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Updated 10 months ago, 02/27/2024
Bank Owned Properties @Auction.com
Hey, I am looking at some BO properties on Auction.com. Is anyone willing to share their experience with these type of properties? This one currently has an occupant.
I have purchased 2 homes through auction.com. Both transactions went well and we were satisfied with the process. I would recommend attending a couple of auctions just to learn the process. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you, Kim. I have attended 2 so far and bid on a foreclosure just today, but lost the bid by $11K :(. Anyways, will keep in touch. Enjoy your weekend!
Be aware that if occupied you may have an eviction battle on your hands. Make sure you include that in your calculations. The amount of time depends on how things work in your area. Some places it is longer to evict than others.
Thank you Sharon!
@Christopher Villa @Kim Martin can you walk me through the process? What kind of fees are associated if you're the winning bidder? After winning, do you have time for DD or is this done prior to bidding?
I've been seeing a few properties on the site but a bit nervous to pull the trigger.
Hi @ReneDoyle, I just went through the process. Typically, they ask for an earnest deposit of $2500 or so on your CC. You can keep it on there for future bids or ask for it back after the auction. Also, sometimes the seller requires a buyer's premium and this is added to your bid. You have 48 hours for proof of funds, but I recommend you get your pre-approval done from your lender (if you are using one) before you bid. Most folks do as these are cash transactions. Also, surprisingly (and because I was new to this), I noticed most of the action was in the last 5 minutes. Every time someone bids within the the last 2 minutes, they extend the bidding 2 more minutes. However, click the link that states "Bid history" and it will tell you if the seller is bidding it up. In my case, they were because the "Reserve" had not been met. The auction finally completed after 3 rounds of them doing this, but they have the option of taking the bid or not. My guess on mine was that they didn't. I will watch to see if I'm right on this. Hope this helps!
I have bought 3 properties through auction.com and two other REOs through a different source. Quite often they are not occupied by the time the buying process is complete.
Drive by and see if someone is there. Go at different times of the day and different days of the week. Also especially go on trash day and see if there is trash out. If it looks vacant, then call the utility companies and see if they have service, ask about the process to switch it to your name 'once you close' and ask if there are past due bills that will transfer to the new owner. Chat, they will be more willing to tell you if it has services that way.
If they are still occupied, know that it may be impossible to insure the house until they vacate, so check out insurance options in your area first.
Know that sometimes it is a homeowner who was foreclosed on and they may not accept the foreclosure, may be a sad story, etc. Likely they will not leave and have been offered $ to leave, generally it appears to be $3000 for a $60k house where I invest. So know you have to be offering a higher amount for them to willingly go away. You may have to do a formal eviction.
The seller will not tell you anything about the status of the occupant. I just closed today and went to the house. Sherriff deputy was there to do a notice then lock out. I am trying to get the lockout cancelled. I want to secure the now vacant property. I do not want my new locks drilled and the keys to the new locks they install sent off to someone else.
One occupied house I bought was actually renting it well under market from the bank, and the bank always said they knew nothing about the occupant! They rented a $700/month house for $350 / month AND bank paid all utilities. Loosing deal for the bank, water, sewer, gas, electrical, lawn care, and trash added up to more that they collected. It was month to month.
I gave 30 day notice that the rent would increase to market rate, and he could move without 30 day notice if he wanted. He moved on his own. BTW, he and his roommate were registered sex offenders, with minor children by force, abuse of authority. So they did not even have good renters...and they were slobs insects galore! Also claimed all the broken furniture was provided and not theirs so I got to take it all out.
Occupied is a roll of the dice, a gamble you can not control.
@Christopher Villa thanks - when you say 'cash offer' do you mean they will take a loan with your pre-approval letter?
@Lynnette E.wow thank you! So what happens when you win in regards to the keys, title etc? Do you have the option to do pre-bid inspection? or are you assuming house as-is?
Does the local sheriff go the property immediately upon close of auction?
