Brad,

Head to a few auctions and watch the players. You will see the gruff old guy with a briefcase who wants to bluff scare everyone that he is there to clean house and has the horsepower to do so. You will see the guy in painter pants and const boots. You will see a slick kid, skinny and clean shaven. A couple of normal looking chaps and all of them have their cashiers checks, in various amounts sticking out of what appears to be study material. All will have very serious looks, cards close to chest and ear pieces. Funny, they all are reporting back to the big guy, the OZ. The bids open and off they go. "plus a dollar"....You will laugh I promise. I have seen one home go 15 minutes, one dollar at a time. I have seen more action on Ebay over a GI Joe doll. Anyway the responses below are all true. Not a good way to start the game. Realtors are very knowledgable and can help with buying after the sale. Homes are too leveraged here in Portland and most do not sell at the steps....except to the bank. We track this process daily. We watch as they go bank owned and prepare our buyers for when the homes in their areas of concern are ready. Often overpriced when they first hit the market but we track them until the pricing gets in line. Buying REO (bank owned) you will need proof of funds (cash) or a strong approval from a lender. Make sure to get with one early so you know where you are. The best deals go to the most prepared.

I would like to invite you to one of our foreclosure events held at the Portland Homebuilders Association in Lake Oswego. The next one is May 5th 9:30am. Packed full of good info for you to think of, no worries, it is free and we don't sell books or tapes. Head to the web site below and register or contact me direct and I can explain more.

If the owner isn't interested in budging on the price, there isn't anything the bank can do about it until after the auction- assuming the home becomes a REO. Like someone mentioned earlier, you need to show up with cash or a certified check, cashiers check, etc. for the full amount of your bid. Even if you are the only one who shows up, you can still be outbid by the lender and may not get the property at the minimum bid price. I suggest you find out who the trustee is on the property (this information can be obtained from your local title company- they receive notice on these sales) and contact the trustee for specifics including minimum bid amount, bidding instructions, etc. You are taking some big risks when buying this way- specifically as to the condition of the title, condition of the home, etc. so it definitely pays to heavily research all of these issues prior to even considering making a bid at auction.

Brad, Here's a link to the Oregon State Bar site and it's page on foreclosures....http://www.osbar.org/public/legalinfo/1202.htm
If your interested in the foreclosure process

This site will help you find access to public records (State/county/city) I would check the county site and see if there is info on the foreclosure sales.http://publicrecords.onlinesearches.com/Oregon.htm

I'm not a PRO but would still suggest that if you do not intend to spend a LOT of TIME doing reseach, making contacts, ect.. then you should begin interviewing agents to find one to assist you through the process if you want to make a serious move on a piece of property. Find good representation.

I would also like to mention that you may want to take a long hard look at our state economy/unemployment/foreclosure rates. They are currently very high......rising?

Good Luck, Dunes

Brad be careful.

You need all cash. You need to show up with checks and you will probably pay more than you will for a short or an REO.

AT the courthouse you will get a sheriffs deed. There may be liens for taxes both property and IRS, Judgments, and contractors liens as well. You could do this but you need help and you need to be very very careful. The owner might trash the heck out of it. That and you get the pleasure of evicting them. This type of buying is not for the faint of heart.

You can call me and we can discuss this.

A loan will not work pal. You need a briefcase full of cash or cashiers checks. This is always an issue at foreclosure.

Hope this helps. Again ring me and we can discuss.

regards;

Dirk Knudsen
Re/max Metro Gold
Re/max Hall of Fame.

503-799-8383

Best contact county determine terms required for auction. Many of these auctions get crazy, unorganized correct no one shows up. Bank usually purchases back .

WHY not agree short sale? Bank approves all short sales not the home owner perhaps have your agent speak with listing agent who has time vested sale property to you. FYI once a property is listed foreclosure on a credit report good luck to family lease a property from anyone ! shows on credit report