Hello, I wasn't quite sure which forum to post this... I am a licensed agent here in Ohio, and have a client who has absolutely fallen in love with a property going up for county sheriff auction in less than 2 weeks.  It's definitely a fixer-upper, but nothing that seems too outrageous.  A lot of cosmetic stuff.  Still, I don't know how a bank would view it for the purpose of providing a home loan.  The county appraised it at $45,000 which means an opening bid of $30,000 (2/3 of appraised value), and they require 10% of appraised value paid upon winning the auction so my client would need $4,500 day of auction.  She then has 30 days to come up with the remaining balance.

So fellow BiggerPockets members, does anyone have experience obtaining financing on sheriff auction properties?  I realize most buyers at county auctions are cash buyers.  She has been pre-approved by 2 local banks for $70,000 and $80,000, so unless there is a bidding war on auction day my client can "afford" to take out a mortgage on the place.  The other issue is that the 10% (or $4,500) upon winning the auction that she would owe is essentially the money she has saved up for a down payment, so she might not have enough for another 3.5% or 5% down on a mortgage.  She just recently applied for a loan from her credit union to help with that $4,500 (since the courthouse doesn't care where that money comes from) and was approved for $2,500.  I also know she also shouldn't be applying for other credit while seeking a home loan, but she didn't know what to do to come up with the extra money.

We scheduled a home inspection in 3 days.  Both banks she's spoken with said that an inspection report would help them determine if they could provide financing.  The auction is in less than 2 weeks, so time is of the essence.  Any advice would be appreciated!