Rene, where I live, these deals live in the $300K and up range, so most folks have a lender that covers 80-90% of the "cash" and you provide 10-20%. So, YES, it's likely financed on your end, but the seller will only take cash, not approve financing to pay them. The financing is with your lender.
@Christopher Villa I feel as if our auctions around here have a ridiculously high reserve price that is never met. Numbers don’t make sense, I’ll keep at it but for now, no luck for me on auction sites.
My question is how do you follow up with the properties that don’t sell on the site/meet their reserve?
- Rental Property Investor | Realtor
- Jacksonville FL | Savannah Ga |Raleigh NC
- 161
- Votes |
- 467
- Posts
Am i safe to conclude this:
1. you can not use hard money if auction.com defaults to a county site? (because you must have liquid funds by noon the next day to close it out, if its county auction.
2. you can use hard money if its truly an auction.com bid and closing., and auction clarifies its financeable
3. there is no due diligence or back out on anything you win, ie, if you walk or dont fund it, you lose your deposit.
@James Barnes. I am still new to this, but around here, I've been very close to winning in a live auction and plan to attend another one this Friday. I really don't have an opinion on Auction.com other than what I articulated earlier. I will circle back with the results at this next live auction.
@Matt Berklacy. You will lose your $2500 if you bid and can't "perform". Not sure I know about county sites, but if that is the case, most of these probably go "live" at the courthouse. My comment was primarily about online auctions.
Originally posted by @Rene D.:
@Christopher Villa thanks - when you say 'cash offer' do you mean they will take a loan with your pre-approval letter?
@Lynnette E.wow thank you! So what happens when you win in regards to the keys, title etc? Do you have the option to do pre-bid inspection? or are you assuming house as-is?
Does the local sheriff go the property immediately upon close of auction?
This is for post foreclosure REO property.
When you win, you have a bunch of things to do quickly or they will not proceed. You must wire the deposit, sign the contract and give them the proof of funds documentation. If you do not meet the schedule, a day or two for each item, and they tell you the schedule, you loose the $2500 credit card prebidding charge, otherwise they cancel that charge.
You sign whatever they give you or they cancel, even though its a very one sided contract and says things like you inspected the property and did due diligence and they will not even let you on the property. You do not get to go inside the property until after you own it.
Depending on what bank owns it you may have bills for water, sewer, grass cutting, etc. since the house went into foreclosure, maybe a year or two worth of bills. They will make you sign that you know its your bill. They do not negotiate, they are offering you what they want. If you do not sign or give them grief, they just do not accept the contract.
After you did all the tasks above, then they send the contract to the selling bank for signature. They generally have 2 weeks to accept or not. IF they accept then they will schedule closing. They say its within 30 days of when they sign the contract. It has been longer when there are title issues, shorter sometimes.
My last one was, I won the bid 9/5. They signed the contract 9/13. We closed 9/25. Pretty fast.
I always buy title insurance through a local title company. I had a bad experience with their title company once. They just put all the 'problems' on an exclusion list that is not covered by the insurance. They all do that with some things such as 'things that a survey would discover'. But they put on things specific to the foreclosure being done property like the power of attorney for the foreclosing company to act for the bank owner. This could make the whole foreclosure improper and is a major title issue. The bank can fix this by producing the POA, but if they do not have a reason to do this they won't, so they need to do it when they are trying to sell the property, not in 10 years when I am trying to sell it. They should give you a clear title, except maybe for things like water, sewer, lawn care, etc. But get title insurance...through a local company, not their company.
The police do not come when you close. By chance today the police were at my newest house because the bank had a court action that just got to the point of the police starting a lock out of the past, prior to eviction owner. The owner has been gone for at least 2 months. The bank is clueless.
Generally you do not get keys. You break in or hire a locksmith to drill the locks. You do not get keys, even when they have them. The rented house I got keys from the renter when he left. 2 houses had actual lock boxes, but no one would tell me the code to get the keys out. Had to throw the doorknobs with the lock boxes attached away. (An electronic one a friend realtor could open and she returned it to its owner.)
