Harris County Auction

[E Stephens]

It looks like June's auction is going to happen, and I want to be prepared. I would appreciate responses from anyone who has experience purchasing property from the tax/foreclosure auction in Harris County.

1. I registered as a bidder before creating the LLC. I want the property to be owned by the LLC. Should I register the LLC as a separate bidder?

2. I find a property that I want to purchase at the auction. What should I do prior to the auction besides looking at HCAD, visual external inspection, and market analysis?

3. After paying for the property at the auction, what is the next step? Can I immediately go to the property for an inspection?

4. How do I know whether it is a homestead or not? Should I purchase insurance during the waiting period for owners to reclaim the property?

5. If there are still occupants living there, what do I need to communicate to them? Will they start paying me rent to stay?

[Jeff Wallace]

As I started to type a response to each of these questions, I feel that a better response would be to advise you that you are not ready to buy at next weeks foreclosure sale - take some time to learn the process, as well as the hurdles and pitfalls associated with this type of purchase - you have asked some good questions, but there are literally a dozen more areas where you need information/education - buying out of foreclosure sale can be a source of good deals, but almost as often can be a way to lose your ***