Rawlings Auction & Appraisal Service | 1-301-473-5796 business | 1-301-418-1144 cell
Trustee and Foreclosure Auctions
While not pleasant, we participate in helping lending institutions
liquidate the following types of property:
1. Short sales where homeowners are selling property for less than what they
owe on it. Although seller can accept an offer, it's the lender who makes
the final decision. Lender will have to approve the short sale. Sometimes
the Seller and the Realtor list the property before the lender approves the
short sale. This could be rather risky as the lender may not agree with the
price. Additionally, it can take 45 days or longer from the time the offer
is forwarded to the lender before the lender accepts, rejects or (rarely)
counteroffers the offer. If you have the time, and if you are confident
about your offer, this is a good place to start.
2. Trustee Sale. If the property was not successfully sold during a period
of time, the lender can issue a Notice of Trustee Sale which is recorded
with the County Clerk's office. The sale is held at the court steps, and is
open for bid. Sometimes, a minimum bid is announced. Some astute
buyers/investors come prepared to raise their bid in increments, and come
prepared with certified checks for each increment. However, one may be
caught up in the fervor of the moment and overbid.
3. REO (real estate owned/bank owned). The lender has foreclosed and owns the property. The bank will engage auction firms to list the properties as REOs. They are not in the business of owning or keeping inventory, and will likely price the properties aggressively so that they will sell. REOs are generally AS IS sales, no credits, no repairs. So buyer beware. Fortunately, the buyers can still have the opportunity to check out the properties --- even after they have an accepted offer, they can have the loan/buyer inspection contingency. If the repairs are deemed too extensive by the buyer's standards, the buyer can back out.