I gave up on County Foreclosure Auctions because like you, found that most of the foreclosure auctions were either postponed or canceled. In many cases, one out of 50 auctions were completed each day and most of them went back to the Bank because the starting bids were too high. I have a friend who made a living by going to the steps, she said she normally can buy one foreclosure each year. That is a lot of work for one house.
CB I think you are right on the fed. My bf is a broker and she said she had never had a busier December.
Yes, I watched a lot of properties go pending and sold over the last few weeks. Inventory is very low now. I’m hoping that all of the buyers are tapped out and I can get the next one coming up for sale. However, investors (my competition) are never tapped out. They are going to be fighting for the same property I am interested in. I desperately want to get one of the ‘pocket’ listings that I am waiting for - before anyone else gets a chance to drive up the price.
Good luck!
Today’s property got postponed to March, after I drove all the way out to El Cajon courthouse and arrived, but luckily I checked one more time before getting out of the car … because it is pouring rain here. Have spent many days standing in the rain at the auctions and it is not fun!
Good luck, coralbrook. I hope your next flip materializes soon. Your threads are among my favorites!
If you’re interested in branching out to Honolulu, there are several properties going on the market here. 
Or Connecticut. Come to Connecticut. 
And there are properties here in WA begging for CB’s attention! 
I am very interested in the Honolulu market but I have always assumed that there are a lot of flippers there and stiff competition.
Interestingly, about 6 houses came up for sale today in La Mesa and 5 of them are flips. Tons of flips in La Mesa. Makes me nervous about searching La Mesa but my agent is very hot on the area because of the affordability there.
Honolulu is just very expensive, so you have to be very careful that you can make a profit. Remodeling costs are way above the estimates you are able to manage, as are costs of materials. I’m not sure how many flippers there are because a lot of the single family homes in nice neighborhoods start near the 7 figure range.
I know my brother and some friends flipped one property and tore down and rebuilt another before deciding it was too stressful and not worth it for them.
I’m sure there is money to be made IF you purchase and remodel CAREFULLY.
Because I do not have access to the realtor’s multiple listing service (MLS) for Hawaii, it is very difficult to do good analysis of property values/potential. I would be severely handicapped trying to find good properties and would probably fail miserably
But, about 2 years ago I was contacted with a lead on a distressed property and was seriously considering it. My lead carpenter was all excited! Of course, he would be excited if we did a property in Las Vegas also
Wasted more time rounding up money and researching 3 properties going to auction. There was an incredible doll house with wide views over San Diego harbor that I wanted really bad. Postponed to February.
Oh well. I have inspected 3 houses today and ill update the details tomorrow.
A lot of the best deals never make it to MLS anyway. I know someone who often gets tipped off when they want a buyer with a lot of cash and access to quick credit they have worked with. It seems relationships really help, like in much of life.
9 (I think I am on #9)
I went to inspect a house at 3701 Oleander, 92106. The house has been on the market for about 5 months at $615k. Occupied with long time tenants who, obviously, have been holding the house together with duct tape. What a horrid mess!! I could not even get my head around it - how it could possibly be salvaged.
It began life as a 2/1 830 sq ft little house. Someone built an illegal addition on the back with a flat roof that closed in the back of the house with 2 more bedrooms. The addition closed off the back of the house so that there is no light or windows in the living area. So dark and dreary in the middle of the house. Then someone slapped up some drywall in the 1 car garage for an office or something. All of it was poorly done and there is a big crack in ceiling between original house and addition in the back - dead giveaway that they didn’t put in proper support beams to addition.
I would have to tear down the back addition and bring house back to original 2/1 and try to start over again. Costs would be too high. I called the agent and explained my issues and she said the owner is not budging from the price.
Next!
10 Wooded Area
There is a small house in what we call the ‘wooded area’ of Point Loma - Marilyn described it as Loma Land. Unfortunately this house has the kiss of death because it is on a corner at Catalina, a very busy street. Catalina Street leads out the top of the peninsula to the Naval base and lighthouse. There is heavy traffic in the morning and the evening as the workers come and go to the base. Otherwise a very quiet area. Technically, the wooded area is one of the most desireable areas in Point Loma, although I don’t really understand why. The draw is large wooded lots.
Unfortunately this house has a very small lot, and only 2 bedrooms/ 2 baths, although it has a full 2 car garage. But no back yard to speak of. It’s in grandma condition, but has great curb appeal. Standing in the small back yard there is heavy traffic noise, but it might be mitigated with a block wall and better landscaping. The main drawback is there is a large brick fire place and wall between living area and kitchen. In order to open up the kitchen, the fireplace will have to be torn down.
I’m thinking about it hard. It’s been on the market for over 60 days so there might be room in the price.
I followed up with the listing agent who is going to get the trustee sale on a local property. He says he is meeting with the trustee/heir next week to get the listing. He told the heir that he has a buyer that he wants to get in first. The issue is that they are trying to get the son/brother out of the house and he told them that he couldn’t possibly pack and move out in January because ‘he will probably get a cold’. I told the listing agent that I would be willing to purchase the house ‘as is’ and I would be the bad guy and get the guy out of the house.
Obviously the guy (who is 60, unemployed, doesn’t work or do anything) is going to inherit a portion of the proceeds so we can just pay him to get out of there.
Wasted time actually drawing funds, getting cashier’s checks, driving to the auction and sitting there for 2 hours this morning. Both of the properties I was interested in got postponed. But, there was no shortage of bidders swarming all over the properties that did go to sale.
I have analyzed the foreclosure sales in the last month and it looks like bidders are paying close to only 10-15% off full retail value of these homes. That is insane and I cannot compete. First, there is 5% of commission and closing costs to sell the house in the future. That leaves only 10% of value to try to do all the repairs/renovation and then there is carrying costs. I don’t think I can compete at the auctions anymore. I may give up and hope that working all angles in the neighborhood works out.
As an example, if the house is worth $500,000 fixed up based on comparable sales. These guys are paying close to $420,000 to buy them. It will cost $25,000 to sell the house in the future. And, at a minimum, $40,000 to fix up. How the heck are these guys making a profit???
If I found the right #10 wooded area, parts of it look like the house could be original to LomaLand! Do you know how hold it is? I know it’s described as mid-century but don’t know exactly what that means. Too bad about the auction situation and that there’s almost nothing coming on the market in your price range.
Yes, it is described as ‘mid century’ but I cannot imagine where they came up with that description of the architecture. It does have vaulted ceilings inside, but the siding and exterior are not mid-century design. I guess they are using that description because it was built in 1951.
The issue with the house is that buyers want to live in the Wooded Area because they are looking for a large lot, privacy and seclusion. This house does not have any of those characteristics. Small lot and on the busy traffic corner. I have been researching as far back as possible for anything that has sold on those corners down Catalina. The other homes that have sold on those corners are larger with big lots. Nothing comparable that is only a 2 bedroom with barely any back yard! Makes it very risky to determine what the future fixed value is going to be for a quick sale. I usually stay away from anything that has issues that I cannot fix.