RealtyTrac launches user forums
Community site features profiles, e-mail alerts
By Inman News, Thursday, December 17, 2009.Distressed-property data company RealtyTrac has launched an online "social community" for its users to engage in forum discussions and post profiles.
The RealtyTrac Community site, which is free to join, is organized into several categories: buying foreclosures, selling foreclosures, mortgages, foreclosure trends, home values and foreclosure training.
James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement, "Social networking is something that appeals to a growing number of real estate consumers, and as market conditions continue to change we will continue to offer our customers new ... products and features.”
Community site users can choose to receive e-mail alerts when specific locations or issues are discussed in the online forums.
RealtyTrac, which offers data on about 1.5 million properties in a foreclosure process, regularly reports on foreclosure-filing trends. The site typically draws 3 million unique visitors per month.
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Submitted by William Metzker on December 17, 2009 - 10:12pm.
The problem RealtyTrac has to overcome for agents and brokers is that their customer service pretty much sucks. They have smarmy salespeople who, nearly always, have a pointed delay before answering, as though they're reading a script. Moveover, if you have an issue that isn't covered in their generic online FAQ's, you're hosed. If you're lucky enough to get an e-mail answer to a question, it's a hyperlink that either goes nowhere or takes you back to the page you started on.
I subscribed to RealtyTrac for months because the information was useful, but I dumped it. Now, they're like Chevrolets--yeah, you SAY you have a great product that runs better than Toyotas or Nissans, but you know what? You're gonna have to show me before you get any more of my money.