Title searching on California foreclosure auctions

[Account Closed]

Hey everyone, I just joined and this is my first question post. I've just recently decided to start flipping houses in San Diego and for the most part I understand the foreclosure process as well as the auction process. However, I'm a little unclear on the title search part. Do you make the list of houses you're interested in and give to a RE lawyer or title company to do the search? Do you prefer RE lawyer or title co? Any average costs? Or is there any websites that do it cheaper but just as thorough? Do you wait until the day before or do it weeks earlier? Do you title search multiple properties at one auction or go with only one house in mind? Do the searches show you how many loans, overdue taxes, overdue HOA? Sorry for the all the questions!

Auctions make me nervous because last year I was in escrow for my personal residence and the guy I was buying from had bought the place at an auction and after 3 months it fell out of escrow because he thought he was buying the first but he actually bought the SECOND! So he's now stuck with the house but I'm not sure if it's because he was not smart and didn't do his due diligence or if this type of thing could happen to anyone! A couple clarifications for anyone who might be curious: yes I have cash for the auctions and yes I'm also buying properties via other routes (preforeclosures and word of mouth ... not so much on the MLS). Thanks -Chad

[Sean OToole]

@Account Closed paying for title reports is pretty tough to make work. I'm not aware of a single auction buyer that does that, at least in the Western US. With so many properties getting cancelled before sale, you'd go broke. Plus it takes too long.