All Forum Posts by: Mike Cumbie

@Peter Walther

I said "I like to think of it like buying a lien". Being as he is new I didn't want to complicate it any more than it already is. Yes he is buying a deed, not title. Each deed has a number of "rights to the property". It may have them all. It may have "The right to look at from afar". I could give you a quitclaim deed to the house you own. Basically saying "I am giving you all of the rights I have to your house"...... Which of course is none.  

I just see people all the time who have never done it think they are "Purchasing the house at auction". They bid a crazy amount 80K on a 120K house, think they got a deal and then when they buy it, they find out that the taxes, first lien position, 2 mechanics liens are not rolling over and are making their fight. Plus they have to kick out owners and there is a right of redemption period. When buying at auction you are not necessarily buying a "Marketable title free of all encumbrances". I have seen properties with 500K in judgments that are worth 80K. Watched people bid 80K and smile. All they lost was the 10% down because they pretty soon realized they would only get a shot at that pie. Those 500K worth of judgements/Liens don't just go away because they got a killer deal. In order to get it clear they have to come to terms with the other holders. They are buying the right to fight to clear the title. Sometimes because the other party has no interest in doing it themselves.

With tax sales in my area you get a "Referees Deed" generally. You may get a "Bargain and sale Deed". It may all be semantics and I accept that. Of course I could be throwing a big muddy stick onto the puddle of his clear transaction and just complicating things on him myself for no reason (And it isn't my intention by any means). 

When it sells and there is money left :)

Until then you are making the best "Guesses" you can. 

"What does a new traintrack easement mean?"

"What do you mean it's 1X3 construction throughout this place"?

"3 Neighbors put their Raised ranches up this week at 80% of our ARV?"

Hi @Leilah Davis

I get asked this quite a bit and in many cases I recommend they don't sell off the separate parcel alone. 

First problem is a house on a double lot is more desirable in my area. Second is if after you buy it you don;t cut the grass, their house is next to an overgrown mess while they try and sell it. Even worse is if you start developing before their primary sells...... Construction noise during showings. 

Now if they have say 20 acres and ask about leaving the house on 5 and selling 15, many times it's OK to sell it off. 

Just my thoughts and good luck, you will find one though. Look in some newer developments, many times you can find properties in there that were never developed and the town took for taxes or the developer wants to ditch.

Moderator Note: Edited post title for clarity

Hi @Ralph Ace

I would recommend you at least ask. If it's a material defect, they have to tell you. IE there was a foundation issue and the buyer backed out. It could be a million things but I'd give that other agent a call (Assuming your people are ready to write). 

@Aram Schwartz

It will be area specific, not really a "One size fits all". For instance if I bid on a tax auction in my area, it wipes out all other liens (Well except IRS and that's another story). 

So If you held the first position Lien on a property because you bought it Tuesday at another auction, or the bank sold it to you, The property was free and clear and you gave the owner $100.00 great. But if on Wednesday there is a tax auction if you aren't the high bidder there, you are wiped out. Who ever bought the tax lien at foreclosure gets the house (and everyone else with any lien gets nothing (Well unless there is an overage, then it starts paying off lesser liens... in order). 

I can't speak to the auction site you are using, but people will sell off second position liens (and there is nothing wrong with that). But if you buy a second position one, know what is owed on first. If the first position goes to foreclose, the second position better get in there and either make a deal or buy out the first position, because they will be wiped out in the foreclosure. I can't tell you where to look in your area. In mine we have a searchable court records system that we can search. It's not as easy as an address though. The owner may have a judgement against them for 10K. Make sure you look for John Smith, Jonathan Smith, Jo Smith etc. The judgement could be in another county. A title company would most likely be your best bet, but they are going to charge per search (I am guessing we are an attorney state). 

I know it's confusing but hope it helps some. 

To me it falls in the "Intent" realm. I've got items under contract for myself. Then a situation changed and I've assigned it. I've been on the other side where someone else planned on doing XYZ with the property, got it under contract. Saw a different deal, spouse went nuts, kid needed surgery etc. So they assign their contract over. Granted in most of my personal cases the "assignment fee" was a case of beer, lunch, throwing a referral at each other etc. If I couldn't find a buyer I would have bought it anyway, same with the ones I've bought. 

Now if I couldn't afford to buy it without finding a buyer, that is where it feels dirty. 

Just my thoughts.

Hi @Aram Schwartz

Commonly people think they are buying a piece of property at auction. The way I like to think of it is: You are buying a "lien" on a piece of property. That gives you the rights they have. It could be a:

• -Any lien recorded on title prior in time to the foreclosing mortgage.
• -First Mortgage (if the foreclosing mortgage is a second or third mortgage)
• -HOA or COA assessment liens (in certain states)
• -Mechanic’s Liens (in some states)
• -Government liens such as state and federal tax liens, city or county liens, US Government liens.
• -IRS liens (IRS may buy the property within 120 days after sale at the price paid at foreclosure sale)
• -Code Enforcement Liens, Environmental Liens, and Utility Liens
• -Child Support Liens

Make sure you know what you are buying. I could have a mechanics lien on a property over cutting the grass twice and not getting paid. Grand total $65. I could then sell that lien to whoever I want for $100,000 at auction (The buyer now is entitled to $65 if it changes hands). It doesn't do anything to their mortgage, the HOA, especially not taxes or the IRS. Essentially I would have just bought a "right" to now go fight those other people for my piece of that pie. Basically with their wording above, they are saying "You have a lien position and best of luck to you".

Hope it helps and good luck!

Hi @Nick Bennett

I got nothing to offer sadly. She is living there and if you bring even one person in (and she happens to get it or even test positive 6 months from now). It's going to be your fault. Not because she shopped on the weekend, not because she went to Spring break, not because she hung out at a party. It's going to be because you pushed someone into her house and put her at risk. For that matter if someone she knows gets it the reason will be that when you brought that diseased ridden person in they touched something, it got on her clothes then she saw her mom. 

In this case, I would wait till she was gone. 

Wish i had something better to offer. 

You can always hire a buyers agent yourself as well. No need to play with the price or get him where he has to pay for it. Essentially your agent is working for you like an agent working with a FSBO. They will make sure your things are covered. Your end offer to the guy is the same and he doesn't have to pay commissions.

Just my thoughts and good luck!