Locally, property auction at Sheriff's sale are not available for inspection. It is a total gamble. You may get a great piece of property for a great price, or you may buy yourself a big problem. Even if the outside of the house looks well kept, the inside may be a nightmare. I've seen forclosures that have been completely stripped -- no wiring, plumbing, cabinets, carpet. I've also seen newer construction (less than 10 years old) have cracked and bowing foundations due to neglect and shortcuts taken during construction.
The second issue is financing. If you don't have the cash to lay out for the property (usually 10% down the day of the auction, remaining balance due in 30 days) you may have trouble getting a bank to lend you the money, mostly because of the possible problems I've already mentioned.
Most counties have the upcoming auctions posted on the Sheriff's web site. You can cross reference upcoming auctions with data from the county Auditor/Assessor web site to get an idea of what the property may be worth, and the conditions. To get started, track down your local Sheriff's web site to find the sales and the county Auditor/Tax Assessor web site to do a property search to find out the assessed value, acreage, etc. Even if you are not interested in buying, it's always fun to look through public record and see what people you know have paid for their property...
jeanne s
April 30, 2007
who is this written by and what are actual experiences people have had doing this. in theory it sounds interesting, but also appears from a distance that you have to make certain decision quickly without the full info you may need. or am i making this more complicated than it already is.
Broke and Bitter
Locally, property auction at Sheriff's sale are not available for inspection. It is a total gamble. You may get a great piece of property for a great price, or you may buy yourself a big problem. Even if the outside of the house looks well kept, the inside may be a nightmare. I've seen forclosures that have been completely stripped -- no wiring, plumbing, cabinets, carpet. I've also seen newer construction (less than 10 years old) have cracked and bowing foundations due to neglect and shortcuts taken during construction.
The second issue is financing. If you don't have the cash to lay out for the property (usually 10% down the day of the auction, remaining balance due in 30 days) you may have trouble getting a bank to lend you the money, mostly because of the possible problems I've already mentioned.
Most counties have the upcoming auctions posted on the Sheriff's web site. You can cross reference upcoming auctions with data from the county Auditor/Assessor web site to get an idea of what the property may be worth, and the conditions. To get started, track down your local Sheriff's web site to find the sales and the county Auditor/Tax Assessor web site to do a property search to find out the assessed value, acreage, etc. Even if you are not interested in buying, it's always fun to look through public record and see what people you know have paid for their property...
jeanne s
who is this written by and what are actual experiences people have had doing this. in theory it sounds interesting, but also appears from a distance that you have to make certain decision quickly without the full info you may need. or am i making this more complicated than it already is.
jeanne s
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