Losing your shirt at foreclosure auctions

[Nat C.]

I am very keen on trying my hand at foreclosure auctions but I am certainly concerned about the risks. There are some horror stories online of people buying a property which a half million dollar debt attached to it.

My understanding is investors can lose big money through acquiring properties with major title issues. Obviously running title searches on multiple properties prior to auction is uneconomical due to the number of auctions postponed and cancelled.

In Miami Dade you can access A LOT of information online through public records. I can find out all mortgages recorded on the property, any liens, like unpaid water bills, code violations and basically anything that was ever recorded against the property.

One risk I can think of is tax liens because they are sold off to investors every June, so taxes appear to be paid online but a 3rd party could be holding that note.

For those of you with experience in this field, would your recommend, or say stay away?