RERS

About Our Data

Data Sources
The Warren Group's real estate sales database is comprised of public records from government sources. Sales and mortgage transactions with a consideration of $1000.00 or more are collected weekly from Registries of Deeds in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and Town Clerks' offices in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Property ownership records are acquired from municipal assessor's offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine*. Sales and mortgages are collected then enhanced with property characteristics, when available.

*Property ownership and assessor records are currently being collected for Cumberland and York counties in Maine. There is currently no sales information available for these records.

Database Description
We integrate the information from public records sources and enhance it during processing to produce a comprehensive property database that has Massachusetts sales since 1/1/87, Connecticut sales since 1/1/87, Rhode Island sales since 7/1/87, and New Hampshire sales since 1/1/1996 . Property ownership records are available for a majority of Massachusetts, Connecticut Rhode Island and New Hampshire communities, and for Cumberland and York counties in Maine. Standardized formats for names, addresses, property use codes, and property characteristics are applied across all three states

Deeds and Mortgages
For sales and mortgage transactions, we collect:
-property address (if available)
-buyer and seller names
-purchase price ($1000.00 or more)
-mortgage lender and amount ($1000.00 or more)
-filing date & deed reference
-mortgage type, term, & interest rate for Connecticut

Assessor Records
Property characteristics taken from assessor files vary by town and depend greatly on the amount of detail available in the source files. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine use Legal and Detail files. Connecticut uses Grand List and Detail files.
1. Legal files contain the property address, owner names and mailing addresses, property use, map ID, lot size, and assessed values. We calculate property taxes by applying the tax rate to the total assessed value and do not consider any type of exemption in the calculation of the taxes.
2. Grand List files contain the property address, owner names and mailing addresses, property use category, map ID, and assessed values. We calculate property taxes by applying the tax rate to the total assessed value and do not consider any type of exemption in the calculation of the taxes.
3. Detail files contain the same ownership and value data as above plus room counts, living area, and building style. In some communities there are additional details about heat, fuel, roof and basement types, roof material and exterior cover types, and amenities such as parking type, porch type, presence of air conditioning and swimming pools, etc. See Geographic Coverage for the type of file we have in your towns.

Use Codes
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine have slightly different property use classifications because taxation methods are different in each state. Since the Massachusetts usage codes are the most detailed, we 'translate' the usage codes we get from towns in all the other states to 'MA Standard'. We were forced to 'invent' several more broadly defined codes to accommodate such classifications as "Commercial" or "Industrial" or "1-4 Family Res." (For example, in Connecticut Grand-List-towns, the property use code assigned to a single-family house is the same code that is assigned to two- and three-family houses. This use code translates "1-4 Family Res" and it is used whenever we do not have any other information to further refine the property's use.)

Often the property address is used by a real estate trust as part of its name. This accounts for situations where you will see "30 Main St RT" with "John Doe, Tr" as Seller/Buyer1 and Seller/Buyer2 for a property address of "30 Main St".

Owner Name Abbreviations
Often the property address is used by a real estate trust as its legal name. "30 Main St RT" as Seller, Buyer or Owner1 with "John Doe, Tr" as Seller, Buyer or Owner2 may have a property address of "30 Main St".
This is a partial list of abbreviations used for company names
USA HUD = Housing & Urban Development
USA DOR = Department of Revenue
USA IRS = Internal Revenue Service
USA VA = Veterans Administration

MBTA = Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority
MDC = Metropolitan District Commission
Mass Comm of = Commonwealth of Massachusetts
DOR = Department of Revenue
CHFA = Connecticut Housing & Finance Authority
Conn Dev Auth = Connecticut Development Authority
Conn State of = State of Connecticut
RT = Realty Trust
LP = Limited Partnership
T = Trust
Cnty = County
Tr or Trs = Trustee
Auth = Authority
FT = Family Trust
RC = Roman Catholic
NT = Nominee Trust
LT = Living Trust
ReT = Revocable Trust
IrT = Irrevocable Trust

Addresses
Street names are standardized using the U.S. Post Office standards. All directionals such as "North," "South," "East," and "West" are abbreviated by their first letter whether the directional precedes the street name, as in North Main St (N Main St), or follows the name as in Blue Hill West (Blue Hill W).