And after you break in, its like Christmas, you get to wonder through the house and see what you bought. Sometimes its like a sweater from Aunt Matilda and you just smile and figure out what you have to do, and other times its like a new bike! The house is as it!
Unless you have somehow obtained good insider information, this sounds like a HIGH stakes gambling venture. I am not personally a fan.
@Matt Berklacy
I have purchased several homes on auction.com and a few on other foreclosure and auction sites. Your third assumption is correct. It’s a cash sale to auction.com and they are simply looking for proof of funds. They negotiate virtually nothing after you make the final winning bid that clears the reserve. You need to do your own due diligence before you bid as best you can so you have a comfort zone that you’re doing the right thing.... it’s no different than buying the gift bag at a country restaurant...you won’t know what’s in the bag unless you try and check it out. This process for online sales at auction.com is quite different than visiting the courthouse steps or elsewhere with Auction.com and I recommend that you do due diligence to understand the particular state and local laws if you visit a courthouse or some other place to bid at a live setting. The rules and laws are not the same. Good luck!
- Rental Property Investor | Realtor
- Jacksonville FL | Savannah Ga |Raleigh NC
- 161
- Votes |
- 467
- Posts
wow, thanks, amazing...what a christmas...
Originally posted by @Lynnette E.:
Originally posted by @Rene D.:
@Christopher Villa thanks - when you say 'cash offer' do you mean they will take a loan with your pre-approval letter?
@Lynnette E.wow thank you! So what happens when you win in regards to the keys, title etc? Do you have the option to do pre-bid inspection? or are you assuming house as-is?
Does the local sheriff go the property immediately upon close of auction?
This is for post foreclosure REO property.
When you win, you have a bunch of things to do quickly or they will not proceed. You must wire the deposit, sign the contract and give them the proof of funds documentation. If you do not meet the schedule, a day or two for each item, and they tell you the schedule, you loose the $2500 credit card prebidding charge, otherwise they cancel that charge.
You sign whatever they give you or they cancel, even though its a very one sided contract and says things like you inspected the property and did due diligence and they will not even let you on the property. You do not get to go inside the property until after you own it.
Depending on what bank owns it you may have bills for water, sewer, grass cutting, etc. since the house went into foreclosure, maybe a year or two worth of bills. They will make you sign that you know its your bill. They do not negotiate, they are offering you what they want. If you do not sign or give them grief, they just do not accept the contract.
After you did all the tasks above, then they send the contract to the selling bank for signature. They generally have 2 weeks to accept or not. IF they accept then they will schedule closing. They say its within 30 days of when they sign the contract. It has been longer when there are title issues, shorter sometimes.
My last one was, I won the bid 9/5. They signed the contract 9/13. We closed 9/25. Pretty fast.
I always buy title insurance through a local title company. I had a bad experience with their title company once. They just put all the 'problems' on an exclusion list that is not covered by the insurance. They all do that with some things such as 'things that a survey would discover'. But they put on things specific to the foreclosure being done property like the power of attorney for the foreclosing company to act for the bank owner. This could make the whole foreclosure improper and is a major title issue. The bank can fix this by producing the POA, but if they do not have a reason to do this they won't, so they need to do it when they are trying to sell the property, not in 10 years when I am trying to sell it. They should give you a clear title, except maybe for things like water, sewer, lawn care, etc. But get title insurance...through a local company, not their company.
The police do not come when you close. By chance today the police were at my newest house because the bank had a court action that just got to the point of the police starting a lock out of the past, prior to eviction owner. The owner has been gone for at least 2 months. The bank is clueless.
Generally you do not get keys. You break in or hire a locksmith to drill the locks. You do not get keys, even when they have them. The rented house I got keys from the renter when he left. 2 houses had actual lock boxes, but no one would tell me the code to get the keys out. Had to throw the doorknobs with the lock boxes attached away. (An electronic one a friend realtor could open and she returned it to its owner.)
And after you break in, its like Christmas, you get to wonder through the house and see what you bought. Sometimes its like a sweater from Aunt Matilda and you just smile and figure out what you have to do, and other times its like a new bike! The house is as it!
