Well it’s spelled the same but pronounced Rom-mel.
I’m taking your advice and just jumping right in to see what I can find out, and if everything lines up then I’ll get it under contract.
So far I’ve found out a lot-
the auction is still on schedule
I have the address and phone number of the owners
the owners own all four units in the building even though it’s a condo
each unit is tax appraised at just under 100
it was purchased for 295 in 2001 and the current judgement is for 288
using 5% appreciation (the norm in the area) it’s worth ~340 today
SFH with 3/1.5 like the units have, would go for about 125 (which is the bottom of the market)
I’m going to knock on the owners’ door today to see if they’d be willing to work with me.
I saw the foreclosure sale notice in the newspaper on a 4-unit condominium, and I was wondering how or where I could learn what I need to know in order to buy it. I’m a newbie that’s been hitting the streets with my mentor on SFH’s, but neither of us know much about condos. The judgement is for 288k, each unit is worth about 100k, and only one of them is vacant. Any help would be appreciated, otherwise I’ll just stick to SFH’s.
Does a single owner own the whole building and is it just one unit being foreclosed? If it is a single owner for the building, why are they being foreclosed? Does he have tenants that aren’t paying and he can’t get them out? Is that a problem you would inherit? Are there any seconds or other liens on the property? I will help you investigate this and if you want to try it I’ll stay in the background and if you don’t want it I’d like to take a shot at it. Are you in Wisconsin?
It seems like a married couple owns the building and there are no other liens on the property (as a whole.) There were no other banks being served in the foreclosure. I have no idea why they’re being foreclosed on. I’ve seen one of the units listed on the MLS and another one had a “for rent” ad running in the paper. I haven’t really dug any deeper than that.
Yes, I’m in Jackson, WI, and the property is about 10-15 miles north of me in West Bend.
Seeing as how the sale date is on August 23, all I’d really like to do is to learn from someone who would be willing to let me be their shadow. Just let me know if you want more info.
Is it Rommel, as in the desert rat?
If you want to learn there is no better way than doing it and it is totally fun. Here is what I would do.
Call the plaintiff’s attorney to see if it is still scheduled for auction, because a lot of these get cancelled. Either they refi, or an astute investor such as yourself has helped them out of their predicament and earned a nice profit in the process.
If it is still scheduled for auction, either call the owner and ask if they would like to sell to you before the auction or knock on their door and do the same.
If they are open to talking about it ask them all sorts of questions. How did it happen? Why did it happen? What kind of response did they get on the individual condo mls listing? What kinda of shape are the units in? What kind of shape is the building in? Boilers? water heaters? roof? windows? paint? flooring? etc., etc.
Find out everything you can to get a complete picture financial and otherwise. How is the rental market, how is the market for condos? Is it actually a complete condo conversion with all the necessary documents? If that is the case, what exactly is being foreclosed on? All four units, or just three, or what? What do SFH go for in this area? What would the units rent for and what type of mortgage and expenses would that support? IF the everything checks out and you think you could get it with a hefty profit ($50k) built in, then get your offer accepted and race like crazy to find an established investor with cash and flip it to him for a small fee ($2K or $5k or $10k) as long as your investor is happy with his equity/profit. Fake it til you make it. Get out in the field and try. Let me know what you find out.