My sister was contacted by an agency claiming to have such information and will share it with us for a 30% finders fee. Our mother passed away a year ago. I've done a search on the free websites, but they do not give info on real estate.  We wonder whether she owned other real estate, if she inherited property, or if the agency is running a scam. They refuse to divulge any info without a signature agreeing to the 30% finders fee. They named each sibling by name.  Is this a scam or do they have real information?
121542
Contact a lawyre first.
84377
Most properties you look up on the interenet are already included in a Multiple Listing Service, which means the seller is already using an agent and you're going to have to pay a commision anyway.  The only way you can get around paying a commission is buying a house that is For Sale By Owner.  There are sites that can help you find those as well.  If you are not familiar with the market in the area you are wanting to buy in, I think you would definately be better off getting the help of a realtor.  They aren't necessarily more aware of properties, but they are more aware of the market, and what is a good deal, and what isn't.  By the way, the commission is included in the price, the agent just takes a percentage, usually 6%.
177864
nope. it's always a lie. we tried it once and spent $100 and got nothing. after they get the money it's just not that, they want you to go to free classified sites online and advertise, etc etc. there's always something else for you to do.
250912
There seems to be close to a monopoly on this kind of information. It's held by Realtors in the MLS system. I would call a local realtor and ask for the stats. If it's for a project, say that you'll give them credit for the info. If it's for your own needs, they'll give you comparable sales in the area for up to 10 years (1-2 is more practical) if you are trying to sell your house. And if you are lookking to buy, they'll give you whatever stats you want. If the first agent won't help you, call another.\nGood luck!!
619757
No.  The price is suspiciously low; that kind of information should not be sold cheaply.  I'd suspect a scam.
600565
save your money your not going to get buy without hiring a private eye to find out the info im sure your looking for! some halve reasonable rates! good luck!
275921
The price depends on what the broker will actually do and the types of items that will be sold. I suggest you contact estate sales brokers in your area and find out (most of those I checked do not provide their prices on their website - you have to contact them.\n\nYou can use Estate Sales website http://www.estatesales.net to find brokers in your state
492293
First, the county assessor's office has records of who owned the place before, all the way back to the original title, hopefully.  (Sometimes old records have been lost, but if not, they keep them forever.)  Then go to the local newspaper and ask to see their archives.  There may well be a computerized index.  If so, search on the names of the people who lived there.  Even if someone died who did not live there, the owners of the property at the time would probably be mentioned in a newspaper article about the death.\n\nAnother method would be to check the county records office for death certificates, and note the address at which the death took place.  Again, this would be easy if these records have been computerized.  Otherwise, it may be quite a chore.  The clerks are usually willing to help when the research project is an interesting one, as this one would seem to be.\n\nIt may be a good bit of nuisance to do this research, but once you have done it, you can then offer your services to search for other people, as you will have established where the information is stored.  At the very least, you can then write an article for a local paper detailing the search.  \n\nIt will be easy if all the relevant records are properly indexed in computer data bases, but not all counties in the US are that up-to-date on their records.
197938
Credit reports are not as accurate as you seem to think they are.  You can't conclude that the other person you found with that mortgage actually reported the same SSN as yours.  Or, if he or she did, they just chose your number because they needed one.  That's something you would need to take care of, and have corrected: identity theft!  Not easy to correct.\n\nBut the government does not assign the same number to multiple people.  As they explain on their website, they will not even reassign someone's number after they die.
103908
The bank is not going to give you information on recovery costs, and a real estate agent can't tell you what their commission is because that wouldn't be disclosing confidential information about what the bank is paying them. Banks at one time would sell properties at a lost just to get rid of them, but because of the increase in market activity in most states, banks look to get market value for the properties they sell. They use a timetable to determine when they will reduce the price( for example, in 30 days they take of x amount, in another 60 days they would take another x amount off. In most states it still doesn't cost a buyer to use a Realtor. A Realtor can help you make an offer that want be insulting, but might be low enough for the bank to take or a least counter at a lower than asking price. Market value (what other homes have sold for in similar condition in a given area) is all that matters in real estate, not what you need to make it your home, and a Realtor can show you what similar properties in the area have sold for.
253032
Well it could be that the guy was consulting one of those databases of information that is a consolidation of all known addresses, billing addresses, addresses you might have listed anytime you were asked for address info. Now if someone were looking up his (the dead guy's) current and past addresses, it will also tell them who the neighbors were. Sometimes there will not be forwarding info so it might have been that as they were following leads on people who might have known this guy from the old addresses. They were looking up names assocaited with him in any way and your name might have been the same as someone else who may have been linked in some far off manner. If they don't have all personal details for a name, like birthday, past address info or anything other than a name, the program would spit out a list of possible matches with the same name and they probably were contacting them all. I've tried helping people look for family members before and this type of thing happens. You will get lots of hits on a first and last name in a nationwide search. That's probably why he was not surprised.
