There's more than title and liens. I felt the best way to go to the a number, and in the mid 1990's, there's pages and pages of auction in the papers every week, so I go to at least once a week. Here are the important points.
1. There are "absolute" auction vs "under reserve". At the absolute, the lowest bidder wins. If it's not absolute, they can come back to you a week later to say your bid is rejected. I learned this when I got rejections.
2. Properties can be sold "free and clear", which means the seller sell it free of liens. I bought my own home thru a absolute auction "free and clear". My next store neighbor bought his at another auction a year earlier and was surprised it had about $14,000 in liens. He didn't know what free and clear means.
3. Auctions can be held at court house steps, at the property, or they rent a facility where a great number is auctioned off. At the courthouse steps, the bank holding the mortgage usually shows up, submit a bid themselves if they don't get their price. When a great number is auctioned, they start off selling a number absolute. At these, some people had certain property they want to bid on, and go crazy. I find it better never try to outbid these people, skip the 1st or two.. There's one auction where there's a property I really wanted, but it was the first one on the auction, some guy kept bidding, so I let it go. The property I got, was the second one, I bid $20,000 more than I planned, and some other guy kept submitting bids. But every time he bid, I bid $1,000 more.
4. For some, there is a date you can come before hand to check it out. Be they're sold as is. At some, still occupied by tenants. They usually have police there, at at one, the tenant posted a sign, do not disturb. The police told the lookers not to press the doorbell.
5. At some auctions, they ask you to bring a bank check for a few thousand dollars before they let you in. Some people don't go thinking it's an entrance fee. It's not. When I won the bid for the house I live in, a neighbor down the street who wanted to go to the auction said he didn't go because there's a $6,000 entrance fee. I told him there isn't because you just redeposit the bank check if you don't use it. He was shocked, really wanted the house, and would have bid $50,000 more than me.
6. There's another auction for a coop I attended. An older couple and a young girl try to outbid each other. The older couple won, and the young girl started crying. Then, several people got up, I thought to comfort the girl. Turns out they're investors who already owned other units there, it's a large complex, and each offered to sell it for less than the bid price paid by the older couple. You should see the excitement of the young girl at this point, as contrasted tho the stunned look of the older couple. Then, I spoke to some of these investors to learn how they got hold of the units to begin with.
7. Then there's those you get a lucky break. I owned condos at one building, at better times sold for over $100,000 going to auction. I got two there for $38K and $40k at an earler auction. One guy was foreclosed on, attended the auction had at his condo with his twin brother. Now I've attended auctions where I was the only bidder. It happened in this case, but his brother came only as a on looker, and the stupid bank sold it "absolute". What happened? He bid $8,000, won and put the purchase on his credit card.
I spent a year or so running around going to auctions. What I learned I don't think you can find in a book.
