complete history on, and you can't afford to be wrong, find the magic gnome that sits at the registry all day, and pay him to do a title exam.


My state: www.masslandrecords.com

Gadabout

Down here all the tax records for houses are public. You just go to the county appraiser's page and look up an address. Will tell you the appraisel value and how much the taxes are / were. You can also see the history over time as the house has appreciated.

Perhaps not a mortgage value, but it will give you an idea of where they stand on the asking price and what the county thinks the value is.

http://taxoffice.tarrantcounty.com/

or

http://www.tad.org/Datasearch/datasearch.cfm

SKsolutions

^Assessed value isn't mortgage value, nor is it an appraisal, or even relative to market value, although most people believe it is. It is strictly for property tax purposes that uses a substantially different valuation methodology.

whitetruk

zillow.com,might help

tonyb

Are those properties,forclosures?? If so,there is some different proceedures that need to be done,and you are usually buying "as is" with no inspection.

LessisNevermore

SKsolutions wrote: »

^Assessed value isn't mortgage value, nor is it an appraisal, or even relative to market value, although most people believe it is. It is strictly for property tax purposes that uses a substantially different valuation methodology.

No, but if you're looking to buy a particular house, it's very useful for finding out what the property last sold for. I think(?) that is what the OP might be looking for.

unc2701

This will vary from county to county. See what your county has online & go from there. I live on the border of 4 counties- two have full sales info, all have register of deeds online, all have tax valuations online. The ROD won't tell you the sales value, but you should be able to hunt down the mortgages- just takes some work, especially these days. People will get a loan, get an equity loan, pay it off, roll it into another one, pay off a third, etc. Each of those actions should show on the ROD, so you should be able to tally the total borrowed on the property. You will not find the down payment info there.

Again, the mortgages and the taxes are NOT the sales values. Nor are they the current appraisal, although around here most lenders will let you use the tax valuation as an appraisal for an equity loan (the used to be a little low, hard to say now).

SKsolutions

LessisNevermore wrote: »

No, but if you're looking to buy a particular house, it's very useful for finding out what the property last sold for. I think(?) that is what the OP might be looking for.

I never mentioned it, but today, the last sale price doesn't really matter either. It's very common to see a last sold price of $0 and still have two or three mortgages, and a HELOC against the property. Last sale was $0, Equity is negative -30%. Are you going to pay 130% of market value?
Sometimes a last sale price includes a bundled loan for improvements or a divorce settlement. There are many things that can throw this off, and there are many, many mistakes in public record.

Today, the only thing that really matters, is the value of the liens, who holds them, what they are willing to take for them. . . . and is the property worth that amount to you. The rest is a distraction.

I

polktiger

Unless it is in foreclosure, I am not sure you will find the current principle balance on the loan. There should be a local office with the recorded titlework that normally also records the mortgage at the time the loan is obtained, but this will just show the original loan amount, it is not updated monthly. Even the original amortization schedule is a shot in the dark since it assumes timely payments of the scheduled P&I only.

SKsolutions

If you're treading these waters, get advice from a pro, a good title examiner, and RE attorney. There is no instant wealth in RE, and some of what those books promote is illegal in many places.

MrNightly

SKsolutions wrote: »

If you're treading these waters, get advice from a pro, a good title examiner, and RE attorney. There is no instant wealth in RE, and some of what those books promote is illegal in many places.

Instant wealth? Ha. Not likely, but I do have a 5-7 year plan that I am trying to put into place. Hard work, good timing, great intuition required? Ya betcha!

Just trying to be as informed as possible for the best possible deals out there.

Thanks for all the great opinions so far. I try to keep an open mind and see what all you old foggies think Just kidding!

SKsolutions

MrNightly wrote: »

. . . . heat from people who only sit and invest in safe things... so all that aside
-How does one go about getting loans but not from the bank?
-Is there such a thing as safe private lending? Tax Liens in your favor? The inside tricks that very few actually do? Does anybody here have experience with this sort of things?
-I bought 3 new books on investing and will get my learn on with those as well... Exciting times I think!

Do what you want, but a pro was giving you advice. Your series of questions above was all about risky maneuvers, but then say that you have a 5-7 year plan of hard work. Which is it? Then you say you are reading 'books'. Most of these 'investing books' aren't about hard work, investing, or how to be a landlord. They are usually about chasing failed properties, pre-foreclosure intercepts, tax liens, short sales, etc. I was trying to tell you that most seasoned pro's stay away from it, and that you will run into trouble with little to no experience. Good luck.

MrNightly

SKsolutions wrote: »

Do what you want, but a pro was giving you advice. Your series of questions above was all about risky maneuvers, but then say that you have a 5-7 year plan of hard work. Which is it? Then you say you are reading 'books'. Most of these 'investing books' aren't about hard work, investing, or how to be a landlord. They are usually about chasing failed properties, pre-foreclosure intercepts, tax liens, short sales, etc. I was trying to tell you that most seasoned pro's stay away from it, and that you will run into trouble with little to no experience. Good luck.

I obviously have done a poor job of protraying where and what my intentions are. I did want to hear from some pros on these things I have been reading, but obviously failed to mention the other methods I have been studying as well. Landlording, sweat equtity and hard work are a staple I try to pride myself on. I did however want to learn more on different methods of investing in real estate. I don't pretend to know that much. My dad and I have flipped a few houses back a few years ago and I am a skilled construction guy who enjoys taking ugly and making it beautiful.

I intend to get several more rentals and get them paid off as soon as possible so the assets start paying for more assets! I anticipate paying off my first rental in five years and then putting all profits from that house each month into the next rental until paid for so on and so forth. I am not trying to get rich quick I jusi enjoy real estate and want to grow that may.

It is risky to some, so that is why I put the disclaimer out the first time.

Now that everyone knows entirely too much about my plan ha being on any more advise you might have! I am all about learning from the pros!

SKsolutions

I don't think that that sounds risky at all. Buying property responsibly today is little-to-no-risk if the Cap Rate is there, and there are jobs around. You were being all cryptic. . .and those books are usually garbage. Plain vanilla is where it's at. You should be able retire, or at least not HAVE to work by the time you are 45. It sounds like a good plan, don't overextend yourself and you won't need luck.