Condo unit numbers defy standardization. Sometimes the unit, building, and floor numbers are found in both the street number and unit number. Carefully examine these data when trying to locate a specific condo unit.

Condo units are typically listed by street address as opposed to the condominium complex's name. If the public record indicates a condo name instead of street address, then the condo name will be used in the 'street name' field.

Data Processing
Every week we match the sales and mortgage data to the property records based on property address and names of the seller and owner. If, for some reason, we are not certain that the two records are the same parcel, then we will not match that sale or mortgage to that property record. As a result, some sales or mortgages will not have any property characteristic information. This happens most often when lots are combined and subdivided for construction and when property addresses are not clear on the deed.

Our Practices
Here are some other notes about our data practices:

We show the first two seller, buyer, and owner names. If there is more than one trustee, we do not show the additional names.

Trust and trustee names will be listed as first and second name respectively.

With regard to recently sold properties, there may be instances when non-resident owners are listed in the interim as the resident. These situations are infrequent and applicable only for a short amount of time.

Some sale prices may include additional property or may be for a partial interest in the property. This may account for higher-than- or lower-than-market prices and typically are not used in comparable sales analyses.

There are instances when the mortgage amount is greater than the purchase price. These may be situations where the loan may be to finance renovations to the property or may include an additional piece of property not indicated here.

Data Errors
Please contact us to report data errors. The Warren Group takes every precaution to ensure the reliability of the information we compile, but we assume no liability for errors and omission. Readers are urged to independently confirm the accuracy of any information prior to taking any action based on the data presented herein.

Use of Public Records & Privacy
Our Real Estate Records database is used primarily by real estate and lending professionals to conduct the business of buying and selling real estate. These professionals must be aware of all activity so they can make accurate valuations of the properties involved in these transactions. (There are legal ramifications to those professionals if they 'miss' a transaction.) This means that all of the transactions - regardless of the motivation for the ownership change or the parties involved in the transaction - must be in our database. Our customers must continue to rely on the integrity and completeness of our database as they have for decades.

The cost of researching public record information has always been significant and real estate professionals and consumer groups have been seeking ways, using technology, to lower these costs. Databases and services such as ours are used to qualify consumers for both purchase mortgages and equity loans, to establish 'asking' and 'offer' prices, and to determine the market value of the property.

This demands equal access to information by the professional and the consumer alike, so that the consumer can make the most-informed decision possible at the lowest possible cost. Equal access to information has always been fundamental to a healthy free-market economy. As we reduce the time and cost that such research requires, consumers everywhere are benefiting from lower closing costs and quicker turnaround on mortgage approvals and appraisals.

There are also many businesses that use public record data for marketing purposes. It is well known that a new homeowner spends more in the first year of owning a house than at any other time. And many homeowners welcome offers from companies that provide goods and services targeted to them.

Direct marketing to homeowners is also a segment of our business. All sorts of companies have successfully used the new sales published in the weekly Banker & Tradesman and The Commercial Record newspapers for more than 100 years.

Even though we must maintain our database integrity for valuation purposes, we also comply with the privacy guidelines employed by members of the Direct Marketing Association. These guidelines provide a way for consumers to request that their name not be sold or rented for direct marketing purposes. This way, consumers may opt-out from marketing and solicitation programs.

The Warren Group has a way to mark a record so that we do not sell it for direct marketing purposes. The transaction will still be available for comparable sales reports but it will not be included in any marketing lists generated on this web site or in any marketing lists that we generate from our offices.

If you would like, you may complete our Opt-Out Request Form. We will execute your request within 7-10 days. Please bear in mind that your record may already have been sold prior to your request. We will still process your request and your record will be excluded from any future sales. And please remember that we are not the only company that collects this public record information.