Etiquette Question - Contacting Owner of Condo Headed to Auction

[Andrew S.]

Hi there!

First time poster here. Excited to learn more from this community and hopefully meet a few folks too.

Question for the board - I've been loooking at a condo that will be up for auction in two weeks. It fits nicely into my narrow criteria of what I'm looking for and I am very motivated to purchase the property. 

While the property records don't list a person's name, I went ahead and inquired at the Tax Assessor's office to find out who owns it. Once I get their info, do you think it's a good idea for me to contact the owner and see if we can strike a deal before it heads to auction? If so, what's the best way to go about contacting-- just a cold call? A facebook message? A handwritten letter?

This would be my second investment property ever to purchase so still quite new with much to learn.

Thanks! 

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Andrew S.:

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Hi Andrew.  I would try all of the methods you mentioned, however, if an auction is already scheduled, you would probably need to find out if they are already in foreclosure.  If they are, the owner won't be able to do much to help you, you would likely have to communicate with the mortgage holder (and they are unlikely to want to speak with you unless you are offering cash, way above the note amount or what they would be likely to get at auction/fair market value).  

Never hurts to try knocking on their door!

 Thanks Aikane! The auction is scheduled for two weeks from now in Los Angeles. A Notice of Sale has been filed. I'm not sure if you know California law, but at what point does the mortgage holder take control of the property? Is it useless to negotiate with the individual owner at this point?

 Well, I am not a lawyer (!) but I'm fairly certain that if a Notice of Sale has been filled then the mortgage holder/bank already "owns" the property. If you send me an email with the address, I can search and see if it shows anything. It may not be "useless" to speak with the owner as they might be able to communicate with the "bank", which could work to your advantage. Many times, banks simply want to recoup the cost of the mortgage and might be willing to sell to you ahead of time, though in this market, that would really depend on the property and how much interest the "number crunchers" think it can generate.