Saw Some Nice Properties Up For The Forclosure Auction
What next...any advice? The one I have my eye on is worth $230K, $16K owed, nice school district, cul-de-sac...beautiful...is it fierce at these auctions? What would I need to bring with me? Any advice would help! Thanks!
-Scarlett 
how do you find out how much is owed?
I went on the county website that had a forclosure link. It listed the properties, amount owed and tax lot id. I linked the taxlot id with the address from a GIS real property file and found out where it was. I put the address into a home worth website and determined the value of the home and surrounding homes. Voila! I had the info!
You should immediately go to the auction for several (minimum) days prior to the sale of this property. Leave your purse at home
Do the same type of homework on some of the properties you'd be interested in to see: how the auction is performed, the modality of payment, who the players are, how the bidding takes place, etc.
Note that you need to get better comperable sales for the property you're interested in bidding on. You may be better off approaching the owner before the sale to see if you can work out a deal. Some of the auctions are heavily attended and the bidding is intense.
How do I find out when this one is up for auction? The website only lists "March 2004" for all of the properties. Also- with contacting the owner...how would you go about that? What would you say? Thanks!
OK you meant 16K owed on Taxes, not owen on the mortgage. So I am assuming here that you could get that property for bid price + that 16K owed?
Yeah, I guess....I have never done one of these- how would I know what was owed on mortgage? Is that where the bids start? I was hoping it was starting at 16K....
"Also- with contacting the owner...how would you go about that? What would you say? "
Hi, I'm scarlett and I'm the answer to your problems, yup, just sign right here and I can make that bad ole foreclosure guy go away ![ Edited by GWmson on Date 01/22/2004 ]
Any serious advice???
I'd second sammyvegas' suggestion of going to a few of these auctions first and figuring out how they work before going in the first time and attempting to purchase a property. If you go and purchase a property at auction your first time I think you're asking for trouble. I believe at auctions you need to have something like 20% certified funds up front and the remainder due within 30 days. Hence, it requires alot of cash to play in this game.
- Ryan J. Schnabel
I wouldn't be suprised if the 16k owed is the second mortgage. If this is the case than you will also be responsible for the 1st mortgage. You need to make sure that you do you homework on the title. Also I attended the sales with my Boss for several months before I purchased my first property at auction. Going to the auction for a couple of days is not going to give you the experience to jump right in and bid, that's just my 2 cents.
Check the title first. try to find out who the bank is and just call and ask where the bid will start. You could ask what it would take to bring the house up to date, however, they probably won't talk to you since you are not the original owner.
Wow, I didn't think of a second mortgage... I wish all of the knowledge needed for investing was packaged in an OTC pill
Any idea how to find out the bank with-out knocking on the property door?
Wingnut may be right. The note may not be in a position to make you a profit if you buy it at the sale for 16k. This is the number one way to lose big at the sale, and it happens every day. You hear about subject to investing all the time, well be carefull or you could win title to a property subject to debt that is in a Superior position to you and they will want to be paid or they will then file a suit for foreclosure and you will be the party defendant. Happens all the time. Never go to the sale with out your title work in order.
Here's what I learned from a seminar where they walked us through the research step-by-step. Very informative.
There should be public records of title at city hall or somewhere along those lines. I'm in Chicago, and that's where it is here. We first selected properties off of a foreclosure list, which showed some of the information such as what you have found. Then we examined the foreclosure file to see if anyone else is named in the foreclosure. If that looked relatively clean, we also went to check on the property tax records, since someone might have already purchased a lien and may have some claim on the property. Finally, we pulled the title on the property based I believe on the PIN # to see everything. It will show you the original amounts of any 1st, 2nd, even 3rd mortgages. That will give you a better idea of what's going on.
Being at the auction, at least in Chicago, can be very intimidating. The same people are always there... that's what they do. If you're new, they won't be nice. It is a business, and money talks. There are very strict guidelines for the bidding, and you need to be able to come up with the full amount quickly. I personally think that the best course would be to approach the owner personally. Some might not be so receptive, but you might get a better deal than you would at the auction.
Just what I've noticed... I haven't started to practice it yet.
Also, more times than not in a 2nd mortgage foreclosure, the 1st mortgage will outbid what you'd even want to pay for it... they don't want to lose out either!
I have purchased foreclosed properties at the sherriff's auction. there was a mortgage and back taxes, The sheriff started the bidding, It was me against the bank (I won), I paid 10% down and brought a Cashier's check to them in 48 hours( I just walked across the street to my bank that day) that was the limit. I then owned the property free and clear, The only problem I had was the deed, it took about 8 weeks to get the deed.
[addsig]
Scarlett - I may be able to get you the foreclosure info from a service I subscribe to. PM me with the address and I'll look it up for you real quick. I work in Jeresy but my service gives me access to NJ, NY and PA. I'm somewhat interested to test how thorough the NY listings are.
How do I find out when this one is up for auction?
You can get your main title info at your boro or county recorder's office. Once you have the image of the title in fornt of you, check who is Trustee and then call them a day before the sell to make sure the property is going to be offered/sold tomorow.
As far as I know, in NY you need to post only 10% at the sell then close in 30 days.
What is the most improtan is that you know how high do you want to bid. set your biding limit in advance or you might get set up by other buyers for an overpay.
The experiancedand and staedy foreclosure buyers can be somewhat unfriendly and/ortough, but don't be intimidated, they are that way because they are afraid of you being willing to pay more then they would.
Even if you do not buy the first time there is tomorow and the next sell might be just what you always wanted to be. Attend the sell and have some fun!
Lucky New Yorkers! [ Edited by omega1 on Date 01/26/2004 ]
Here is my question.
IN many states you can redeem the property right up to the day of the sale (and in some states a year later).
So, if there is enough equity in the property, why not make up the back payments, take it Subject To and avoid having to deal with the sharks at the auction?
Randall
Scarlett,
There should be a law firm who is the trustee in this property. 90% of the time they will sell you a "trustee guarantee" that shows chain of title. I will say it once and I will say it again, I spent 2 months at the trustee sales, and I am talking about attending multiple trustee sales every day (monday thru friday) for 2 months before I purchased my first property. You really need to know what you are doing before you jump in.