The first is the foreclosure auction which occurs when the property owner fails to pay the loan on the property. Since California is a deed of trust state, the foreclosure process happens more quickly than it would for a mortgage.
How To Buy An Auction Home In California
The second type of auction is a far more lucrative one for bargain hunters. This is the tax deed auction, which is also called a tax defaulted property auction. This occurs when the property owner has failed to pay the property taxes.
In a nutshell, at auctions on foreclosed homes in California, the bidding starts around the amount of the deed of trust plus the taxes, while at tax defaulted auctions, the bidding starts around the amount of just the property taxes and the deed of trust is extinguished.
But there are other ways that homes are sold, and auctions are one of them. There are two main ways that a house ends up at auction: through foreclosure due to missed payments or defaulting on tax payments.
Foreclosed properties are sold at auction. These homes are seized by a mortgage lender after a borrower fails to make mortgage payments for a set period of time. This process begins after several months of missed payments. Before a servicer can proceed with the foreclosure process, the loan must be at least 120 days delinquent, with some exceptions. Servicers are required to make efforts to contact the borrower with alternatives to foreclosure to help them stay in their house if possible.
Absolute auctions attract the most bidders because there is no minimum. This is also the preferred method of most lenders and government agencies. All sales are final, meaning there is no room for the seller to back out in the face of a too-low bid.
In an open auction, bidders know the amount of any other bids that have been made. Bidders like open bids, because they can see what the competition is doing and raise their bid gradually, as needed. If there is no competition, a lowball bid might just win. On the other hand, open bidding can result in bidding wars, and sometimes sellers reap a windfall.
Why? Because in the auction process, the lender is looking to cut their losses by recouping the balance due on the mortgage and their costs to foreclose. The same is true for municipalities with a tax lien in place. Their interest is in coming as close as possible to having the tax bill paid and their costs recouped.
In the vast majority of real estate transactions, home buyers are legally offered consumer protections, lenders are required to make disclosures, and real estate agents must advise you as they would advise themselves. In the auction situation, none of that applies. In addition to having little or no access to the home you wish to buy before you bid, you are responsible for doing your due diligence to make sure the title is held free and clear.
Of course, the mortgage lender, and probably the taxing authority, have liens in place, but you have to make sure there are no other liens, as in the case of a home equity loan in default or unpaid homeowners association (HOA) fees. If there are, you will be responsible for paying those liens off when you acquire the title to the property.
Even if you win at auction, you can still lose the house. If the owner is suddenly able to bring their mortgage current, work out a forbearance plan with the lender, or negotiate a short sale, you will walk away empty handed. Until you receive the title with your name on it, which usually takes about 10 days after the auction ends, you have no guarantees.
These are loans that are high interest and short term, and generally unsuitable for auction bidders who plan to live in the home. These loans make sense for property flippers, whose business it is to fix up and sell their auction buys as quickly as possible, paying off the loan, and pocketing their profits.
In a delayed financing loan, you pay for your home upfront, as in the case of an auction purchase, and then immediately refinance the home to take the equity back out, presumably to buy more houses. It could also work if you borrowed money from friends or family to make the initial purchase of an auction property and need to repay those loans.
Essentially, you will have to meet the appraisal and home inspection requirements, so a lot will depend on the condition of that home. It might be impossible to get that financing if the home turns out to be in worse shape than you imagined.
Figure out what you must pay for an auction property to make it worth your while, either as a homeowner or an investor. It can be difficult to stick to, especially in the case of a bidding war, when emotions run high. But if you know exactly when to walk away, you will avoid overpaying for an auction property.
All risks are on the buyer in the auction situation, so there is no one to look to for financial assistance should the problems in a home, or in its legal status, be greater than you thought they might be. Even the best-kept home can harbor serious problems within its walls.
If a homeowner has defaulted on a second lien, the first lien for the primary mortgage is probably not far behind. Your purchase will always be subordinate to the first lien, which could foreclose and wipe out all subordinate liens.
If the lender and the homeowner have not worked out a repayment plan, the lender will file a notice of default with the governing county. They can do this at least 30 days after contacting the homeowner for the foreclosure avoidance assessment.
Most foreclosures in California do not need to go through the court system except for extreme cases. The state has also imposed protections for homeowners who have had their homes foreclosed on. This includes their right to pay off their debts and regain ownership of the house up to five days before the lender sells it. This increases your risk of buying foreclosed properties.
When buying a foreclosed home, you will be dealing with the mortgage lender or its trustee, not the homeowner. Attending public auctions is usually how to buy a foreclosed home in California, but there are other ways you can get one.
As a property investor, you would want to buy pre-foreclosure homes. This is because you can negotiate a lower price with the homeowner, whose aim is to sell their home to avoid foreclosure and save their credit score. You will also be able to inspect the property before buying it.
If the delinquent homeowner could not repay their lender or sell their property, then the lender puts it up for auction. Many property investors have found amazing deals at foreclosure auctions. But the process is still risky since you may not inspect the house or check for title issues beforehand. If you are not careful, you might end up buying a home that needs significant repairs and renovations that will eat up your budget.
If this was not risky enough, the state government has made buying a foreclosed home in California more difficult for property investors. SB 1079 or Homes for Homeowner, Not Corporations, took effect on January 1st, 2021. Under this law, owner-occupants, tenants, local governments, and housing nonprofits have 45 days to match or outbid the offer if an investor wins a bid for a residential property.
If the mortgage lender fails to sell the foreclosed house at auction, then they will seize it, evict the occupants, and sell it in a traditional manner. They will also fix up the place, clear the title, and follow state regulations when selling. The home may have a higher sale price at this stage compared to the previous two stages, but you may be able to inspect and appraise the property before making an offer.
These are the different ways on how to buy a foreclosure in CA depending on what stage the property is in. While purchasing one that is in pre-foreclosure may get you the best deal, you could still keep an eye out on public auctions and REO listings in case you find a great home.
Getting pre-approved or pre-qualified for a mortgage means submitting your financial information to a lender. If you are pre-approved, they will give you a pre-approval letter showing that they could give you a home loan up to a certain amount. You could also use this letter as proof that you can afford to pay with the pre-approved amount, which would set you apart from other homebuyers.
Note that if you are buying a foreclosure at an auction, you are likely required to pay in cash. If you do not have enough cash to pay for a foreclosed home, consider securing financing through other means like borrowing from friends and family, getting a home equity line of credit (HELOC), or withdrawing funds from your 401k or IRA.
You will also need a lot of patience here, as you might end up writing a lot of offers before a seller accepts yours. The same goes for public auctions; you may have to outbid several other interested buyers to win the property you want. When bidding on a house, you need to set a maximum purchase price beforehand so that you do not end up overspending just because you got too competitive.
When buying a foreclosure, most of the time you are buying it as-is. You cannot negotiate for the seller to make repairs so you can buy their home. And when bidding on a property, you may not be allowed to do an inspection prior to the auction.
Once you have secured the property and are happy with it, it is time to pay for the full amount of the asking price and sign the closing paperwork. If you win a bid at an auction, you have to pay either immediately or the following business day, so you might have to do this first before proceeding to steps 5 and 6. The occupant of your property has a few days to vacate the house.
If the homeowner fails to pay their loan within a set period, then the lender seizes the property and puts it up for auction. Thanks to SB 1079, buying a foreclosed property at an auction in California is now 45 days longer. Thus, you might have a better chance of getting a good deal from buying pre-foreclosures or REO properties.
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