Preparing for my first foreclosure auction deal

[Ariel Martinez]

Hello guys,

I'm totally new to BP and to real estate investment, so thank you beforehand for your counsel.

I will be doing business 50/50 with my aunt, where we will each put in $50k for our first foreclosure auction deal. I have been doing some research and talking to realtors I know, but I'm still not sure I understand the processes completely.

With a $100K I will probably be able to bid on one property only, and one at at a time only. I'm thinking about setting my Max Bid to approx. $60k to leave room for rehab, closing costs and any small encumbrances. My BIGGEST concern is a dirty title. Doing a title search takes days and by the time I get the report the property might not even be listed for auction anymore. How do most investors do? Do they always run a title search or do they just play the odds? If I take my chances, can liens be generally negotiated down to small amounts?