Wholesale Purchase Agreement
Can you wholesale a property that is at an auction?
#4 Wholesaling Contributor
- Wholesaler
- Austin TX
@Sarah Green No. Once a property is at auction you cannot wholesale it. I think you might be using the incorrect terminology. The auction is when/where the house is actually sold. Prior to the auction when the house is in foreclosure, a house can be wholesaled as long as you can find out what the total debt on the property is ( this includes any liens, unpaid taxes, code violation fees etc) and get it paid off prior to the sale. After the auction, the property is foreclosed which means either the lender has submitted the highest bid and taken ownership of the property (REO) or another person or entity (usually but not always an investor) has submitted the highest bid and they now own the property.
I would strongly advise you against pursuing foreclosures or pre-foreclosures until you have a much stronger understanding of the process in your state. Does your state have a redemption period? Is your state judicial or non judicial?
Foreclosure is an extremely emotional time for a homeowner. They typically wait until the last minute before they confront the reality that they cannot afford to keep their home. If you dont have the knowledge or ability to help these homeowners in the slim time frame they provide you then the best thing you can do is not work with them. I know that most gurus that promote wholesaling will say that preforeclosures are the most motivated leads, but they arent. They should be, but they arent. My best advice for a beginner wholesaler is to find vacant houses. You dont have to deal with helping the current homeowners move, you dont have to worry about foreclosure (unless there are unpaid property taxes), there isnt going to be as much emotional attachment. Vacant homes are where new wholesalers should start. Just my 2 cents.
@Lydia T. Thanks so much for the advice!
