Investor · Conroe, TX · Member since 2013 · 30 posts · 8 votes
Hello,
I'm new to BP and was just wanting to get some opinions.... Have any of you ever used auction.com to purchase foreclosures? I see postings from them it seems like everywhere and I just want to know if this is a good resource for investment properties.
I've purchased most of my deals from Auction.com and here is my assessment:
Beware of the shills. I don't know if it's true, but I've heard from the other side that the practice is used. Again, I don't know if it's true or not, but just don't get caught up in a bidding war. There are plenty of other deals.
Yes it's a pain in the butt to tie up all your money on EMD's while you wait for 21 days for the bank to decide if they will accept your offer or not. It doesn't seem fair, but those are the rules of the game.
Yes, sometimes your EMD gets lost. I've always received my EMD back, even though it may take a month or 2.
Always list an agent that represents you, even if they didn't represent you. This agent will be on your side and shield you against the transaction company's and the BS "attitude". It doesn't cost you any more, and your agent will be most appreciative.
Always check to see what the property wouldn't sell for when it was listed. If the auction price is getting close to that price, then go back and start looking at the MLS. Sometimes I've seen too much competition and utilize other strategies to get my deals.
I've found that the approval rate for auction properties are much higher than prior going to auction, much like there is a different set of asset managers looking at the deal.
Good luck!
@Diane G. - I never buy the "Foreclosure Sales", only the ones that have already been through Foreclosure. That way I make sure to get clear title and all liens are cleared.
@John Santos - I happen to be near your area (N. Hutchinson Island) right now and flew through WPB. Congrats on your win!
My question would be regarding alternative strategies for paying for a property that was won through auction. The properties I'm interested in would probably go around the $100K-$120K range. I don't currently have that much liquid capital lying around so I approached a hard money lender to explore the feasibility of using an HML to close the deal and then refinance into a conventional loan after repairs were made (sort of a BRRRR approach). I was a little surprised to learn that the lender hadn't dealt with Auction.com, or any other auctions before, and was unfamiliar with the process and whether they could do a loan.
Has anyone else had success with using hard money to buy an auction.com property? And if so, could you PM me with the name of the lender you used? Thanks.
I've given the access information to Wednesday's call to those that have reached out to me. If you haven't PM'ed me, please do so as I can't post the information here.
@Dave Anstatt Hi Dave. Thank you for that detailed response on your experience with auction.com. I had a question for you, during the 9-12 months your properties took to close, how much of your cash was actually tied up? was it just the EMD or was it the full purchase price? It looks like it would be just the EMD since you used hard money on your first purchase and it took nine months to close but I wanted to confirm.
I'm holding another, more thorough conference on Monday 2/20/2017 with all the FAQ's in this 5 page thread. I can't post the link, so just Direct Message me and I'll send you an invitation.
Anyone else here has been buying properties on auction.com
I am 2 for 0 so far. I was the bidding winner on 2 properties:
1st property was almost 2 months ago and yet to close on it, due to some deed and title issue
2nd property was 3 weeks ago and per auction.com the seller hasn't given them the "OK" in writing to send the contract to them for signatures. Even though I reached reserve, was the bidding winner and the seller has given a verbal "ok" to my bid.
These are cash transactions, why is it taking so long?
@John Santos - The issues are with the sellers, especially if they are CWCOT properties (just foreclosed but hasn't cleared title).
These are the kinds of things that happen's that tests your patience. I've never had a seller give a verbal OK and then back out. There are many levels of approvals that have to go through some banks, and that takes time. Once they are ready, they get a little huffy if you're not ready. It's the game.
Were you able to see the conference I did the other day?
Hi @Jean Norton, thank you for the reply. I got a bit frustrated so I changed my focus for the meantime towards commercial. I have been looking for retail strip centers, and trying to find sellers that will hold paper.
No, I actually missed that one. I think you sent me an email with a replay... I have to search it.