Buying Foreclosed Property at Auction: Caveat EmptorJune 7th, 2010
Author: admin
While auctions could carry with them the greatest financial rewards in comparison with other modes of buying a foreclosed home, auctions still remains to be the most risky business in this type of investment. You can make as much as 30% to 40% if you acquire a property in foreclosure but first you must know what you are doing. There are a lot of pitfalls in here and these are the kinds you don't want to find yourself into. Consider the following risk factors before buying a foreclosed property at auction.
No previews , there is no way you can get a preview of a house or a block property that is being auctioned. A foreclosed house is bought "as is" and unseen.
Properties being auctioned are not in pristine conditions. Trashing the house and even destroying the interior are unacceptable practices but are rather common , unfortunately However, during an auction you won't be able to see the damages inside the house. The exterior could look fresh and reconstructed because the brokers or the sellers have to package it the best they can but, these are good assurances that the interiors are well maintained. In an auction, you have to bid on the house according to your intuition (and of course a little research could go a long way).
Added costs , chances are, you will be paying a much higher price than you were first prepared for. During an auction, the starting price includes all the mortgage defaults and all other charges that are owed against the property such as liens and delayed or unpaid bills. However, there are cases when the auctioneer's fee or other uninvited expenses such as taxes are not included in the starting price. These may sound insignificant when considering the initial price of the house but these charges are enough to spoil the deal.
Potential losses , you may have won in the auction and have already started investing in the house. Then here comes the previous owner with a proof that he was able pay off all the debts against the house within the specified redemption period. What would you do? In cases like this, the home buyer can't do so much. If the previous homeowner was able to cure all defaults then he is still entitled to the house and could redeem his property back.
Buying a house through an auction could be especially rewarding when all things are set in their proper places. But if something unexpected happens, your investments could be wasted , but like all investments the greater the risks the greater the rewards and managing these risks is what all successful investors do.
