All Forum Posts by: Vic Iyer

Do your homework. Check the title - (liens etc- watch out for IRS liens), drive by and see if people still live there. See if HOA back dues are there (only if possible). There are lots of risks involved in this. You cannot gauge the condition of the property without seeing it. You may have to deal with tenants or previous owners who could give trouble. Unless there is a good cushion do not try to buy in courthouse. You have to pay about 4% on top of the bid amount. You also need to get title insurance too.

If no conventional financing is available that means one or more of the following is (Are) true:

a. Community does not qualify for financing

b. Serious structural issues like roof replacement or condition of the house

c. The house is "occupied" by tenants or previous owners therefore appraisal cannot be performed which would prevent you from getting finance.

Be careful you don't want to lose your bid deposit or EMD

If it is occupied they may eith give a quitclaim deed or special warranty deed. If quitclaim deed, stay away since they are simply passing on the rights they have to you!

Depends:

a. If it is a occupied home you are probably responsible for back HOA payments+Title insurance+5% premium+title company fee around $800+costs for code/HOA violations

b. If is a vacant regular REO then Title insurance+5% premium+Title company fee+costs for code/HOA vilations.

MY suggestion get a good title search. Their title search is usually outdated and not updated and have missed stuff as it had happened to me. Remember there is no inspection contingency! They also put a credit card hold in case if you are the highest bidder and if you don't move forward with contract they can charge you. Everything is subject to seller's approval that can take anywhere between 3 days to 30 days (Depends upon if reached reserve)

With regards to the title if the title is clouded you can void the contract without penalty. I advise getting your own title company for closing. Don't fall for saving $$ on title insurance by using Altisource's title company. I Did that mistake on my first deal and ended up having to clean up few misses on title search.

I have bought properties before on HUBZU. Schedule inspection the day after the auction closes. So if you are the high bidder and ur bid is accepted you can right away do your inspection and then make a decision. They will not let you add inspection contingency. 

So she already won the auction and seeking advice afterwards? Bizarre. If it is court house ask her to run title check and make sure it is clean (no liens that remain like IRS, Property tax, HOA dues). Sometimes I have seen naive people buying vendor lien auction for cheap and think they own the title when the big brother mortgage company is out there to foreclose it.