Buying House at Auction Without Seeing the Inside

[Derwin Villanueva]

Hey BP, 

And a Happy New Year to all. 

I have my first couple deals identified and they are auctions. The one in question is a 3BR/2BA w/basement, 1920's build located on a main intersection across from shopping and restaurants and a 1/2 mile from schools. 2500sf under the roof sitting on about 6000sf lot. 

The exterior needs everything. Repairs, paint, landscaping, tear down and rebuild of garage, windows etc... No access allowed to inspect the inside, The upside is the bid starts at <$10k and comps from a report sent to me by a realtor and fellow BP'er indicate the surrounding properties valued in the $200k-$250k+ range. Tax assessments put it at $130k. This is my first long distance project and if worst case scenarios pan out, if contractor bids come in at or less than the assessed values ($130k), I would still be able to make a few peso's from the deal.

Any words of wisdom from those with similar experiences are most eagerly welcomed here.

Let's do this, no excuses, no resolutions. Just lifestyle. 

Peace.

[Chad U.]

If it's a 1920's vintage and poor shape on outside, you can bet it will be the same or worse on the inside.  Take your rehab guesstimate and timeline and multiply both by 2.