Foreclosure auctions (public)

[wes122984]

you make most of your money on the purchase. most courthouse auctions are going for pretty close to market value.

Better off posting an add in muliple classifeds , or putting up signs and letting people call you. get them before they forclose and should be able to work out a much better deal well below market value.

[W E H]

Those tv shows ruined a good thing. They make it look way too easy and show unrealistic timelines and profits. The drove the prices up to. That’s good if you’re the one selling Around here all the good subs have as much work as they want. Lots of people get taken advantage of or get shoddy work done by the jackleg contractors. If you can and will do the work yourself that’s a plus. But you have to have licensed plumbers and electricians and all the proper permits. And pass city inspections. And those guys operate on their own timeframes. Still money to be made but all the money is made when you buy it in my opinion. Lots of times the financed “flip” houses cost more in monthly payments taxes and insurance than they can be rented for.

Get it in writing from all parties. And expect problems.

Otherwise, it’s a lot of fun and profitable when things go right.

Good luck!

[ATI]

go to the wholesaler website or download their app way ahead of time and look through the list of homes and find the house you're interested in. do your homework on the house, read about it on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, etc..., drive by and look, get out and check the property out, check the foundation and put a level on the walls and the foundation if you can, ask neighbors, etc... at the auction the houses normally go for $4 to $8 thousand more than the starting bid unless it's an absolute gem.
Right now may be a good time since people are avoiding large crowds, but you don't have to actually be there.
let me know what else you need, I used to do that as a part of my job. 15 year at GMAC Mortgage and now at Fannie Mae.

[Jaker]

Check out biggerpockets.com it’s the Tbh of the real estate investing world.

[sp-bow]

Following

[Turboe]

Texasair answered pretty much everything.
I would recommend going slow and learning by going to several auctions, watching and talking to people. Get the latest list of properties, and actually go through the motions as if you were planning on buying and go through the motions as if you were planning on buying and see how you would have done. It's a lot of work, but worth at least a solid trial run.

In my experience (tarrant co), it's not easy doing it solo due to having multiple properties on your list that different trustee's are selling. Hard to be at up to 5 trustees at one time... not to mention some trustee's like to hide so no one sees them so the property won't sell and you're trying to watch for those guys too.

I do see people bidding up to and above retail all the time, it's crazy.

I also agree with Jaker about BP, it's a great place to learn about anything Real Estate, but can have an information overload effect.

As far as cashiers checks, I would only take a handful with different amounts and some cash to make it add up correctly. Just make them out to yourself and sign them over if you're the winner. If you have to go over the purchase amount, they will mail you the difference.

It's not as easy as it sounds if you want a chance for a good deal. I usually start out with about 40-50 houses on my list, do drive by's to check them out. I will scratch about 5-10 off, do all of my online research, scratch about 5-10 more, then end up with about 15-25 at the time of the sale. When I arrive usually half if not more will be scratched off because the people made a deal with the bank at the last minute and it was removed from the auction. So I usually end up with 5-15 that I would actually bid on, then those usually go for retail....

Fun stuff!

[TeamAmerica]

Texasair answered pretty much everything.
I would recommend going slow and learning by going to several auctions, watching and talking to people. Get the latest list of properties, and actually go through the motions as if you were planning on buying and go through the motions as if you were planning on buying and see how you would have done. It's a lot of work, but worth at least a solid trial run.

In my experience (tarrant co), it's not easy doing it solo due to having multiple properties on your list that different trustee's are selling. Hard to be at up to 5 trustees at one time... not to mention some trustee's like to hide so no one sees them so the property won't sell and you're trying to watch for those guys too.

I do see people bidding up to and above retail all the time, it's crazy.

I also agree with Jaker about BP, it's a great place to learn about anything Real Estate, but can have an information overload effect.

As far as cashiers checks, I would only take a handful with different amounts and some cash to make it add up correctly. Just make them out to yourself and sign them over if you're the winner. If you have to go over the purchase amount, they will mail you the difference.

It's not as easy as it sounds if you want a chance for a good deal. I usually start out with about 40-50 houses on my list, do drive by's to check them out. I will scratch about 5-10 off, do all of my online research, scratch about 5-10 more, then end up with about 15-25 at the time of the sale. When I arrive usually half if not more will be scratched off because the people made a deal with the bank at the last minute and it was removed from the auction. So I usually end up with 5-15 that I would actually bid on, then those usually go for retail....

Fun stuff!

Great points. The idea of doing some mock purchases is spot on i think. Managing my day job plus this will be tough. I'm still reaching out to multiple realtors and lenders to find out who they have in their networks.

My buddy found his first from a wholesaler on Craigslist. Has it rented and has already refinanced $30K out more than initial investment. Bought his in 2015.

Dfw market should be solid for years to come with the growth prospects we have now. Which I why I want to rent and hold long term.

I have gotten some good info on biggerpockets and trying to network some there as well.

[RiverRat1]

The shows appeal to the people who want something for nothing. Flipping is risky and doesn't always make money. It can get people into a lot of trouble quickly.

I tried flipping once long ago before those shows started. I lost a little but learned a lot.

Way tougher than people think... Soooooo many fees and expenses you never think of.