Re: Buying at Sheriffs Auction - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on February 19, 2002 at 18:43:31:
Brian:
Essentially, how you describe this deal, is exactly how it works… that is what I do everyday; buy at wholesale, sell at retail.
However, as you yourself have mentioned, “being new to this”, your assessment of value and costs to repair may not be exactly right on the button. Since you have sufficient time here, you may want to do all the things that David K mentions, as well as having a property inpector check out the place. They will be able to spot any real problems, and even help you with cost estimates of repairs. Even if you are right on the money with your estimates of repair costs, the inspection would serve as a validation of what you now think, and that too would hold some value for a new investor. However, as David K also mentioned, it is easy to underestimate what things cost, etc. And the 3 to 4K is too low for paint and carpet, even if you do it yourself. You will find that your fellow police officers are better officers than RE investors, because they are probably not even close… but that is a distant observation, and somewhat facetious comment, meant to be humerous.
Be certain that you are not making any legal mistakes, such as buying with an unserved lien in place. Be certain to have the title searched before the auction; it will be money well spent. As you can see, you can start spending a tidy little sum on property that you do not even own, with these foreclosures. It all adds up!
You have the makings of a proftiable deal. Do your homework, (research legally and physically), know exactly what you will spend, tops, before the auction, and have a detailed plan of how you will exit the property. Hopefully, you will land on your feet with this one. Good luck.
Just the way that I view things…
JT-IN