All Forum Posts by: Lance Clifford

I really wanted to attend, but just couldn't get away as I had a court hearing (motion to annul a fake BK recording on a house I won on the courthouse steps - but that's a whole 'nuther thread!) blah blah blah. I won't miss the next one, that's for sure. I hope there will be some online videos, or downloads available!

Well since we're in the flipping forum, let's go with a flip. ;)

Perhaps you're not familiar with induction cooktops.

So in my area the homes are more high end than starter homes. I'm wondering if you guys are making the jump to induction cooktops or sticking with tried and true gas cooktops. A high quality gas cooktop makes a statement when you walk into the kitchen. The induction cooktops while gaining popularity, don't have the same "wow factor".

Thoughts?

Thanks for all the replies! Fridge it is! :D

How many of you add a matching fridge to your flips vs. no fridge? Just trying to figure out if that is a worthwhile investment or if most people prefer to use their own fridge.

Jake, well nobody bid on it because there was nobody else at the auction. There were many houses up for auction and we were the only ones there (we are in a rural county). The loan on that property was 1 million, it is a bed and breakfast on 60+ acres of vineyard and is an active winery. It's worth more than 500k in my newbie opinion.

Jake, as a newbie, it was somewhat obvious, IMO. It's hard to describe. LOL He was whispering on the cell phone, asking me what properties I was interested in, etc. He was interested only in that specific property. He actually told me he thought it was only worth $400k (opening bid was 500k, it is clearly worth more). As soon as the auction on that property closed he left. If he was an investor, he would have bid on it. But since there were no other bids, he didn't need to. That would tell me he was with the bank, no?

There is a minimum bid announced before the auction here, so that eliminates the real need for any sort of bidding war OR a bank rep. I've been to a couple of auctions now, and this is the first time I've seen a bank rep. The property in question was a winery that was opening well below it's market value. Nobody bid on it (the only people at the auction were myself and the bank rep). I'm a total newbie and just trying to understand the process. Thanks for your reply!

Ok, so according to this site, the foreclosing lender sets the price:

"At auction, an opening bid on the property is set by the foreclosing lender. This opening bid is usually equal to the outstanding loan balance, interest accrued, and any additional fees and attorney fees associated with the Trustee Sale. If there are no bids higher than the opening bid, the property will be purchased by the attorney conducting the sale, for the lender."

Well here in Northern CA, many of the auctions open up well below what is owed, and some open at what is owed, even if it is well above the value of the property.

At an auction I went to yesterday there was a bank representative there to "make sure" nobody walked away with the property at minimum bid.

So why would they do this? Why wouldn't they just sent the opening bid higher?