Help with Vermont foreclosure auctions

[Bruce M.]

Hi,

I'm a new poster or at least it's been a few years since I have been active. I live in Vermont and the foreclosure auctions are not well attended which you would think would bring some opportunity. I have a few questions if someone could help out:

1) If I can't get in a property then how do I account for the two big unkowns of the well and septic systems?  You could pay 30- 40 grand if you needed a new system.

2) Since we don't have many "cookie cutter " communities how can I REALLY arrive at value if there are not many similar properties? Does anyone know if the lawyer handling the foreclosure paperwork would have a file with an appraisal of the property ? That is how it worked in Connecticut...I could ask to see the file and discover the appraised value that the bank was working from.

3) How do I find a realtor or agent that could run "comps" for me without tipping them off to the actual foreclosure sale ? It seems many real estate agents are also investors in Vermont....so how can I trust them that they won't bid themselves or pass along the info to a friend or relative ? I have found that many don't look at the legal ads and don't even know about these sales...I'd like to keep it that way.

Lots of challenges but I'm hoping the Biggerpockets community can give me some advice.

Thank you

Bruce