Purchasing a property at Sheriff Sale : Mercer County, NJ

[Chaits J.]

Dear All,

I own couple of rentals that were bought as a regular sale and would like to venture into auction sales. There are a couple of condo's from my neighbourhood that are on auction schedule on Sheriff Sale list. Can you please suggest what are the steps to take in purchasing a property at auction.

My common sense suggest below but want to know from experts if i am missing any other steps.

a) Hire a Title search company and look for title issues ?

b) Check with condo association for any unpaid dues

Also once i purchase at the auction, what's the process to get someone living there to vacate ? How many months i am looking at if i have a tough occupant.

Thanks!

[Jonathan Greene]

Thanks @Odie Ayaga . Hey @Chaits J.  - there is a lot more to it than that, unfortunately. First, NJ auctions at sheriff's sale are:

1. cash only, 20 percent down at the time of auction

2. as-is

3. no inspections, no viewings (unless you seek out the homeowner in advance and get access on your own, which is rare)

4. you are responsible for all liens. Some will be disclosed on the sheriff's office website, some may not. Not all liens will be that easy to find.

5. you are responsible for holdover tenants and homeowners. If you have a tough occupant, I am less worried about the time it takes to get them out than the damage they may do while they are in the pending getting kicked out.

Best practices: find an agent who works the foreclosure circuit and knows how to assess the property in terms of it's renovated value versus upset value and potential first bid price. Also, they must be able to give you a full block valuation so you can see where the bottom and the top value of the block is. Some models show foreclosure properties at low values because of the status, but if you look at the block, the potential out value is much higher than it appears.

I hope this helps a bit.