Hi BiggerPockets!
When purchasing a home at Sheriff Sale I know and understand the importance of being able to determine that the house is free and clear of all judgments and liens (federal, state, and local level) before placing a bid. However, I also feel that it is more important for me to do the research on all the properties that I am interested in myself. We have a few title companies that charge around $325.00 per home search (I know Title Companies do a great job and more work goes into searching homes than just searching for liens and judgements). Sometimes we may see 5 homes at Sheriff Sale and want to bid on all 5 homes, the opening bid doesn't show up on the home right away and I find myself gambling on paying a Title company to do a search on all the homes and risk either them coming up to high for what we are willing to pay or possibly getting cancelled. For this reason I find it difficult to "throw" away money to do Title searches on homes that aren't being purchased. I know this should be a simple decision and process, but yet I am still finding myself torn on what to do! How many of you other investors out there do your own searches or use a Title Company? If you do your own searches would you mind sharing the steps you take to ensure the home you are bidding on is clean and clear and ready to go?
