All Forum Posts by: Felicia S.

@Felicia S. For sure buying at auction has its pitfalls, but no, it's not rocket science and don't be scared off from it!!  Your process will be slighting different to mine, but here's an example of what I do here in Cali, its about working out your strategy for your state.

Find auction property.

Door-knock the owner, say hi, find out their intentions.  I want to see if any chance of doing a deal with the owner first, or if they are going to be a nitemare and eviction process etc.  At the same time I'm trying to get a look at the property.  Condition, can I see inside, but getting an idea for worst case scenario on rehab.

Get all my numbers together: Are you buying to hold? buying to flip? depends now on what your numbers look like. If you are re-selling, make a connection with a realtor, get them to give you ARV numbers and allow them to sell it for you on the back end. (I do my own)

If the numbers make sense, make friends with a title rep..  My guy will pull me full-pre-lim reports for free now because I use him for all my real estate.  

Pre-Lim report will show liens/judgements recorded against the property.  

If the first lender is foreclosing, most (not all) other liens can/will be wiped away at the auction sale. Property tax being an example of one that isn't.  But 2nd loans, junior liens are wiped away. (different states have some different rules on things like utility liens etc).

At the end of the day, if after all this my numbers make sense, I'm going to auction.  It's still a risk, especially if the owner/tenants don't want to move out, hence why I visit the property in the first place to see who's in there.

Oh, and if you haven't been to the auction before, go check out a couple... see if you see the same people there again and again and get familiar with the process.  

 I am assuming you are new to RE If so you are not ready for auctions. ( why bother much easier ways to get deals )  Here is why, You need to drive pas the house, you will most likely not get in. You do not know how to determine the reno, this is the most important part.  Without a reno budget. well your dead in the water.  You also need to run comps do you know how?  You need to check title as well super important. Depending on which kind of auction you will be stuck with the liens/ back taxes. Also, you need to be cash . I suggest get a few under your belt 1st. As mentioned, there are other ways to get deals much easier. HOWEVER, you will still need to know how to determine the reno, again this is the most important part when submitting an offer, Here is the best advice ( just kidding other Pro's LOL ) you will hear today, KNOW YOUR NUMBERS, nothing else matters.

Good luck 

All the best 

There are so many variables for getting started in Foreclosure Auctions. Florida is one of the only states where Foreclosure Auctions are all on line, although Ohio is following suit. Educate yourself that is key, and there are websites out there, where all the information is in one place for you to research. Good luck!

@Felicia S. This is simply the site where All actual foreclosure auctions occur for the county.  They also handle the majority of other counties. FL has Judicial auctions and after the court has ordered an auction, this is where it occurs.

You have to watch out for…..

-make sure it is First Mtg foreclosure auction….not an hoa or junior lien mtg

-unrecorded code violations

-any hoa debts survive the auction, whether a lien is filed or not…hard to quantify

-current/past property taxes