Hello, does anyone have experience buying properties on Auction. Com or at the local courts mainly for flips?

How was your experience and some of the pros and cons of doing it this way besides having to pay cash and not having to have a mortgage?

Any fees that were unexpected?

Were you able to view the property first or after bidding ?

Can you back out of the deals if there are major issues?

Thanks!

I bought one on auction dot com. The auction site makes it seem like they want your money NOW. After the auction I just gave it to my RE attorney and he dealt with the attorney who's case it was. You would think the bank would want their money and it would happen quickly. Nope. Took 7 - 8 weeks to actually get possession. My suggestion is let your RE attorney handle it because dealing with a bank is a pain and you want a general warranty deed. They are going to give you a special warranty deed so your RE attorney will go through the hoops to give you clear title on the property.

I used a line of credit to pay for it. You won't be able to get a mortgage on it until it has a general warranty deed and clean title.

No unexpected fees

Never saw the inside of the property until I got the keys. It was interesting . . . .

If you back out you will lose your money.

California property is so expensive, average home is around $380,000 to $500,000. At an auction we can not obtain title insurance so there my be a cloud on record. Second some sales will the previous owner a "right of redemption period". SO if you buy not and fix it up, then the previous owner can make all back payments and get their home back. You will be out all of your repair and upgrades expenses.

So you will have to know the laws of your land, City and State.

First rule of auctions ,cmmm is not all property's sold are foreclosures.

I don't buy from auctiondot I buy from the crier for the lender. Get the legal paper and see who's getting foreclosed. No you can't get in and yes many are occupied. Last one I purchased I paid the person there 1,000.00 to move.

You gotta know your state laws and rights of redemption. When you pay the cash-- right after bidding it's all yours baby.

My suggestion is to go to a few-- bring some pop corn and find some players-- usually a couple or 2 will help you and keep your ears open for hints. We made a million (or 2) on the court house steps back in the day. Some foreclosure days there were 100 or 200 homes and only 3 or 5 bidders. It was like shooting fish n a barrel. All good things must come to an end. Watched several people buy 4 or 5 at a time for 1500. Each and sell them to the church for 30K each the next week end. It was pretty exciting.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the 2 guys who eventually went to jail for bid rigging. They tried to get several of us involved with the don't bid on mine and I won't bid on your interests.

Oh and in NC there is a 10 day upset bid procedure so if you can't go or don't want to, just wait for the 10 day upset bid procedure, call the clerk of court for the current high price, and if it is still a good a deal you have to bid higher by 5% or $750 whichever is higher. This is one of the reasons even if you are the high bidder on Auction dot com you don't automatically get it. Another reason is the bank doesn't have to take your high bid. I've seen a property listed over and over again, for over a year, with the bank refusing the high bid.

So check your state or local laws and see what your rules are.

Not foreclosure auction, but I've bought a couple REO from auction.com.

The regional manager for them that spoke at an investor meeting in the beginning of the year. said: Even though the listing says no viewing the property, they (he) fully expect you to view the property. And that you are kind of crazy if you don't. Shared some interesting examples of how it has been done.

Yes, they are generally properties that need to be bought with cash & without contingencies. REO's have had liens removed already, and I've had no trouble converting to an insurable general warranty deed.

Like bonanza said, it is slow closing - there are many different departments who all need to approve stuff. But, I think I closed in about a month. Need to stay on top of the progress.

They say to wire the EMD to their closing agent, and as I recall I had to pay them $1,000 to sign something, even though I used my own closing agent. And the first time, when I wired the EMD to them, it got temporarily lost. Next time just sent it to my closer & all was fine.

It's a binding contract. You can only back out if the contract allows you to. I wouldn't count on it. Do your due diligence first, before signing.

Full confession: I did buy my daughter's house without viewing the inside. (before hearing the speaker : ) It had more damage than I anticipated. But, it was still a good deal since I got it to be hers & the neighborhood is great. It was a "side project", not for profit. If for profit - inspect it first.