Buying On The Courthouse Steps

passionatenewbie profile photo

I just located a very interesting property that is scheduled to FC in Sept. I would like to inspect the property before making a bid. Of course that is the big risk of buying on the steps b/c it is usually site unseen. Any advice on how to enter the house legally before attempting to make a bid?



Thanks for any help.

Comments(25)

  • passionatenewbie20th August, 2006

    Thanks Bargain76! You have given me great advice and confidence to help me pursue my first "find". I will let you know how the home visit goes. <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_smile.gif">[ Edited by passionatenewbie on Date 08/20/2006 ]

  • passionatenewbie20th August, 2006

    So here are a few more questions.
    If the property is vacant how do I go about finding the seller in order to obtain their permission for the fc atty to provide me with payoff info, etc. And the big question is any suggestions for obtaining the cash to have if I win the bid at the sale?

    Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated.

  • sanjosee20th August, 2006

    try the county assessors office, county recorder, for the owners name & skiptrace for contact info. Also try talking to the neighbors, they might know how to contact the owner.

  • sanjosee21st August, 2006

    if you do a search on "skiptracing "you will find sites that charge a small one time fee depending on how much info you want.

    if you want to email me I could give you a few specific ones that might work for you.

    Good Luck

  • passionatenewbie22nd August, 2006

    In further research of this property I have even more questions.
    It appears the 1st mtg amount owed on this property is low. There is second lien on this property and I am wondering what the likely hood is of the 2nd lien holder trying to buy the property at the fc sale. For you experienced investors out there is this done? And if so, how often?
    My next delima is that I am struggling with how to come up with the cash for the sale without hurting mine or my familys credit. I do feel this is a good deal and I am wondering if I do make a succesful bid and win at the sale if I can find someone to sell it to before the close of the sale? If so, how do I find that person or entity? I know that sounds far fetched but as I am very new to this industry I am just trying to figure out how to get started and make this work.

    Thanks!

  • passionatenewbie23rd August, 2006

    I finally found the guys phone number. I also found the bankruptcy he filed last year and found some interesting info regarding other houses he owns etc.

    My new question is what do I say to this induvidual to get him to work with me?

    I know I have been all over the board with this issue but I am really enjoying what I am learing as I go.

    Thanks for any suggestions!!

  • passionatenewbie4th September, 2006

    Thanks Panicfilms for your great advice/technique.
    Since my first post I have really come along way in this process. The bidding is tomorrow and I am actually going to bid on a totally different property than I had first thought.
    My first choice would of couse to be able to buy the property directly from the homeowner so I will certaintly use your advice. Feel free to provide any other tips!!!!!
    Thanks again.

  • InActive_Account28th August, 2006

    Your a prime example of why I never let the seller stay in the home.

    At closing I bet you were all smiles and saying thank you for saving my home.

    Now your looking to weasel your way out.

    For all off you investors who think it is a good idea to let the seller stay in th house read this post. [ Edited by lacashman on Date 08/28/2006 ]

  • SLenzen28th August, 2006

    You should get advice from RE attorney. When you enter an agreement you live up to it assuming you are a grown adult.

    Obviously something happened to cause you to get behind in your mortgage. That is going to cost you money.

    I have seen time and time again homeowners who want their cake and eat it too. An investor saves their bacon and makes a profit in doing so and the homeowner cries foul afterwards.

    The media plays up these "victims" and makes the investor a big bad wolf. The media never focuses on the fact that the homeowner didnt make their payment and got themselves into a situation and the fact that had an investor not stepped in the homeowner would have lost their home to foreclosure.

    It is no wonder we are seeing more foreclosures when preforeclosure bailout options are wiped out by media spotlight and tougher laws.

    Sure there are always crooks that try to deceive homeowners but the majority are straight up deals.

  • SLenzen28th August, 2006

    I hope there are some remedies for you. Our military serving our country should not have to run into financial trouble and lose a home if they get called back. I wish you luck and tell your husband I appreciate his service.

