Investor · Berwyn, IL · Member since 2015 · 64 posts · 8 votes
Good afternoon fellow investors!
Has anybody ever won an auction at Hudson & Marshall, mail in the contract/earnest money, and then get an email a few days later with a counter offer from the bank?
Not sure if I should stick to my winning bid or accept the offer.
Investor · Ravensdale, WA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
9y
An update to this. The property I was bidding on with Hudson and Marshall went back to auction and I won the auction. This time I had to bid all the way to the original asking price. It was still a good deal so I took it. I used my own closing and title company. I had to pay all closing costs including excise tax. All of this was stated in the terms of the deal and was in the purchase and sale agreement. The process was a bit slow but Hudson and Marshall was fair and executed the deal as stated. I have no complaints and I will do business with them again.
Investor · Ravensdale, WA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
10y
Hi @Tomas Satas. I know this thread is a little old but I'll put my two cents in. I recently won an auction at Hudson & Marshall. I was the only bidder and my bid was at the starting bid (even though my maximum bid was higher). I won the auction and H&M contacted me to let me know. However, the bank rejected my offer. H&M did not call to let me know. I called them and they apologized for the miss. This was frustrating but it is in accordance with their published terms. Overall, they seem legit, but a little difficult to deal with. The system seems rather inefficient--I was willing to bid more but my bid did not go up since I was the only bidder. Then my offer was rejected for being too low. Now H&M is re-auctioning the property and they never made a counter-offer. It's very odd and doesn't seem very efficient. My advice to anyone considering using H&M is to carefully read the terms for the property before you bid. Make sure you understand and are comfortable with the terms.
Investor · Ravensdale, WA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
9y
An update to this. The property I was bidding on with Hudson and Marshall went back to auction and I won the auction. This time I had to bid all the way to the original asking price. It was still a good deal so I took it. I used my own closing and title company. I had to pay all closing costs including excise tax. All of this was stated in the terms of the deal and was in the purchase and sale agreement. The process was a bit slow but Hudson and Marshall was fair and executed the deal as stated. I have no complaints and I will do business with them again.
San Antonio, TX · Member since 2016 · 240 posts · 163 votes
9y
@David M. What do you mean that you had to bid all the way to the original asking price? I don't notice they post asking prices, but rather opening bids...am I looking at it wrong?
Investor · Ravensdale, WA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
9y
@Betty Cruz You are correct. What I should have said was that I had to bid up to the price the house foreclosed for. The bank counterbidded against me (I'm pretty sure it was the bank) up to the exact dollar amount the house foreclosed for. That's what I paid for it. Important to note that I also paid all closing costs and excise tax. It was still a good deal.
Investor · Port Townsend, WA · Member since 2014 · 103 posts · 50 votes
9y
Hello
@David M. Why did you have to pay the Excise Tax as a buyer? Isn't that typically paid by the seller in the state of WA? I understand your paying for the other closing cost but Excise Tax??
Thank you for any clarification you may offer on this question.
Investor · Ravensdale, WA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
9y
Hi @Betty Cruz I looked the house up on Zillow and was able to see what it foreclosed for under "price/tax history." It was also listed on the county assessor's website. Also, when I looked the house up on Redfin, it listed the same amount as the price. All these things led me to understand that they wanted that much for the house.
Hi @Casey Rolland. Funny you should ask that! My wife and I asked the same question. I read the 70-page purchase and sale agreement (PSA) and I didn't see any mention of excise tax so I called Hudson and Marshall and insisted it was a seller responsibility. They quickly pointed to a page in the PSA that specified that the buyer would pay any real estate transfer taxes. We paid the tax, it was still a good deal. Bottom line was you can get a good deal but you have to understand that it will take some time and ALL closing costs are going to be on you.
An update to this. The property I was bidding on with Hudson and Marshall went back to auction and I won the auction. This time I had to bid all the way to the original asking price. It was still a good deal so I took it. I used my own closing and title company. I had to pay all closing costs including excise tax. All of this was stated in the terms of the deal and was in the purchase and sale agreement. The process was a bit slow but Hudson and Marshall was fair and executed the deal as stated. I have no complaints and I will do business with them again.
So David, even if you won the initial auction with their listing price. They can still reject by citing "terms" miring in their hundreds of pages long document? Did they offer you counter offer as a courtesy before they relist it?
Investor · Ravensdale, WA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
7y
Hi @Maurice George. That's right. I won the auction but since I was the only bidder, I won it at the starting price. Then the bank (who owned the house), rejected the offer. Bottom line was they had a price in mind that they would not go below. Finally in a later auction I believe the bank bidded against me until their price was reached. It was a very awkward and difficulty process. However, I ultimately got the house for $175K and it needed almost no repairs. It's now worth $280K and is rented for $1800 per month. So it was a good deal in my opinion. I recommend this route but be patient and keep working it. And always use your own trusted title and escrow company!
My question is, they responded the seller accepted my offer, and wanted earnest money. After the earnest money is paid, they will draw a contract. This is odd, they can put whatever in the contract after they got my money on the front end. Is this normal for them? I seen someone say they gave a counter offer, Im not paying earnest money then get a counter offer. Please advise.