All Forum Posts by: Anne Williams

@Peter Walther, Yes I have. Both are promising a thorough search. The title report company said all debt against property should be found with their report and they would debrief with me regarding the report. I guess the attorney would do they same but be able to provide me with further in debt guidance, I wasn't able to find out if it includes title insurance/ liabilty etc..

I know I cant back out after if I win the bid that's why the pre search is so important to me. But if I hear you correctly, you are saying if all things are done correctly all liens and judgements should be wiped out from the sherriff sale if they are junior to the senior lien? But if not then, would I have to pay any outstanding liens/judgements or can my attorney resolve those?

@Peter Walther, I hear what you are saying and I totally agree...I would totally go the route of using the attorney if this was a guaranteed purchase. The money would make no difference to me if I knew going in I would be well protected. The issue is this is all a gamble because I could very well get out bitted at the auction and would have wasted my time and funds...

Technically I would still have to get an attorney if I did win it.. but to pay up front with so many uncertainties is the issue. I guess I'm most concerned with what happens post winning the bid. If there are liens, judgments that do survive the auction, would my attorney then be obligated to fight and remove them or will I just have to pay them?  Can all issues against the property still be wiped out then or am I just responsible if my $75 title search did not report these surprises that turn up? 

If there are still liens/judgments that come up in the pre-auction search could they still be cleared later on or would it be best to pass on the property?

@Andrew S.... that seems right, an attorney told me that is the amount I would have to pay him to do a search $500. However, when I call other companies directly like Clear SKies in NJ, they are only charging $75.  Any idea why there is such a discrepancy in price?

I would go with the attorney because he could present me in the sheriff sale from beginning to end but the only issue is that if I do a search and there are too many judgments against the property, I would probably back out. Also , there is no guarantee that I would win the bid for the property either. SO with either of these two scenarios I would have lost my $500, hence why I would prefer to gamble with $75 instead.

@Peter Walther, its for an auction so its more of a pre-search just to determine what judgments are against the property... Its not guaranteed that I will end up being able to buy it.

Hello BP,

    SO as I am searching for property, I am wondering how this will affect prices, and the overall state of real estate. 

Should I move forward and purchase or hold off for potentially better deals?   

Hey, how does this apply to a sherriff sale that is not online but done in person at the court house?

Should I still do a preliminary title search before bidding?

I see many said that if liens that I am unaware of comes up, I can get my money back because the property is not merchantable... 

Please explain... is this true?

I know there is a meetup next week. Can someone confirm if it is for Tuesday or Wednesday evening?

Thank you @Matt Crusinberry and @Terence Eng for your feedback. 

I'm trying to have a professional do the work, since I may miss some things. Do you guys know of any particular company that do title searches?

Hello Everyone,

I want to buy a condo at a Sherriff Sale in Newark, but I want to do my homework first. I know there are liens and outstanding debt that needs to be paid. I've heard from some of my sources that the owner made renovations to the condo and those costs may be attached to the property.

I basically DO NOT want to get burned with this purchase so I'm trying to find out as much information as I possibly can BEFORE bidding at the auction.

Also, the property was previously purchased last year at the auction but for whatever reason the successful bidder did not close and backed out of it and as a result it was put back up for sale. Should this concern me?

Please provide me with some suggestions of companies that do comprehensive title searches that are not too expensive.

@Vaughn Smith I guess what I'm referring to is the Writ of Possession. I'm just hoping in a case like this I don't have to file it or wait for months if the owner technically doesn't live there. 

I'm currently now working on a title search. Do you know any company or organization that do title searches that's not too expensive?

I would be interested as well!