Simple question in evaulating a wholesale deal you need to know if a potential property has equity, and if it does how much does it have.

The information is publicly available, apparently as stated by the HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act).

The question...

Where do you find this information [equity] on a given potential property?


* Please correct us if any of this is incorrect.

Except at the time of acquisition and at the time of disposition, the amount of equity in a Subject property is a "GUESS".

It's only at the beginning and at the end of Ownership that any measurements are taken. A glimmer may be available at the point that a 2nd Mortgage or HELOC is taken; but that does not involve an arms length transaction/valuation.

Because the Market is Dynamic, even if you have perfect knowledge of How much is Owed at any point in time, the other point of reference -VALUE- is constantly changing.

The current "Owner" knows (or should know) how much is owed. "You" determine how much it's currently worth. The difference = Equity. "Simple"

I feel like a lot of the wholesaling that was going on a few years back is now dead.

There are a ton of great deals to be had with this depressed market, and by paying a fee to someone just for fining the property seems a little unnecessary.

[i][b]Now there is some insight.[/b] Not only is the market dynamic, but some the whole process is almost arbitrary.[/i]

So you are saying that knowing the equity of a subject is of no consequence except as a bonus [or a perk] at the end of a transaction.

The reason one of our members made this inquiry was because they would like to invest on the terms of being able to do Cash-Out Refinance as opposed to flipping (wholesaling) the deals.

But to hone in on the question a bit more, is there a place on the Internet, perhaps through public records or county comptrollers, that one could go to find out [b]"HOW MUCH IS OWED"[/b]

Someplace which is not subject to respecting the Confidentiality of a Mortgagor's Financial activity? I don't think that much of that material is in the Public Domain . . . . it's usually on a "Need to Know" basis.

But the HMDA Act states that it is Public Domain, so is there a place where to find this info without being a mortgage broker?

I think a closer reading of the Act will reveal that it is public loan data in the aggregate which is to be made available for such purposes as:

- in determining whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities;

- public officials in distributing public-sector investments so as to attract private investment to areas where it is needed; and

- in identifying possible discriminatory lending patterns by an institution, or a group of institutions.

I don't think they intended to make the details of individual loans and the current Pay-Off available to members of the General Public; and it would appear that you're looking to obtain exactly that: the current outstanding mortgage balance of each individual property Owner. A hacker's dream if you can pull it off.

Each individual Owner, and his individual Lender, "should" know what that balance is . . . . but even that is sometimes a struggle.

Stand corrected.
Thanks.

Interesting choice of words... "A hacker's dream..."

Actually looking deeper, it seems to turn out that this information [amount of equity] is or can be protected from being disclosed by the HOEPA Act.

I find great off market deals and my buyers are happy to pay me a fee for the deals I bring them.

As I know, TX is non disclosure state for mortgage and this info is not public.

You can estimate how much a property is worth by looking at comps (comparable sales) for the property. If you have access to an MLS, or know a real estate agent, you should be able to estimate the value pretty quickly.