All Forum Posts by: Marcello Di Gerlando

@Jason Merchey

Your situation sounds like you would need sound advice from a CPA and or a Tax attorney.

With three properties free and clear; have you considered a HLOC? assuming you have enough in your other properties.

With the right collateral  I would think that you could find the funds.

So far I have personally self funded all my deals with HLOCs and cash. Some folks frown on my strategy. For a slew of reasons including, not taking advantage of leverage, tax implications etc.

However it has worked very well for me. The secret sauce, is that over the years it has allowed me to make connections with folks that have - deep - pockets interested in REI. They see and appreciate my willingness to put my skin in the game and in turn they have faith in me to do the same for them.

Sounds like you may have the ability to do the same - take a big risk and put it all on the line - , if the deal is as good as you say others will follow your lead.

Not sure any of this helps. good luck.

@Richard Cook

Good luck to you both. I have had some REI success in Colorado Springs and would love to score at least one more deal before I have to leave here in FEB 2016. @Bryan Rodriguez and his wife are great folks to work with, if you are looking for an investment buy in the Springs I highly recommended them.

Good Luck

@J.A. Downing

I use comps and my knowledge of the Spring's market in order to determine fair market value.

@Lori H.

Wow. I just read through my post and I see at least 5 grammar and spelling errors. I'm no English major however, that was awful. 

Try your -Title - company, not the tile company.

good luck.

For your edification, in Colorado Notice of Election and Demand or NED is the term used.

"After three months of missed payments, the mortgage company will file a Notice of Election and Demand (NED) with the public trustee from the respective county. This notice is sent to the homeowner, marking the beginning of the official foreclosure process. The NED will contain information about the foreclosing attorney, who represents the mortgage company, as well as the public auction sale date set for the property."

http://www.coloradoforeclosurehotline.org/foreclosureinformation.aspx

@J.A. Downing

I search my county assessors site for properties sold to get estimates and I always use my real estate agent prior to bidding in order to determine my max purchase price.

Speaking directly face to face is an approach that I hear has its benefits. Go knock on some doors. 

The reply rates on Robo mailings is so low that It would frustrate the heck out of me. A hand written note is a tiny step above. I don't do it. Many folks do.

Your letters will, almost positively, be 1 of dozens and dozens of letters your potential pre-foreclosure clients will see.

One mans opinion. good luck to you.

Ask your local tile company. Tell them what your doing, here in CO we call them owners and encumbrance reports.

I pay $5 a piece. some states in can get pretty expensive others its free.

Good luck

@Ludmila Hill

Second question first.

Courthouse or Trustee auctions are not the same as Auction.com, Hubzu etc. The trustee/ courthouse process is a legal process given to the lender who is foreclosing ( I'm not a lawyer don't take this as legal advice). Its really a pre-foreclosure process.

If the borrower defaults, the court house process is one of the methods lenders can use to get paid what they are owed or take possession of the property - in other words foreclose.

Some properties will not sell at the courthouse auction because they are simply over priced, the banks will then take possession and then the bank will in - some - cases try to sell the property via one of the commercial companies, Hubzu etc .

More often they will sell them via a real estate brokerage specializing in foreclosures.

As for your question regarding liens: Here in Colorado I go through my local title company - it takes about three hours for me to get an Owners and Encumbrance ( O&E ) report which costs me $5. However, I ordered 2 reports today in another county from a different title company, these reports cost me $12 each and I haven't seen them yet!

Not sure of the best way to pull an O&E where you are. Try the Title company first. A real estate attorney can also do it. I also understand that there are third party companies that will do it. Sticking point is going to be the fee...If an attorney has to do it don't expect to pay less than $100. I understand some folks get reports for free through a title company they have a strong relationship with.

hope this helps.

@Susan Capeta

Each state has its own regulations regarding "courthouse" auctions. Being from Colorado I cannot speak to California specific rules. However, from what I understand many of the same components are very similar.

The information you are looking for is public knowledge. Take a trip to the county court house and ask around. You should find a list of properties scheduled for auction. There are services that pull this data that you can pay a fee for. As @Juan Carlos Quiroz Zolezzi points out property radar is one of them.

I pull data directly from my county web site for free sitting in my pajamas.

The courthouse properties for auction are technically all pre-foreclosure; if no one bids and buys, then the property deeds back over to the lender who is foreclosing. The properties then become REO.

Court house auctions are a cash game - you will need a cashiers check or green backs to win a bid at the court house auction. Apparently, some states allow for funds to be delivered within 72hrs or some other time period. Not sure if California allows this.

The Banks set the opening bid - which is typically very close to what the lender is owed. often banks will take a deficiency to the full amount; in other words the bank will take a loss. Don't expect bids to open at zero.

Can you find deals at the auction? yes and no. most of what I see are not deals. Maybe 4 out of 10  have some equity in them but very little. 1 in 10 has a decent margin. All will get bid up fiercely.

Auctions are a spectator sport, spend sometime watching and learning.

Beginners who think they understand the auction process will lose in a big way when they don't know how to do their due diligence.

You have to ensure you are buying the first position lien. Junior seconds and thirds will go to auction---if you buy a junior lien you will not have the deed to the property, you will simply have the rights to a non performing loan. ouch! It happens.

All this might sound a little negative but I love to buy at auction I enjoy the process - Once a week,In less than 20hrs, I will run through a list of 20 properties narrow it down to 4 or 5 do drive buys, look in windows, ask a lot of questions, pull reports to check for encumbrances, run my numbers and then head to the auction the next morning and bid on my favorites. To be sure, I lose more than I win because I will never over bid. If I want to pay retail I will go to the MLS.

Good Luck