589146
Your realtor would not have access to that info.  S/he can try to feel out the other agent, but there's nothing to say the other agent will be telling the truth.  Come to think of it, there may not even be multiple offers, it could be a negotiating ploy.
268141
If it seems to good to be true then where's the catch?  I have owned apartment buildings before, and if you are around long enough you get to know people in the banking business.  At one point I got to know the vice-president in charge of real estate at Hudson City Savings Bank in New Jersey. I had already been a party to one transaction with the bank, a 29-unit half-abandoned building in Jersey City.  One day he offered me a property, and suggested I go take a look at it.  Turns out it was a massive brick apartment building, totally abandoned, sitting on on entire city block just off Bergenline Avenue in Jersey City.  As I recall it had something like 42 apartments.  He offered to sell me the building for just one dollar.\n\nI turned him down.  That is as close to 'no money down'as you can get, heck, this was no money at all, yet even at that price it was a terrible deal.  Sure, you can get these things for no money, I've been there, but you better have access to massive amounts of capital for renovation and upgrades, and I'm talking anywhere from tens of thousands to millions.  If you don't have the means to carry it and improve it, you better think twice before you get into something that can literally slay you.\n\nA lot of the real estate moguls who sold seminars on no money down deals in the late 70s and 80s ended up bankrupt, which ought to tell you something.
174139
if you know the city,state,date,etc.. most have info in the papers about it. try looking at there local papers website or archive about it. other then calling the family.
380293
In larger markets there is often a Real Estate Board Association which usually has a non-member website that allows the public access to contact information.  Of course there are state and national boards too.  I highly suggest you send your info via snail mail (to their office addresses and their home address if possible) rather than easily deletable or filtered spam on their email.  You have to remember that Realtors are inundated by dozens and dozens of companies trying to sell them stuff.
438946
"Is there a website that shows all the laws?  I need a website that shows the laws about deeds and people signing the deed over to a family member that is a minor since my brother died when I was twelve and he signed all his money to me when he died so than my uncle got a hold of the money somehow and split it amongst are hole family so we got a small small small % of the money :( Is there a law against this? Don't I have my own right to have the money that my dead brother signed over to me?(25,000) dollars? I am only 14 now and need to get like proof and stuff before I do this."\n\nThere is no quick answer to your question.\n\nSome states maintain websites that show all that state's statutes (laws) and they can be found through sites such as the one I listed below in the sources area.  But it would be very difficult for you to research this issue if you haven't had at least a little bit of legal research training.\n\nFirst of all, the modern use of the word "deed" most often refers to the conveyance of title in real property-- land.  If your brother left you $25,000, then he probably did so through a trust or a will-- not a deed.  That means the actual legal document must have existed and you'll need a copy of that before you do anything else.\n\nYou're right to believe that it's your money (if it was left to you via a legally enforceable means as described), but since you aren't yet of the age of majority (18 years old) some adult was in control of that money once it was left to you-- and still is.  \n\nIf it was left through a will without being tied to a "testamentary trust" then your parents should have taken control of the funds, but if you have none living, it could have been a guardian or an adoptive parent or someone else named by a court.  If the money was left through a trust, then it's a trustee who is guided by the written terms of the trust. \n\nSuch adults have a "fiduciary relationship" with you so they have a duty to keep or use the money only for your benefit.  That means that person can use the money to help support you-- even if you'd like them to put it in the bank so you can get it when you're older.\n\nSo get answers to these questions:\n1.  How, exactly, did your brother leave you the money?  (Get a copy of the legal document.)\n2.  Was your uncle the "administrator" (or "executor" or "personal representative"-- names vary by state) of your brother's estate?\n3.  Is your uncle the trustee of a trust that was created by your brother (or created by a court pursuant to probate of your brother's estate)?\n4.  Have you benefited from any type of support from your uncle?\n\n(Also keep in mind that whoever handled your brother's estate was entitled to take a small fee for doing so-- a fee that could have come out of your $25,000.)\n\nBasically, you need more information before you can decide how to recover your money.\n\n[This is not legal advice. You should consult a licensed attorney-at-law for legal advice or representation before making decisions that may affect your legal rights.]
60519
Could be an honest error, but it could easily be a fraud.  You need to take copies of the two different maps to a lawyer specializing in real estate and ask questions.