Thanks all for this great information! I've been spending my time around live auctions at the courthouses. Not sure if that's any different, but the local company I am working with is incentivized to guide you in the right direction and represent you at the auctions (they do get paid 3%), but it seems like we've covered a lot of Lynette E's scenarios should they arise. They even offer a pre-meeting the night before before you submit your bids. Again, haven't been the winning bidder yet, but attending one tomorrow again. Will keep everyone updated for sure...hopefully a smooth process. One thing I would recommend, though, is to connect with a trusted real estate agent to assess the ARV properly before you submit any bids. All companies are incentivized to raise this and Zillow is average at best to assess. Here I am giving advice....watch my progress before you take any of this to the bank :))
@Lynnette E. Thanks for sharing your experience! If your advise to not buy occupied auction properties?
Sometimes properties are available to view. It is usually identified in the listing if it is. They may also be listed on the MLS and those seem to usually be available to view.
One time, we didn't have time to do due diligence on something and wouldn't bid on the auction. Since the auction didn't make anything close to reserve they were willing to let us view (this one had been available but since it was out of state we couldn't get there before the auction closed). We were able to search records etc too. We even spoke to neighbors and such. In the end, there wasn't enough fat left after purchase and rehab so we let it drop. It actually was a good deal for someone who wanted to live in it.
I have also seen ones where the auction date has passed with no successful bidders on the MLS. Failed auctions may be available later. If you check the county records you can generally find the foreclosing bank. They may speak to you directly.
I have to say that buying occupied may have more cost and wait time involved but if the price is so low you can't go wrong then it may be ok. Realize that even if you saw a house before the owner was foreclosed doesn't mean it will still be in that condition after foreclosure. You might also have eviction costs if they don't feel like leaving. I personally wouldn't be likely to buy one that is occupied unless I know it is a tenant and then it would depend if I have been told by neighbors that the tenant is decent and is just waiting things out.
Originally posted by @Scott Matthew C.:
@Lynnette E. Thanks for sharing your experience! If your advise to not buy occupied auction properties?
I would say that buying occupied property is fine, but....
1. bid lower in case you have to do an eviction, take a financial risk before you can insure the property, have the occupant trash it on the way out, etc. Consider that they were probably already offered cash for keys by the bank.
2. try to figure out who is the occupant from a distance--is it the pre foreclosure owner who has issues with leaving? maybe a claim that the foreclosure was done incorrectly? Does the past owner have a criminal record for violence, arson, etc.? That may take a while to get them out, and they may cause damage before they leave. IS it an elderly/handicapped person, again may be hard to get them out? Or a tenant? Sometimes you can see on, say Zillow, that the house was listed to be rented 8 months ago, then you know its likely a renter at the likely end of a year lease. For example, the house I just bought I knew that the previous owner had a spouse pass away about 2 years ago. Neighbors offered that the person left because he could not afford the payments and he was being foreclosed on. There is furniture in one room of the house, a table. Utilities are off, lawn unmowed, same trash in cans next to house for 2 months, nothing added or taken. Owner would have been a low risk occupant to me, other things make me think is it abandoned. So even though the bank says it is occupied, I bought. With this owner, I would be ok with evicting him if needed. Now the previous house I bought with the registered sex offender, well, I did not know he was there for sure, but saw the house listed on a government site that showed it as a home for him. I figured if he gave me too much grief, he has a probation officer I could involve. And he involved the PO himself to do his residential transfer. Googling the address of a potential purchase in quotes can get you great information sometimes.
Originally posted by @Jonathan Killam:
Unless you have somehow obtained good insider information, this sounds like a HIGH stakes gambling venture. I am not personally a fan.
Lots of people are not fans, better for those of us who are.
You really do need to be local to the area and to be able to look at the properties. There is one house that has been listed for a long time on an auction site. It has condemned notices posted on it. It is in an active flood area. When one goes to look at it one can see the water is channeled to this house. One day it will wash away. In the mean time is it just moving around.
