Why do the ads for foreclosed houses in the real estate market look so much worse than for the other houses?

I have been looking for a house for abut six months. I have noticed whenever a foreclosed house hits the market the ad suddenly becomes awful. Pictures get out of focus and warped, information gets changed to reflect things that are not true. The location of the house is often wrong in the new ad including the map spot, zip code, even spelling of the town and street! This is true even if the ad was 100% correct the day before.



So what is the deal? Is there some agency in charge of making foreclosure house listings a disaster so that no one will buy them? Because I don't see any sense to it.Why do the ads for foreclosed houses in the real estate market look so much worse than for the other houses?
Truthfully -- It is Realtors that are making these listing look a mess. The problem is is that most lenders only used "Approved" REO Agents, this means that there are a limited number that get all of the listings in an area. This easily overwhelms them and when people have too much work, mistakes are bound to happen -- Is it right, no, but this is a system that isn't going to change anytime soon. Additionally, some Realtors simply don't care if they make mistakes because it isn't hurting them - Chances are the bank is paying them even though they haven't sold the property yet.



Just to give you a heads up, The REO Agents who don't care will also, more than likely, be very difficult to contact and communicate with should you decide to pursue one of their listings. My husband and I found our current house when we noticed it was vacant and did research on our own to find out that is was listed for sale -- There was no sale sign in the yard, and like you listed above there was a wrong picture on the listing, as well as wrong information. When we finally talked to the agent to get more information, the Agent told us the house needed $20,000 worth of work to make it livable - however when we looked at it all we needed was a Fridge and fresh Paint colors - so maybe $1100. It was also like pulling teeth negotiation our contract with this agent when we decided to purchase, but the time was well spent as we are very happy with our home :).



When you are looking at purchasing a foreclosure, you will have to do ALOT of work and research yourself, Agents are not making it as easy as a private seller listing - however, It can be very well worth it :)Why do the ads for foreclosed houses in the real estate market look so much worse than for the other houses?
As for blurry pictures or out of focus pictures, those are taken by overwhelmed agents or their assistants. Bad cameras and foreclosures in remote locations will stop an agent from going to a property more than once. There really is no excuse for incorrect information or misspellings of street names. Foreclosed homes tend to be fixer uppers and bought by investors who will do their own research. They don't care what is written on the listing other than price.Why do the ads for foreclosed houses in the real estate market look so much worse than for the other houses?
The info and photos about a foreclosed property must often be obtained with a hostile occupant as opposed to a willing seller who hires the best agent and gives complete access for photos.