All Forum Posts by: Kevin Scanlon

If there is a large amount of junk like old broken furniture, cardboard, dirty clothes and misc. garbage I rent a roll-off construction dumpster and hire a couple people hourly through friends or, if necessary, Craigslist and work with them to haul stuff out. This also works great for demo day. You would be surprised how quickly the work goes. 

Mattresses, A/Cs and fridges will typically cost extra for disposal no matter who takes them to the dump. 

Separate out any metals, other appliances and semi-decent stuff to save dumpster space and weight and put them by the curb, snap a pic and put up a Curb Alert on Craigslist under Free Stuff. Things will vanish within hours. 

If you were to hire someone to just handle if for you, I would consider what the cost would be for the dumpster rental, labor and convenience factor. 

@Andy Norcia Small world! There seems to be a good mixture of single and multi family homes on Moss St. It's a nice little block with mature street trees and well-kept properties. 

You could expect to get about $1/sf/mo for a rental around there + or - $0.20. A friend of mine is just finishing up a full rehab of a 2 family a block away from Moss and has leases signed for $1400/ mo for 1150sf  3/2 units. He went pretty high-end with the finishes. I have a remodeled 1050 sf 3/2 with mid-rage finishes about a half mile away leased out for $1250. 

At $200k, your family's property may not cash flow very much but you could still enjoy the principal pay-down and potential appreciation. 

Richard, I was in a similar position recently and made the call to do a cash out refi. I'm glad I did because I am about to close on another property this year which would not have been possible without the additional cash. 

If, like me, you intend to hold the property for at least a few years, will still maintain > 20% equity after the refi and the property will still safely cash flow, then it makes sense (in my opinion) to get some cash out and put it to work for you in additional investments. 

I'll admit my risk tolerance may be higher than others, but I am looking to grow my portfolio of properties as quickly as possible while interest rates are still low and deals are still plentiful.

As Hattie mentioned, a HELOC may be an option to tap into the additional equity and reduce/avoid closing costs. However, most banks will not offer HELOCs on investment properties. They traditionally stick to owner-occupied primary residences. Also, HELOCs usually have a variable rate which is pegged to the fed rate (which will rise in the coming years).

If you do refi, resist the urge to jump on the first deal you find. Make sure it's the RIGHT deal. 

Good luck!

So just a quick follow-up if anyone is interested... 

During the last court session, the judge heard the defendant's argument. The defendants were able to have the previous judgement (foreclosure by sale) vacated and the sales agreement (my high bid) rejected. The "law day" for the next foreclosure judgement was extended out into February. Meaning that they now have until February to repay all debts and fees associated with the foreclosure. My 10% cash deposit will be refunded by the clerk within a few weeks.

It's not clear from the court records as to what exactly the basis for the judgement was. My guess is that the defendant was able to make the case that there is sufficient equity in the home to cover the debt and fees. The house has been actively listed for sale for the last 2 months. 

If anything, this goes to show that if a defendant in a CT foreclosure case is well represented and has a reasonable amount of equity in their home, certain judges may be lenient and provide them ample opportunity to avoid the loss of their home to foreclosure.

Lessons learned / things to consider when bidding on foreclosures in CT:

- Are the defendants represented by an attorney?

- Do the case details indicate a lot of activity by the defendant (objections, continuances, motions to argue, etc.)?

- What is the ratio of debt to equity in the home?

- Are you willing to tie up substantial amounts of cash while things play out?

Thanks guys for getting the discussion going. This is my first post to BP.

In CT, the plaintiff (foreclosing bank) can file a motion for judgement of foreclosure by sale. 

If approved, the judge then issues an order that looks like this:

"

The foregoing, having been considered by the Court, is hereby:

ORDER:

Notice of Judgment of Foreclosure by Sale

Property Address: XXXXX

Judgment of Foreclosure by Sale is hereby entered as follows:

Debt: $115,586.66

Attorney Fees: $1,850.00

Total: $117,436.66

Appraisal Fee: $400.00

Title Search Fee: $225.00

Fair Market Value: $150,000.00

The Sale Date is: Saturday, September 06, 2014

Terms of the Sale: 12:00 noon on the premises.

Deposit Amount: $15,000.00 Deposit to be paid by bank or certified check only.

Committee Appointed: XXXXX

Ordered in accordance with the Statewide Standing Orders(JD-CV-79) and Uniform Procedures for

Foreclosure by Sale Matters(JD-CV-81).

Independent Appraiser: XXXXX

"

An auction is then held on-premises. If the debt is higher than the value, or if it is too close to be worthwhile for investors, then no bids are submitted and the bank becomes the high bidder and the property becomes bank owned (REO) and will eventually be marketed again post-foreclosure.

I was the successful high bidder at a foreclosure auction late this spring for a single family home in my neighborhood in Pawcatuck, CT. Actually, I was the only bidder and was able bid one dollar over the minimum bid (which ended up being about half of the bank's recent appraisal of the property). All good right? Well the family seems to have an industrious attorney and is managing to delay and extend the entire process by whatever means necessary. They have filed objections to motions, requests for argument for non-arguable matters, extensions of hearing dates etc. etc. All the while, my hefty cash deposit is tied up pending the approval of the sale by the court. If it is approved, I must come up with the balance of the agreed sale price within 30 days. I'm basically stuck in limbo as I watch other deals come and go. This is my second foreclosure deal in CT. The first one when relatively smoothly and was approved and closed within about 2 months.

My questions for today: 

Does anyone else here have foreclosure buying experience in CT? Is there any theoretical limit to the length of time this approval process can take? Are there any probably (or likely) outcomes that will result in the sale agreement being cancelled? 

Thanks so much in advance!