All Forum Posts by: Evan Wiesner

@Daria B. I can speak from the other side of things being a fix and flip operator. They're probably doing the exact same thing right now, adjusting their numbers to see what works. I would strongly suggest you stick to your numbers and see if they come back to you. Stay in touch, but as @Jay J. said, it either works or it doesn't and if you're both playing the investor side (but from different views) then you're going to probably end up apart.

I can tell you that most of the properties we sell after remodel would not work very well for a long term hold investor. It's the state of most markets I've worked in or even evaluated. The good flips need to sell too high on the retail food chain to be a good rental.

@Brian M. That system is largely exclusive to AZ. The deposits and auctions around the country vary greatly in their rules. In most of the states we buy you have to have all of the funds present at the time of the auction and pay on the spot. Some states will even verify ALL the money you have on you to ensure you only bid up to the amount you are able to pay. That's one of the biggest issues with buying at trustee sales.

The easiest way is to call around to title companies and ask what type of pre-foreclosure lien reports they have available. I can't speak to the costs in your area but $80-$150 isn't out of the ordinary.

The best way is to educate yourself on the title process and laws and then head down to the recorders department and do the search yourself. You can also ask if they have a website for public access and if they do you'll be able to do the searches from your home computer, but expect a fee for access to that as well. Try to speak with a title officer about the laws in your state for what can/can't survive a foreclosure and what nuances can influence that. It's not as cut and dry as most investors think.

@Miguel Ochoa are you buying from a trustee sale auction on the courthouse steps?

@Nic Reid we don't hold anything so I can only speak to third party information from knowing a number of investors in Bend. My understanding is that you're definitely in the sub 5% range because everyone is still banking on incredible appreciation over the next few years. There's less concern with the cap rate and much more with the cash flow and then bank on the hold time. 

@Lisa Johnson That property is in a far to common state of confusion. With just the info from your post I would guess it's a lost file in a state of default. Ditech can't sell it until they foreclose and they can't accept a short sale without an agreement from owner, or in this case someone authorized by the estate. They're not getting responses to the foreclosure notices assuming they are posting any, and with that length of time in default they're probably just not efficient enough to tell you when it will sell.

This is a typical zombie home situation. Until the bank gets their act together and forecloses, it's not going anywhere.

This intelligence of my competition at one courthouse was brought into serious question when I watched someone I believed to be on the ball win a bid on a property I knew to be burned to the ground. And it's not like this was a lot play, he paid nearly a fully remodeled value for it. Most of the long term hold players had already dropped out. 

And the number of times I've seen similar things happen on the courthouse steps is beyond count for me. I'll just say that they aren't willing to put in the time to get it right.

@Drew Brock auction.com major business has been to sell bank owned assets or pools of assets on their sites. They market heavily to the seller who can sell 100+ properties using auction.coms format.

The courthouse steps are just like any other trustee sale, with auction.com replacing the former cryer in order to move the property. But because they have the format already in place to advertise these deals they can take advantage of it to try and draw more bidders to the courthouse steps. And we can't discount the name they have in the industry.

They do sell some pre-foreclosure homes that are being moved by individuals or private investors. I, possibly incorrectly, thought you might be looking at one of these types of homes. 

@Jay Hinrichs I believe they are only a crying service, but I can't speak for all markets or properties. They are in the LPS pipeline now in most areas but they will sell for just about anyone. In Dallas for example, they will end up selling properties that even the local foreclosure service doesn't have identified as being sold through them. Same in Atlanta when I've been there. 

@Jay Hinrichs yeah, they have actually been selling at the courthouse steps for a number of years around the country. They started in 2012 in Phoenix, and I actually attended a Clackamas county trustee sale they held in 2013. Their expansion in that respect was rapid starting in 2012 to most major markets.

@Drew Brock I believed your question to be more focused at their pre-foreclosure listings online and not on the actual steps. If you're looking to buy on the steps at the trustee sale then they work exactly the same as other trustees with the exception of the posted bid being artificial in most cases. They post the bid to draw interest prior to receiving the actual bid or reserve bid from the bank. 

In most markets that I've purchased from them on the courthouse steps their properties are bid up much higher than their competitors. It's great for them, not so much for the investor. But as long as you have your number and are diligent in sticking to it you'll be fine. In that way they are praying on the aggression and emotions of the bidder. I personally fight with it all the time when I'm standing there in front of them.