Strange Foreclosure situation!?

Question

Ok let me try to explain this. There were 3 Triplex's in a row that I thought went into foreclosure about a 2 years ago. They were split up individually and a bank bought 2 of them which ended up on Hubzu.com. I ended up buying the first one, a lady bought the 2nd one aprox. 6 months later and the 3rd never seemed to hit the market so I dug a little deeper. The same guy at one time owned all three but the 3rd one was not bought by the bank that purchased the first two. I looked it up and it appears that the 3rd triplex is still in his name with about 5k in backed taxes.

I guess im confused why the county didn't auction it off at a courthouse auction and are letting the taxes build up or why the bank that bought the first 2 didn't buy the third. I am interested in the property and curious if there is any input on the best way to go about buying this triplex. Should i call the owner himself and work with him and his bank directly? Possibly work out a deal with them and offer to pay backed taxes? Any info would be highly appreciated.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Blanket loan with release fee and amount required to clear title, he paid off one, the others hit the steps and didn't sell and went to the lender. Most likely, but there could have been other issues. Doesn't give ant indication that it's for sale, why waste time on it, just ask the owner. :)

Brad Gibson · Answer

Hello Scott, sorry for getting back to you so late but thanks for your reply. To answer some of your questions it is not the owners primary residence all the units are vacant. I am not sure if he declared bankruptcy but I do know that he owned up to 15 properties in the county and lost majority if not all of them. This is the only property showing up in his name though on the auditors website. Henry county Ohio holds tax auctions almost every month. I have not searched the title yet.

If I did call the owner I guess im not sure which direction to head in to acquire this property or even what to say at this point.

Scott Culver · Answer

@Bradley Gibson I can think of a few possible answers to your question, but you may need to provide a little more information to get more useful answers.

Is the unit in the Owner's name his primary residence?

Did the Owner declare bankruptcy?

Have you researched the title?

How frequently does your County hold tax auctions?

Absolutely talk to the owner of record.  The worst they can say is go away, but do your homework first.

Good Luck,

Scott

PS.  I had a similar Hubzu experience, painfully slow, but worth it in the end.