Keys for Cash

[Katharine Chartrand]

I just bought my first house at a foreclosure auction today after 3 attempts on other properties. I've been flipping REOs so far. The auctioneer was inexperienced, lost (could not find the correct legal location of the auction, I had to call her on her cell), could not pronounce "situated", read the entire legal description down to the manhole cover on the SE corner of the property and was personable and pleasant. Weirdest way to buy a house ever.

The owner is living in the house. I tried to contact her a few times before the sale to try to implement one of the pre-foreclosure strategies. Hand written notes. I did not have the nerve to knock on the door. She never responded.

Now I own the house and she is in it.

Can someone outline the key elements of a keys for cash agreement in a foreclosure situation. I imagine they have to agree to

• Leave by a certain date.
• Give up their right of redemption
• Agree than anything they left behind was abandoned and can be discarded or given away.
• Hold me harmless for anything that happens to them while they remain in the house.

Have i got it covered. Anything missing? Any agreements out there I should look at?

Any other approaches or advice to consider. It was my fourth auction, but the first time I actually came home with a property.