Betsie Melter's Real Estate Blog

Last week I wrote a blog about buying a home at a Trustee's Sale or Auction at the Court House Steps. I had worked all last week on research for a client on a house that was supposed to go to auction today. Well, needless to say, it was postponed. Boo.
Oh well, as of right now it is postponed until March 23rd. It hasn't been changed to canceled so we are still crossing our fingers that it will go up for auction on the 23rd.

In the meantime, I feel very confident with the research I did last week and feel good about the auction process. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone by any means, but it is a good option if you have investors that don't really care about the inside of the house or the floor plan. Or in my case a client who is looking for a very specific lot and not so much the inside of the house. If you are looking for a house that is going to be your dream home, auction is probably not the best choice since you are very unlikely to see the inside of the house.

I have also gotten very motivated to look for other properties that fit my clients criteria and have found 3 other properties that might work and they go to auction next week and the week after. So now our biggest decision is to decide whether they will bid on any of the new properties or wait for the original property on the 23rd. I guess that isn't too bad of a decision to have to make.

As you know, Real Estate is always changing and thus Real Estate Agents must change and adapt to the market. So, I am adapting as well. I am going to my first Auction at the Court House next week. I am excited and nervous at the same time.

I have started the preparations by hiring a full time bidder (well actually my client hired them). I have driven by the property and discovered there are tenants living in the property but the yard is being taken care of so I am assuming the inside is being taken care of too. We have checked back taxes, HOA assessments and liens. So far so good. The next step is calculating a price.

I am having a really hard time estimating how high to go for a bid. We won't know until the day before the auction what the opening bid will be. We may not even bid at all if the bank starts the bid too high. That will be a bummer if we have done this research and got our hopes up and then not even bid.

We know what the sold comparables are in the neighborhood, but those were in the MLS. We are hoping to get it for much less. Plus we have to figure in that we have to pay the back taxes and the HOA dues that the seller hasn't paid. We also have to pay the auction bidder and I have to get paid. These are all expenses that the buyer usually wouldn't have to pay. If it was a foreclosure those fees would be paid by seller at closing or wiped out by the trustees sale.

It will be an adventure to see how the process goes. I am looking forward to learning something new and will report back next week.

If you have questions or advice for me about the Auction process. Feel free to contact me at melterhomes@johnhall.com or 480.734.3644