  • smokenlily29th August, 2006

    Here is the layout...
    We have a mortgage that is in pre foreclosure .Pay off amt is 357,000.
    Re-instatement amt is 22,000(including fees and lawyer and interest)
    A Broker found a private investor for the house.
    We had a drive buy appraisal done and it was made at 495,000 to make the deal work.
    They can only do 90% of the mortgage because it is not own occupied the investor is taking out a new mrtg of the amt of 451,000.
    He is paying off my loan and we will be paying 1000 a month for rent to stay in the house for a year. At the end of the year I will have to take a mrtg for the amt of 451,000. They said there will be approx 25,000 in equity in the home when we buy it
    they said they will make the new appraisal work so we can buy it back at they told us not to get an appraisal with anyone else then who they say. We are not getting any money back at closing hey over inflated the appraisal..We had a previous appraisal 2 weeks before and it apprs at 399,00. At Closing(when we sell the house),the investor is getting 50,000 the broker is getting 25,000 for closing he rest is put into escrow to pay the mortgage of 3800 the broker pulled our credit so many times to find different deals that our credit went under 500.We have 4000 in debt .IE cell phone bill and 4 secured credit cards and a few past paid bills and old 10 yr old judgement on my husband * I dont know what else to I just want to be sure we are getting ripped off t hey said that we cant even get money back to seller and the end of our lease I want to make sure I am getting into something legit. america online with this user name.

    [ Edited by smokenlily on Date 08/29/2006 ][ Edited by smokenlily on Date 08/29/2006 ]

  • finniganps29th August, 2006

    Have you seriously thought about selling and walking away with the 150k as was previously discussed? You could temporarily rent until your husband returns and then buy another place when things are better.

  • smokenlily29th August, 2006

    How would I be able to walk away with the 150K?

    If there is anyone that can help us please do so...I asked the broker for the paperwork on the deal and I get a song and dance.
    Havent seen one piece of paperwork yet.
    I have power of attorney since my husband is deployed .
    I just need an honest person to help.
    I was dealing with someone else in this company but he kept asking for money from me to do paperwork etc
    When I asked his boss if this was correct they put another broker from same company on the deal and took him off the deal

    THis past friday the old broker called my house and said he hopes the deal doesnt work and I better make sure nothing happens to my house.

    I really do appreciate all the posts and advice that you all have given me.
    It means alot.


    [ Edited by smokenlily on Date 08/29/2006 ]

  • charlotteinvestor29th August, 2006

    Doing lease-buy backs should be handled by a competent attorney, until you work a few deals out and get a boiler plate form.

  • yzerone1st September, 2006

    Sell the house if you know what is good for you!!

  • ceinvests4th September, 2006

    This is Not an area that I work in so I am NO expert.
    I read fraud all over this one.
    1. You should run, not walk, to use every law that was placed to protect military families from loosing housing or injuring credit during this war. Focus on getting this help. Have you worked w/ mortgage mitigator as the spouse of a person who has been deployed?
    2. I do not see why a broker was running your credit to hurt your scores. Be sure to dispute that action on your credit reports. Why did a RE broker run credit on a seller?
    3. An appraisal is to represent value. Period. An inflation in an appraisal is fruad and suspect.
    4. Have your read the act that was previously posted? Is your mortgage following those laws in your fees for reinstatement? What have you done legally to protect yourself in your situation?
    5. I do agree that you might do better financially right now as a tenant but you will have to find a landlord to work with you and if you have cash from the sale you will do better. I currently am renting to a couple who lost everything from a work injury, but they had cash. They have an excellent attorney in Wilmington, DE. [ Edited by ceinvests on Date 09/04/2006 ]

  • ecw30th August, 2006

    Once you get in contact with the owner offer them a "cash to walk subject to" deal. This is when you give them a certain amount to sign over the grant deed/title to you and they move out (walk away). You then must bring the loan current. This is great way to buy owner occupied home.

  • sanjosee4th September, 2006

    knock on the doors of the neighbors & see if they have any contact info. Also do a skip trace to find any new addresses or their relatives contact info.

  • rbjj4th September, 2006

    Anyone ever had this experience.
    [addsig]

  • InActive_Account5th September, 2006

    Read the shortsale forum here. Your questions are well-covered

    http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/residential/ViewForum35-11267.html

  • asphaltgambler26th August, 2006

    Thanks!

    By the way.........there seeems to be so good much info here it will take me a few months to digest it all!

  • eyesontheprize26th August, 2006

    not sure how much $$$ you would like to put into your comp checks, but the company out of TN called courthouse retrival services has a great system for mapping, and pulling comps from live courthouse data. it costs me about $100/month. i use it at our office.

  • cwal27th August, 2006

    eyes...thank you ...looks like a good site. just added it to my database. There is also http://www.titlesearcher.com that charges $2. a search instead of monthly.....Asphalt: you may try registering at the National City Mortgage website that is also a good free site for up to date comps...regards, CWal

  • asphaltgambler27th August, 2006

    What is the exact web address please ?

  • cwal30th August, 2006

    www.nationalcitymortgage.com... click on mortgage learning center and select mortgage calculators & tools then go to the green left hand column & select "price review" ...you are there...happy hunting...regards, CWal

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