Posted by David Krulac on February 21, 2007 at 11:54:19:
its a little differebt here as there are no trustees or auctioneers, The actual head sheriff will be the auctioneer. I don’t see any evidence that they are sliding deals to friends. You need 10% cash or equivalent the minute the property is struck down, they wait and hold up the sale until paid. Then the 90% balance in cash about 48 hours.
Stumped at the Auction again - Posted by Virgil Horner
Posted by Virgil Horner on February 20, 2007 at 15:19:16:
Hey,
I went to an auction this morning to buy a property that has been in pre-foreclosure, and once again they told me that they just got a call and said that the auction was cancelled. I keep getting the feeling that maybe the Title company has some inside investors that scoop up anything before the auction. Is anyone familiar with this? And how do you get in with the title company if this is what’s going on?
Thanks,
Virgil Horner
New Element Real Estate LLC.
208-308-0703
teleo@cableone.net
Re: Stumped at the Auction again - Posted by Natalie-VA
Posted by Natalie-VA on February 21, 2007 at 10:16:28:
In my area they get cancelled a lot too. In a lot of cases, the same properties will come up again later. A lot of the owners will file bankruptcy or reinstate at the last minute, but their luck will eventually run out. The cancellations were worse during the seller’s market, but not as bad now.
You don’t have to be “in” with the title company to scoop them up prior to auction. You have to go door knocking. The challenge here is trying to get to the borrower before everyone else does.
It’s my understanding that one of the largest foreclosure mills in my area has someone in their office faxing out a list prior to the legal ad being run in the newspaper. The same office apparently set up a mortgage company and solicits their own files to try and refinance people. It’s hard to compete with that.
Kristine mentioned that a lot of the investors and trustees conducting the sale seem to know each other, but don’t take this to mean that something underhanded is going on. I’ve been going to auctions for 7 years. We all know each other very well by now and often stand around chatting and joking.
–Natalie
unlikely… - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on February 20, 2007 at 15:34:50:
my experience of foreclosure sales covering several decades is that about 1/3 are continued, 1/3 are stayed, and only 1/3 from the list are actually offered for sale.
what numbers have changed are that of the 1/3 offered for sale ,ore are sold to 3rd parties than in the past.
what also hasn’t changed is that lenders don’t want to get the properties, and if the owner makes any kind of noise that they might pay the sale will be continued at least.
also since about 2000 there has been a big run up in the FMV of the properties so some owners do have equity. equity means options including selling and even neting cash, believe it or not.
Re: Stumped at the Auction again - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on February 21, 2007 at 20:49:33:
Absolutely I didn’t mean to indicate that the auctioneers and investors
knowing each other means that anyone is getting a special deal. I do
think it means that they are more up to date and in the know than
someone coming to the sale for the first time. The trouble here with
trustee’s sales is that the most current information is usually a
recorded message provided by the trustee auction service. If the seller
files BK or if the property is removed for another reason that morning
you won’t know until you get the sale. It’s obvious to me that investors
who have been doing this awhile have access to the auctioneers for this
kind of info.
Getting to the borrowers before everyone else does is a challenge and
one of the reasons I don’t do pre-foreclosures. I once had a tenant
living in a house that had a city lien–a no-interest note that gets paid
when the owner dies. The city wouldn’t give me the amount to pay off
because I was not the borrower (long story). Two years later they
finally filed a notice of default. The very morning of the filing my
tenant had visits from two different investors. Both of whom assumed
he was the owner and talked at him about losing the house, etc.
While I didn’t appreciate their tactics with the tenant, I have to give
them credit for getting out there to the house that morning. I follow
the recorded docs daily but hadn’t yet seen it because I was on a road
trip that morning. Anyone who can get to the borrowers and work a
deal before a foreclosure sale has my respect. Kristine
Re: unlikely… - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on February 20, 2007 at 19:33:39:
I think the numbers are even less exciting where I am. I went to
several sales way back in the day (when I thought maybe foreclosures
were a possible way to go). None of the properties scheduled ever
went to auction. The only sale where I actually saw a scheduled
property sell was when I was the note holder.
It did seem though that a lot of the regulars know the trustee/
auctioneer service people and it looked they had more personal
relationships. Those bidders didn’t’ have to show funds, etc. and I
would guess they can call the auctioneer up to the last minute to find
out if what is scheduled is going to actually sell. The rest of us have to
depend on the phone message servces the trustee services use–and
are not update to the minute. Kristine
Re: Stumped at the Auction again - Posted by Natalie-VA
Posted by Natalie-VA on February 22, 2007 at 08:09:07:
Hi Kristine,
No, I didn’t mean to imply that you implied that. 
I just thought that someone reading these posts might start to think that there was something going on.
In my area, very few of the attorneys makes you listen to a recorded message. In fact, most of them are on the internet now, so all you have to do is check their website. Then you have to figure out if they update it real-time, or just when they feel like it.
I have gotten pretty good deals knocking on doors, but I don’t do it often. It’s demoralizing for both the borrower and me IMO.
–Natalie