Every now and then, my honey and I have some money available to invest. We like to go to Trustee’s sales and Sheriff Sales. We have had the most success purchasing at the Sheriff Sales.
Since the foreclosure process for these is a court process, it has been expedited. They don’t have to post the notice of default repeatedly, in fact, many times there is only one notice of the sale posted in the legal section of the newspaper once. One major difference between the two sales is the Sheriff sales have a six month right of redemption for the previous owner. That means that even if you win it, you still don’t really own it until that six months is up. So, you don’t really want to put any money into fix ups until after that period of time. The owner only needs to pay what you paid for the property to redeem it. If you put money into it before then, and they redeem it, your extra money is lost.
Going to auction is exciting. Sometimes too exciting. Many times, my hands are shaking because of the adrenaline even before signing in and showing my proof of funds. If I win the bid, it’s hard to sign the final documents at the end due to my hands shaking so badly.
It’s after the sale that the fun begins. If there is no one living in the house, you call a locksmith and get access to the house. Because you usually buy it without ever seeing the interior, it is always a surprise. Sometimes good, sometimes, not so good. When people are living there, you have to go through the eviction process. At least you have the six months to get that done.
Right now, I am sitting in the sheriff’s lobby waiting for a sale to begin. My heart is pounding, my hands are shaking. There are 7 bidders so far. Although, I’m only seeing one familiar face. Usually it is the same batch of bidders, the ones I call “deep pockets”. They don’t have monetary restrictions, and many times will pay more than I think they should. I like to get a bargain. Many of the investors don’t want to spend a lot and have to wait the six months unless it is a great deal. We don’t mind.
Update: I didn’t open my mouth once. By the time the third bidder spoke, it was above what we wanted to spend. I stayed and watched. It helps me get a feel for what people are willing to spend on what. we trust that if we are supposed to get the property being auctioned, God will give it to us. If not, someone else will win.
An Ordinary Life 