Happy New Year and the auctions

Out with the old in with the new!
I hope that 2009 is filled with bright optimism and hope for you.

OK a brief over view of the auctions for all you real estate fans!

There are several auctions that come thought the Victor Valley,
REDC and Hudson & Marshall seem to be the most frequent.

REDC will be here Jan 24.

Time to prep for it if you are going.

GENERALLY here is how it goes, everyone is a little different.

FIRST!!!!!!!!!!! Preview the property! REPEAT! VIEW THE PROPERTY! DO Not bid on something you have not seen!

Next read all the legal stuff on line.

You can bring an agent to the auction. This will cost you NOTHING! It may help keep things going in the end. We get paid for trouble shooting and making your life less complicated.

Next decided ahead of time what you are willing to spend on a property. You and your agent have gone over the comps near by, looked at a few other houses around there etc. Do your homework.

Get your funding together, come with a pre-qual from a lender you chose.
You will most likely need a cashier check for $5000.00
This will be your deposit for the first $95K of bidding.
The auction will add 5% premium to your last bid.
You will need a personal check for 5% of anything you bid over $100K.
You will need a second cashiers check for $10K for any 2nd property you present the winning bid on.

NOTE!!!!!!!!!!! All bids are subject to seller approval. So if the seller is expecting to sell for $200K and you fall short of $200K and win the bid, they can not accept you offer and you will get your money back. It's like on e-bay when you win but you didn't meet the reserve price.

Next....read the contract VERY CAREFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is a mean nasty contact written to the sellers advantage.
If you win and the house won't make appraisal or meet some other condition set out by your lender and they won't lend on it. Too bad, so sad for you. Bye bye deposit. No joke! BEWARE! INSPECT! Be careful!

Please be 1000% sure before you go into this.

You can get a great deal, but it's not for the faint of heart, it is a risky way to buy a house.

So before you buy,
get an agent
look at the house
inspect the property thoroughly
have fun.

By the way....
you can check out the next REDC auction in Victorville Jan. 24.
Open houses Jan 3,10 and 11.
Or call your favorite realtor (Hopefully that is me!) to see the houses.

Happy House Hunting!

Karen