I made a newbie mistake, WORST possible, bought a 2nd! Advice please.

[Richard W.]

Like the title says, after months of research, I felt reasonably confident to buy my first foreclosure at an online county auction. I'm not an investor, this was for my family and I to live in.

I ended up paying full sticker for the 2nd thinking it was a 1st ($110K). The auction went that high because there were about 7-8 other bidders in it.

1st has a statement of claim of almost $700k for a house that just appraised for $420k. When my attorney contacted their attorney to pursue a cash offer, they wanted full settlement.

My attorney, who has been handling my business affairs for years, was aghast at what I did and said I should've just stuck to business rather than real estaate. needless to say, I became physically sick because of the stupidity of my actions.

Please, I'm not looking for bashing, just simple advice from the pros whether there is anyting I can do.

The 1st is in forclousre, house is vacant and I have title. My wife and I still want the house, but don't want to pay double the market value.

Thank you in advance.

[Rick H.]

Wow! Lots of good note investor advice here. I've been working foreclosure since 1978 and still make mistakes. Can you resolve without taking a hit? Maybe. Maybe not. Time will tell.

Is it survivable? Sure! Money can be replaced. It's only an idea, remember. You are a consumer who tried to "play the other man's game."

You are not defined by your mistakes. That's just your ego giving you negative feedback. Consider the source and dial into a different station.

I once overhead my former wife, a former kindergarten school teacher, give solid advice to an adult friend who was in fear of financial loss: "Honey, they can take stuff away from you, but they can't eat you."

'In every adverse event can be found the seed of a greater benefit'. So, you're job is to turn lemons into lemonade.

Now wipe the tears away and get into action.