Hi Jaime and thanks for your question.

Here in San Jose, a Trustee's sale (which is the auction of the property in default) is held at the courthouse steps and the highest bidder will take possession of the home. Usually, there are public records available to show show interested parties the minimum acceptable bid. If the bid is low enough, there may be someone who actually bids on the property, but often if the home is worth less than the mortgage, then the home reverts to the first mortgage holder--the bank.

Once the home is sold, as another real estate professional said, it might take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for the home to go back on the market. Interestingly enough, many of the banks seem to be "holding" their foreclosure properties in the hopes that the values will increase this spring and summer, so many of the homes here in Santa Clara County, for example, were foreclosed in December and have yet to hit the market.

There is no guarantee that the individual who listed the home as a short sale (or preforeclosure) will be given the listing again when the home is finally set up for sale by the bank. In many cases, the property is turned over to an asset manager who then solicits an agent from their "pool" of available agents. The one who contacts the asset manager first often gets the list.

Good luck to you, and I hope this answered your question. If you would like more information about a specific foreclosure property, contact your real estate professional who can obtain information about the property from any number of databases or from the title company. Happy house hunting!!

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty

Hi, Jaime-
My question to you is what type of auction do you mean? Are you talking about the Trustee's Sale on the courthouse steps when the house is first foreclosed on or one of the public auctions that you are seeing advertised on the Internet? If it's the latter, I've seen many of these homes already listed with an agent prior to being put on the auction block. These auctions usually have the subject properties open for inspections 3 weekends prior to the auction. If the home is not sold at the auction, it reverts back to the listing agent that had the listing all along. In one instance, the home sold prior to the auction. I would advise you to call your Realtor about the property you see advertised to see if it is already listed for sale. You may have an opportunity to purchase it prior to the auction and not have to compete with so many people.

Hello Jamie,

Thanks again for the question.

Usually, it goes back to the bank or person who foreclosed. Generally speaking, it could be listed within just a few days but it normally takes 1-2 weeks. The only thing that would add time to that is if the property is still being occupied or there is personal property left behind. In CA, any personal items left behind, especially over $300.00 in value, requires that the bank/agent go thru a process of getting rid of it, and that takes a minimum of 18 days. If the home is being occupied, it could take several months or more to get the property on the market.