Neighboring Townhome up for Auction

[Adam McCullough]

Hi All,

Background

I bought a townhome in Cedar Rapids, IA a little over a year ago. I lived in it for several months before a new opportunity came up and I moved to Minneapolis. Since then, I've rented the home. As some of you may have seen, my first tenant (put in by a management company) was not great, in fact they were horrible. I've since evicted the tenant and cleaned it up and got some new tenants in that seem to be great (I'm now managing the property). I'm currently in the process of getting myself licensed and will soon be attending a required Landlord class.

Property Details:

When I bought the property, the one next door was in foreclosure. In the last few months, activity has increased. It was recently listed. I met the Realtor helping the bank clean up the property and sell it. I've even had the opportunity to walk through it after the cleanup was complete (new carpet, fresh paint, patched up holes, general cleaning). Its been on the market for several months but they must not have had any luck.

Question:

The property is now in auction, beginning at half the value mine was recently appraised at. The two are identical properties, however, it has no appliances and has not been lived in in over a year.

What should be done to seriously look into this property and asses whether its an opportunity or risk? What has been your experience?

Unfortunately, I have only 4 days before the auction is complete. Sometimes things are too good to be true, but I think its worth looking into. Let me know what additional details you might need.

Thanks!

Adam