Real Estate Auctions Cheap Way To Home Ownership

There are many reasons people hold real estate auctions and why a house is being sold is almost as important as knowing who the previous owners are. There are usually two reasons for real estate auctions including tax debt and foreclosure or as part of an estate. Typically, estate auctions will complete the sale of all the merchandise in the house before the real estate auctions off the structure. Unlike the miscellaneous items, the house is sold with the property included and come commercial buyers may not want the house, only the property.

County sheriffs usually handle real estate auctions for foreclosed properties and those being sold to pay off tax debt. The selling price of the property is usually restricted to not selling for less than two-thirds of the appraised value. When attending auctions for this type of real estate there is usually competition from the lender who holds the note. They will try to buy the house at the lowest cost, fix it up and resell it, hopefully for enough of a profit to recoup their loss on the defaulted mortgage.

Estate auctions offer possibly the best opportunity to gain ownership of a house through real estate auctions as there is usually no debt on the house and no reserve price to be met. A reserve price is set by the owner of the house or their agent, and the auctioneer cannot sell it below that price.

Fully Investigate Before Buying Auctioned Home

Care is required in buying a home at real estate auctions as not all auctioneers or sellers will fully investigate the title before putting it on the block. If you do buy a home at real estate auctions insure that you will not be responsible for any past due taxes or other liens that may be found when conducting a title search on the property. A reputable company conducting these auctions should be able to produce a clean, clear deed to the property and the house at the time of the sale.

When buying homes at real estate auctions it is normal to have to put at least 10 percent of the purchase price down with the balance at closing, usually in about 30 days. If you are unsure about the availability of financing, it is probably best not to bid. If you unable to find a loan for the house, you will lose your 10 percent that you put down.