Another that is for auction is missing the side of the house. No outside wall, just the open air!
Another has had the electrical wires in the house 'recycled' to the extent that the electrical meter and main connection wire was removed to prevent a fire if turned on by accident or bypassed by the squatters.
Another we looked at was physically in two pieces, a left house side and a right house side with a crack 1-3 inches wide through the cement floor front to back. No problem, they put in expanding foam spray into the crack. Some sorry soul bought this one!
None of these things are noted in the auction listings. They gotta know the house is condemned, that the side of the house is missing, that the electrical service is disconnected.
It is a gamble. Sometimes you get burned, sometimes you make a killing. You have to assume what is wrong, or could be wrong, and keep your bid low enough to cover lots of issues. And never pay attention to their 'reserves'. Make your own decision about the amount you want to pay. And for us, we would rather take a financial hit and have to fix plumbing than to have intact plumbing, but a tub full of bowel movements...the gross is worse for us!
Originally posted by @Jonathan Killam:
Unless you have somehow obtained good insider information, this sounds like a HIGH stakes gambling venture. I am not personally a fan.
I've been talking to the owner of a soon-to-be-foreclosed house for a while now. A friend on the HOA board tipped me off that she's being foreclosed on when the attorney reached out to the HOA to see if there were any past due dues.
I was able to tour the property and made an offer that she soundly rejected. We're about $95,000 apart, and neither side will budge. So I wait for foreclosure. I attended an auction for a different property which was thoroughly unexciting. One guy came in and bid probably $50k over everyone else, who sat there in a bit of shock and he won.
Unless you can get inside the property and check it out, an auction isn't a good first property.
Quote from @Lynnette E.:
Originally posted by @Rene D.:
@Christopher Villa thanks - when you say 'cash offer' do you mean they will take a loan with your pre-approval letter?
@Lynnette E.wow thank you! So what happens when you win in regards to the keys, title etc? Do you have the option to do pre-bid inspection? or are you assuming house as-is?
Does the local sheriff go the property immediately upon close of auction?
This is for post foreclosure REO property.
When you win, you have a bunch of things to do quickly or they will not proceed. You must wire the deposit, sign the contract and give them the proof of funds documentation. If you do not meet the schedule, a day or two for each item, and they tell you the schedule, you loose the $2500 credit card prebidding charge, otherwise they cancel that charge.
You sign whatever they give you or they cancel, even though its a very one sided contract and says things like you inspected the property and did due diligence and they will not even let you on the property. You do not get to go inside the property until after you own it.
Depending on what bank owns it you may have bills for water, sewer, grass cutting, etc. since the house went into foreclosure, maybe a year or two worth of bills. They will make you sign that you know its your bill. They do not negotiate, they are offering you what they want. If you do not sign or give them grief, they just do not accept the contract.
After you did all the tasks above, then they send the contract to the selling bank for signature. They generally have 2 weeks to accept or not. IF they accept then they will schedule closing. They say its within 30 days of when they sign the contract. It has been longer when there are title issues, shorter sometimes.
My last one was, I won the bid 9/5. They signed the contract 9/13. We closed 9/25. Pretty fast.
I always buy title insurance through a local title company. I had a bad experience with their title company once. They just put all the 'problems' on an exclusion list that is not covered by the insurance. They all do that with some things such as 'things that a survey would discover'. But they put on things specific to the foreclosure being done property like the power of attorney for the foreclosing company to act for the bank owner. This could make the whole foreclosure improper and is a major title issue. The bank can fix this by producing the POA, but if they do not have a reason to do this they won't, so they need to do it when they are trying to sell the property, not in 10 years when I am trying to sell it. They should give you a clear title, except maybe for things like water, sewer, lawn care, etc. But get title insurance...through a local company, not their company.
The police do not come when you close. By chance today the police were at my newest house because the bank had a court action that just got to the point of the police starting a lock out of the past, prior to eviction owner. The owner has been gone for at least 2 months. The bank is clueless.
