Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 0 votes
I'm residing in Canada but am a dual citizen and ready to pull a trigger on a rental property in Dallas, TX as I have family there who can monitor things when I'm gone. I'm not looking for a demolished house to make 70k on but as long as I can save 30k roughly off market value I'm ready to buy and just rent it out/ keep it for a while. Mainly looking in Grand Prairie area and Arlington. While browsing auction.com, Marshal and Hudson, and various other website it looks like they all just lead to a March 6 auction at the courthouse. I have about 12 houses I bookmarked; what is the process now? Should I call an agent or professional in Dallas and have them check the title, liens, tax situation, etc before flying out? The auction.com documents seem pretty legit, they provide title information, liens, comps, market value, etc. It seems like this is only a live auction. Looking for advice on how to approach this, I have no problem making the trip for a week or so. Thanks.
Real Estate Investor · Memphis, TN · Member since 2016 · 940 posts · 695 votes
8y
@Account Closed - Just to give you a heads up, in my experience less than 25% of properties that are slated to be auctioned are actually auctioned that day. They are either postponed or rescinded.
Unless they have changed their process dramatically, Auction.com does not guarantee anything regarding liens, title, taxes, condition, etc. So make sure you do your homework!
Rental Property Investor · Arlington, TX · Member since 2012 · 788 posts · 640 votes
8y
I'm an active courthouse buyer and @Elizabeth Wilson is correct. You don't need to contact an agent as they can not help you. You may consider having a title company do a preliminary title search but that is costly. A lot of homes will be pulled before auction and there is stiff competition in Arlington and Grand Prairie from hedge funds. If your ready to pull the trigger. I'd recommend flying in Sunday night, viewing all properties Monday and showing up with Cashier's Checks in hand Tuesday. Best of Luck!
Pic is at a Tx Auction near DFW but not in Tarrant or Dallas County.
Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 0 votes
8y
Okay Rocky, that sounds good. The auction is March 6, which is next Tuesday so I was thinking of flying out this Wednesday or Thursday and starting to do homework from then and scouting out some houses to be prepared for Tuesday. Even if I don't buy anything I want to get a taste of the process as I hope I'll get lucky soon. Rocky could you give me a breakdown of what it's like auction day? Do you just show up, register with a license, and get a bidder number? And if I have 5 or 6 houses on my list do I have to do title searches and lien searches for every single one, or can I go by the information on the auction.com documents? Your help is appreciated.
Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 0 votes
8y
Also Rocky, what is your pre-buying routine like? I understand that if I have 12 houses that I'm looking at I can't afford a title search for every single one, and it sounds like you're not doing those?