As 2009 comes to a close let us revisit some of the top stories of the year. Undoubtedly the year was awash in news of a depressed economy and a depressed real estate market. However, with the cyclic nature of both these areas, we can only wait and see what developments arise in the coming year, and in the coming decade.
January 2009
Foreclosure Research reports mixed figures on foreclosure filings and REOs for 2008.
According to RealtyTrac there were a total of 3.16 million filings for the year. ForeclosureS.com reported …

In parts I and II of “The Underbelly of an Online Listing Provider,” Foreclosure Research set out to uncover the truth behind Foreclosure Store’s deceptive façade. Beyond duplicitous listings and charging methods, every factor of the company seems to be wrought with deceptive or unethical tactics.
Take the sign-up page for the free trial for example. At meets the eye, it looks incredibly similar to a competing foreclosure listing site, Foreclosure.com (See photos 1 and 2). The layout and styles are the same and even the text is copied verbatim. In …

Continuing from last week’s article, “The Underbelly of an Online Listing Provider,” Foreclosure Research has delved into the listing side of Foreclosure Store (ForeclosureStore.com) in order to gain a better understanding of their illusory practices.
Luckily for us, most of the information (or shall I say disinformation) is available on the site without a subscription- at least the general information on the property.
The first noticeably suspicious aspects of the listings are the photos attached to the property addresses.  I searched for foreclosures in Fort Lauderdale and at fist glance there are …

As Foreclosure Research has reported since its inception, foreclosure statistics have proven to be illusive by nature. Not one foreclosure reporting company will have the same figure for a given period of time. While the statistics as a whole may be far from exact, at least there is factual data behind the listings. However, for some online listings companies that is not always the case. Some companies actually use the illusive nature of foreclosures in their favor in order to deceive users by aggregating misleading and false information.
In this …