Foreclosure auction

Hi
My name is Jim, I am a newbie tryin to learn about foreclosures. If I am in the wrong forum, please direct me to the correct place.
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I am interested in buying foreclosure property. I was told I could be respnsible for past loans or monies over & above the auction price. How do I find out what is owed on a property above the auction price, without going to a title company & paying their $150.00 fee
:lol:

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:41AM

Jon Holdman

Real Estate Investor · Denver, Colorado

11859 posts
75547 Influence
15 Awards

Icon_minipost Aug 15 '08, 09:39 PM

County records should contain any liens against the property. That's not to say nothing has been misfiled, or in the process of being filed when you do your search.

You need to find out your local laws (usually state) on the ordering of liens and judgments. And you need to know when lien is being foreclosed. In a simple case of a first mortgage and a HELOC, and for CO law, its like this. If the first is foreclosing, and you buy it, then the HELOC lienholder has a redemption period when they can "redeem" the property. They would pay you off, and take possession, should they choose to exercise their right. If not, their lien is wiped out. If the HELOC is foreclosing, and you won the auction, the first would still be in place, and you would become responsible for it. The basic rule is that they are ordered by time. First in time, first in line. However, there are a few exceptions like some tax liens, and HOA fees up to a certain amount.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:41AM

Jon Holdman, Flying Phoenix LLC

Wes Burk

Residential Real Estate Broker · San Luis Obispo, California

24 posts
97 Influence

Icon_minipost Aug 25 '08, 01:13 AM

Get a relationship with a title company by doing a deal with them and then ask if they will wave the fee for some minimum number of prelims per month.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:45AM

Tasha Khoshnood

· west palm beach, FL

10 posts

Icon_minipost Sep 03 '08, 08:34 AM

I was under the impression that you are NOT responsible to pay. If it's being auctioned, it is owned by the auction company at that point and not in the lender's hands? Right?

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:49AM

Jon Holdman

Real Estate Investor · Denver, Colorado

11859 posts
75547 Influence
15 Awards

Icon_minipost Sep 03 '08, 09:35 AM

Tasha,
You're correct about the liens if you're talking about a commercial auction. The auction company may be the owner, or may just be conduction an auction for the owner, though.

However, sheriff's auctions are different, and winning at a sheriff's foreclosure auction can indeed result in you being responsible for some liens and judgments. Exactly which ones depends on what item is being foreclosed and your states regulations.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 05:50AM

Jon Holdman, Flying Phoenix LLC

Victor Ng

Title Representative · Jersey City, New Jersey

3 posts
12 Influence

Icon_minipost Jul 02 '09, 12:30 AM

If you try going closer to the actual people who do the title searches (the people the title companies hire) you can get a title search done for much less. However Wes is right and having a solid relationship with a title company should mean some free searches.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 08:49AM

Anson Young

Wholesaler · Denver, Colorado

354 posts
2599 Influence
6 Awards

Icon_minipost Jul 02 '09, 03:51 AM

Its true, you are responsible for any liens or past due water bills (can be thousands between the two). Kind of like a home inspection, is the $150 worth the thousands it might save you? Up to you, but I say yes.

County records are spotty at best, I look through about 300 properties a week for 3-4 counties worth of auctions, the best way is a an O&E search with a title company (free), followed by a title search (free for us, since we close about 10 REOs a month through them).

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 08:49AM