Everyone wants a bargain, right? I got a call from a foreclosure buyer who saw one of my listings on a foreclosure site for $200K. They called off the sign and were surprised to find the listing price was really $729K. So where did they see $200K? A website: www.bargain.com.

If you visit this site, I bet your first impression would be "Wow! I can get a home in San Jose for $60,000!" Right. Sounds too good to be true?

To me, at a glance, this looks like a site that captures note amounts based on NOD (notice of default) filings. NODs are of public record. That $60K, or in the case of my listing, the $200K was a trustee sale bid amount. The house is privately owned by the bidder–who took the property that was encumbered by more than one loan–and listed it for sale on the open market.

Yes, there are plenty of foreclosures (REOs) and short sale listings on the market, but they are not pennies on the dollar bargains. They are priced at what the market will bear…or what loss the bank or owner can bear.