All Forum Posts by: Robert Norman

His answer was simple: don't mess with it. Per the foreclosing attorney, the current owner is MIA and clearing the title could be an issue.

Given the condition and issues involved I will keep looking to get my feet wet. Thanks for all your help and patience, Chris!

Thank you sir, VERY helpful! You are correct, the sale is next Tuesday sorry for any confusion. I read the law you linked (took an hour to decode it)! I will be working at an attorney's office later today and will ask him in detail.

As for "This appears to be a fifth position lien on a torn up property." That's what I was wondering -- is it even worth pursuing -- and you answered that for me, thanks again!!

I will be attending the auction Tuesday regardless as I'm interested in the process. Thanks again for the wisdom guys!

Well, the HOA forclosed for 3 years of non-payment. $960 total dollars...I spoke with the HOA lawyer who filed, he says they will recoup whatever the auction amount is and go after the previous owner for the balance. He also stated their lien superceded all excpet the original mortgage agreement. He **belives** I (or auction winner) would not be accountable for home equity loans (there appear to be 3, most recently 2004) or subsequent liens.

My issue is this (and forgive me if I get the terminology wrong): If the outstanding balance of original mortgage is over say, $40K then that's a no-go. But how the heck do I figure that out??

Edit to add: Thanks for all the help so far. This seems very daunting to me, but I'm determined to learn.

OK so I was able to track down ALOT of info through county clerk website and I have file #'s that a friend can pull for me (he's a landman and hits that county weekly).

My question still is: is there any way to obtain the outstanding balance of the original mortgage on a foreclosure IF the foreclosure is enacted by someone else (ie HOA, HELOC, etc..)?

How would I go about finding this information?

And thanks!

It's a small 3-2, about 1200 SF. Half of which is wood flooring in surprisingly good shape. One bath will need new floor tiles, perhaps the kitchen also, all 3 BRs will need new carpet. The roof is good, there are some rotten spots around the soffit face. Kitchen appliances are fairly new and luckily still in place, bathroom and fixtures are in good shape also.

Most of the non-theft damage is just kid stuff (grafitti,holes in walls) plus some other issues of a 25 yr old house abandoned for 6 months.
$40K seems high to me for a $70k house, but I do yield to experience. If it's remotely that high it wouldn't be a smart buy for me.

So I'm looking at a house up for constable auctions next week. The HOA foreclosed on it and similar ones have been picked up for about $1,000 - $1,500.

Here are my questions:
How can I determine the balance owed to the mortgage company?

The house was literally abandoned, then burglarized and vandalized. There are holes in the sheetrock and ceiling, some doors have been broken, the AC condensor, blower motor, and breaker box all stripped bare so obviously I don't want to jump in with a significant balance outstanding on the house.

What I have been able to determine: the previous owner had been there 15 years and I'm guessing I will owe most or all of the 2011 taxes (about $2.5 K)

My rehab estimates are around $12K, taxable value is at 70K (with homestead exepmtion), recent flips (same nighborhood) have sold for 80-90K. The house is in a great spot, and could be a nice rental or flip sale.

I'd like to pick the brains here to find out: the pitfalls of picking up an auction house, am I in over my head (never done a rehab), how do I determine all of the finacial liabilities of the property prior to bidding?

Thanks in advance! I'd love to get my first SFH rental rolling and get some skin in the game -- I just don't want it to be my rear!!

Man I'm glad I read this forum!
I was (and still am) going to look in Temple and Kileen, TX tomorrow -- Brian's heads up may have helped me dodge a bullet or use as leverage on a possible rental home.

I looked at Ft. Hood as win-win based on its size, but may revert back to the original plan of getting into a college area between semesters (Rice or A&M).

Thanks Bryan!

Welcome!! Glad to see other new folks from the area checking in.
If you need eyes or legwork done in W Houston area hit me up.

Good luck on your current 2 and all in the future!!