Generally you do not get keys. You break in or hire a locksmith to drill the locks. You do not get keys, even when they have them. The rented house I got keys from the renter when he left. 2 houses had actual lock boxes, but no one would tell me the code to get the keys out. Had to throw the doorknobs with the lock boxes attached away. (An electronic one a friend realtor could open and she returned it to its owner.)
And after you break in, its like Christmas, you get to wonder through the house and see what you bought. Sometimes its like a sweater from Aunt Matilda and you just smile and figure out what you have to do, and other times its like a new bike! The house is as it!
SInce Im located in Georgia wouldn't a closing attorney handle everything after winning the auction.
Quote from @Emanuel Manien:
Quote from @Lynnette E.:
Originally posted by @Rene D.:
@Christopher Villa thanks - when you say 'cash offer' do you mean they will take a loan with your pre-approval letter?
@Lynnette E.wow thank you! So what happens when you win in regards to the keys, title etc? Do you have the option to do pre-bid inspection? or are you assuming house as-is?
Does the local sheriff go the property immediately upon close of auction?
This is for post foreclosure REO property.
When you win, you have a bunch of things to do quickly or they will not proceed. You must wire the deposit, sign the contract and give them the proof of funds documentation. If you do not meet the schedule, a day or two for each item, and they tell you the schedule, you loose the $2500 credit card prebidding charge, otherwise they cancel that charge.
You sign whatever they give you or they cancel, even though its a very one sided contract and says things like you inspected the property and did due diligence and they will not even let you on the property. You do not get to go inside the property until after you own it.
Depending on what bank owns it you may have bills for water, sewer, grass cutting, etc. since the house went into foreclosure, maybe a year or two worth of bills. They will make you sign that you know its your bill. They do not negotiate, they are offering you what they want. If you do not sign or give them grief, they just do not accept the contract.
After you did all the tasks above, then they send the contract to the selling bank for signature. They generally have 2 weeks to accept or not. IF they accept then they will schedule closing. They say its within 30 days of when they sign the contract. It has been longer when there are title issues, shorter sometimes.
My last one was, I won the bid 9/5. They signed the contract 9/13. We closed 9/25. Pretty fast.
I always buy title insurance through a local title company. I had a bad experience with their title company once. They just put all the 'problems' on an exclusion list that is not covered by the insurance. They all do that with some things such as 'things that a survey would discover'. But they put on things specific to the foreclosure being done property like the power of attorney for the foreclosing company to act for the bank owner. This could make the whole foreclosure improper and is a major title issue. The bank can fix this by producing the POA, but if they do not have a reason to do this they won't, so they need to do it when they are trying to sell the property, not in 10 years when I am trying to sell it. They should give you a clear title, except maybe for things like water, sewer, lawn care, etc. But get title insurance...through a local company, not their company.
The police do not come when you close. By chance today the police were at my newest house because the bank had a court action that just got to the point of the police starting a lock out of the past, prior to eviction owner. The owner has been gone for at least 2 months. The bank is clueless.
Generally you do not get keys. You break in or hire a locksmith to drill the locks. You do not get keys, even when they have them. The rented house I got keys from the renter when he left. 2 houses had actual lock boxes, but no one would tell me the code to get the keys out. Had to throw the doorknobs with the lock boxes attached away. (An electronic one a friend realtor could open and she returned it to its owner.)
And after you break in, its like Christmas, you get to wonder through the house and see what you bought. Sometimes its like a sweater from Aunt Matilda and you just smile and figure out what you have to do, and other times its like a new bike! The house is as it!
SInce Im located in Georgia wouldn't a closing attorney handle everything after winning the auction.
Usually with these auction sites you use the auction company's attorney, and they just give you the things to sign electronically. I never left my house. If you want to pay for your own attorney you can, but it won't help you at all. These sites do not negotiate anything after your bid is accepted. You take it or leave it and lose your deposit. Attorneys are great to negotiate through issues, but in this type of purchase you can not negotiate anything. Same with most court house steps auctions.