ForSaleByOwner.com is launching a service to help financial institutions and brokers sell real estate-owned (REO) homes inventory. The new company, ForeclosureTimes.com, will enable banks and real estate agents to sell foreclosed properties without paying fees.
ForeclosureTimes.com will be “open to everyone, but in tune to the needs of financial institutions and brokers, which sell the majority of foreclosed homes in the U.S.,” said Colby Sambrotto, COO of ForSaleByOwner.com. The service aims to save on marketing costs for banks and real estate agents.
Banks and real estate agents will be able to upload their listings for free at ForeclosureTimes.com. The Web site currently has about 300,000 listings, according to Sambrotto, and nearly financial institutions are selling 65 percent of the listings.
Consumers can search the company’s database of foreclosed properties for $24.95, and they can access service directories, home inspectors, title companies, real estate lawyers and discount mortgage companies through ForSaleByOwner.com.
ForSaleByOwner.com is an online marketplace that offers aggregated information, resources and research to those who wish to sell their homes without a broker. The company charges home sellers a flat fee that varies by location and service and in return provides sellers a national forum to advertise their properties. The comprehensive Web site also provides real estate consumers with a menu of links to affiliated services companies and “how-to” information about mortgages, neighborhoods, credit reports, home buyer and seller check lists and school reports.
The company has been growing rapidly over the last year, increasing its luxury property inventory by 57.5 percent last year. In 2003, there were 156 homes listed for more than $1 million, up from 99 homes in 2002.
Also this year, the company launched an online for-sale-by-owner channel for car sellers. And in 2003, it added a mortgage brokerage service called YourLoanHelper.com.
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