Property sales history

[soloflex]

Enter the new guy...me, soloflex. First post. For the last couple days I have been reading all the discussions and I must say I am hooked. Time for me to get my feet wet.

I will be getting into the biz probably in Jan/Feb.

This may sound like a rookie question but how does one find out the sales history of a property?

I want to know how many times a property has sold, when it was sold, and how much it sold for each time.

To me, it seems like important information to know.

 

[bizaro86]

QUOTE (soloflex @ Nov 26 2010, 10:51 AM) Enter the new guy...me, soloflex. First post. For the last couple days I have been reading all the discussions and I must say I am hooked. Time for me to get my feet wet.

I will be getting into the biz probably in Jan/Feb.

This may sound like a rookie question but how does one find out the sales history of a property?

I want to know how many times a property has sold, when it was sold, and how much it sold for each time.

To me, it seems like important information to know.

If it sold on mls your realtor should be able to get you that information. Unless the sale(s) were recent though, I`m not sure why that information would be relevant.

Michael

 

[Mike Milovick]

QUOTE (bizaro86 @ Nov 26 2010, 01:01 PM) Unless the sale(s) were recent though, I`m not sure why that information would be relevant.

Michael

Hi Michael;

I have found past sales to be very useful. A home that has sold several times - I can think of one property in Kitchener, Ontario, that has been on the market something like 21 times in 20 years - may be an indication of a problem...

Sometimes its also worthwhile to make a time adjustment to ensure if seller`s asking price is realistic...especially in lieu of direct comparables...

Mike

 

[ChrisDavies]

Private sales history can also be found through the land titles service, which can be an expensive and tedious process if there have been many sales.

 

[bizaro86]

QUOTE (MikeMilovick @ Nov 26 2010, 02:39 PM) Hi Michael;

I have found past sales to be very useful. A home that has sold several times - I can think of one property in Kitchener, Ontario, that has been on the market something like 21 times in 20 years - may be an indication of a problem...

This is a good point. Although presumably a property with a non-disclosable, non-evident problem (terrible neighbours or something) that is always on the market would fall in the subset of properties that were recently on the market.

I was thinking more with respect to pricing, which is obviously relevant if it was sold recently, but less so if it was a long time ago. We got the sales history of the house when we bought our personal residence. It was interesting to see what it sold for the last time (well over a decade ago) but not particularly illuminating to its current value. I guess it shows that if I`d bought a bunch of Calgary real estate when I was in Junior High I could be retired by now.

Michael

 

[bizaro86]

A property that always keeps selling might not be indicative of a problem, either, it could just be a coincidence. A house near my parents has sold ~5 times in the last 7 years, not because there is anything wrong with it, but because the owner`s keep dying/retiring elsewhere. It`s a bungalow very conducive to the elderly, and its been bought by retired people every time. Twice one of the occupants passed away very quickly thereafter, and 3 other times they decided to move to sunnier climes.

I doubt the heart attacks were caused by the house, its more of a coincidence, unless you`re superstitious.

Michael

 

[invst4profit]

All the info is available at your local land registry office. A trip to the office with the official lot description will easily provide all past sales for as far back as the records go. The clerk will pull the file and you pay $15- $20 (last time I went) for the service.

The info I consider most valuable is how long the present owner has held the property and what did he pay.

 

[housingrental]

Mike Milovick - Can you email me property info that has been for sale almost every year for last twenty years... I have a short list in my head on which ones I think it is and curious to know the answer