Existing home sales up 3.0% in February from CNBC.

Re: Bidding Too High At Auctions

“Why do they do it?” I asked myself again after the auction. I was walking away frustrated – again.

Why do people bid so high on properties at auctions? For a long time I would ask myself this question. Finally, I got smart and started asking the people who bid.

Then I discovered something interesting.

Up to that point I only looked at an auction from the point of view of an investor who wants to flip or rent the property. What I realized was – sometimes – other people with different circumstances show up and ruin our “investor” plans.

Sometimes they know something you don’t. That’s the most common answer.

Maybe that high bidder is someone lives next door and wants to control the property (and the tenants) and keep it as a rental. That was the answer when I asked why a guy bid so high – clearly more than an investor should have bid on the property.

Maybe someone wants to live in the property. If someone really wants to live in a neighborhood, but is getting bid out of properties via the traditional MLS/Realtor/Retail market – they clearly will pay more than we would as an investor. That retail buyer is a little more rare.

If someone wants to control who their next door neighbor is, or really wants to live in a neighborhood – both have “inside” knowledge of the area.

Maybe they even know the condition of the inside of the property – one of the biggest risks of buying properties at auctions. I have one of those right now. It’s a competitive edge on other drive-by bidders. I hope it turns out well.

The March WREIA meeting is tomorrow
Monday, March 19th, in Bethesda.

The auction atmosphere is exciting – but it is only the beginning of a larger process. Many times the properties don’t sell at the auction and go back to the bank. There are a lot of things that happen at an auction that will give you clues as to what to do next if you are interested in the property. I have bought some great properties from banks and lenders after I lost the bid at the auction.

Come on out this Monday and discover a few things about auctions and REO’s it took me years to learn. In the last few decades I have attended hundreds of auctions that resulted in the purchase of many dozens of properties. I am happy to share the lessons I’ve learned with you tomorrow at WREIA.

Join me on March 19th as we talk about the entire process that goes on behind the scenes at Auctions. It’s a fun topic that I am going to break down into easy steps. By better understanding these steps you will have an edge over your competition and might be a little happier with your 2018 results.

March 19th is a great opportunity for you to ask a few questions like:

• What areas have the best auctions in 2018?
• How, and where do I find partners for my successful bids?
• How often do you win a bid?
• What mistakes do you see people making with Auctions?
• How and when does a real estate agent get paid in the Auction properties?

Save a few dollars and reserve your seat early. Then, come join us at WREIA – TOMORROW – Monday, March 19th. It will be a great way to start the spring season, get you motivated, and get some momentum for the rest of 2018.

Join us as we talk about Auctions in the DC area.

Meet real people doing real deals in real estate – right here in the DC/Baltimore area.

Reserve your seat at this link.

Have a great weekend!

John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association

I was up early Tuesday morning and dropped a short little video into the phone at a property here in the DC area.

If you want to learn from professionals who make a living in the Auction process, IN THE DC AREA, join us at our WREIA meeting this month.

The March WREIA meeting is
Monday, March 19th, in Bethesda.

Here are some quick details –

The March WREIA topic is obviously ” Auctions ”

Join us and learn:

• Why auctions work so well in real estate
• Main places to “view” auctions in 2018 – live and online
• Can you really do this in your PJ’s?
• Beware of these “speed bumps”
• When auctions go bad – a few stories you can learn from and avoid
• and more.

Join us as we talk about Auctions in the DC area.

Meet real people doing real deals in real estate – right here in the DC/Baltimore area.

Reserve your seat at this link.

Have a great weekend!

John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association

Re: Auctions can be thrilling.

Last week I told you about the 465 properties that were going to auction around the state of Maryland.

That is 465 opportunities for you to “steal” a property – right?

Not so fast. There may be 2 types of issues that you can’t see from that online auction listing.

The first problem that most people anticipate – is that there may be defects in the property. There may be frozen pipes, mold, or more likely you will find an aged home in need of some basic TLC.

The second problem – title defects – are the type that can clean out an amateur and send them running back to their day job.

What are “Title Defects”?

My definition of a title defect is “anything you didn’t know” about the title prior to purchasing.

Was there an easement on the property that wasn’t obvious when you drove by quickly to take a look?

Does the property have likely issues with relatives or heirs that may come out of nowhere claiming a fraudulent sale of the estate property?

Or more than likely – will you find regular liens from contractors or builders that have never been cleared? These are particularly nasty because they can pop up even after a sale takes place.

Most of the real horror stories when it comes to auctions are rare. BUT – they can and do wipe out new investors every day. It can get much worse than just losing a deposit, some of these problems can persist long after a title transfer takes place.

Rare? Yes, – but these risks are part of the business and you should be aware of some of the issues.

More importantly – there are things you can do to GREATLY reduce the risk of problems after you win the auction bid.

And THAT is what we will be discussing at the WREIA meeting this month.

It can be thrilling to win a property at a good price at an auction. What we want you to avoid is that nightmare’ish situation that pops up after you hear the auctioneer say “Sold!”

If you are prepared for the worst case scenario, when you walk into the property and find out there are no issues and the property can be turned into a rental or be ready for sale within a week – it’s like hitting a home run! At the very least, everyone at WREIA will give you a round of applause!

If you want to learn from professionals who make a living in the Auction process, IN THE DC AREA, join us at our WREIA meeting this month.

The March WREIA meeting is
Monday, March 19th, in Bethesda.

Here are some quick details –

The March WREIA topic is obviously ” Auctions ”

Join us and learn:
Why auctions work so well in real estate
Main places to “view” auctions in 2018 – live and online
Can you really do this in your PJ’s?
Beware of these “speed bumps”
When auctions go bad – a few stories you can learn from and avoid
and more.

Join us as we talk about Auctions in the DC area.

Meet real people doing real deals in real estate – right here in the DC/Baltimore area.

Reserve your seat at this link.

Have a great weekend!

John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association

What you need to know before you flip a house from CNBC.
More and more people are flipping houses — the most in 10 years – but they are reaping smaller rewards. High home prices, hot competition and very, very few available homes to buy are combining to make this popular trade ever more risky.

Just more than 207,000 homes were flipped in 2017, according to a new report from Attom Data Solutions, which defines a flip as a property bought and sold in the same 12-month period. That is the highest number of flips in a decade. The number of people or companies flipping homes, 138,410, also jumped to a decade high.

465 Properties in Maryland

That’s the number I saw this morning when I opened a large online portal listing “auctions” across the state of Maryland.

The real story isn’t that there are 465 properties.

The REAL story is that there is a property I have been tracking – for a long time.

Rather than choose the traditional Realtor listing route – the owner of this property has decided to pursue the auction process to sell the property.

In some ways, this could still be considered an off-market deal. The good news is that very few people have been inside this property – and there are not going to be any “showings” before the auction takes place.

In that sense – it kinda “feels” like a bank foreclosure auction.

Sure – you can drive by – like everyone else.

That’s where I have an edge – I’ve been inside this property.

Sadly, I can’t tell you the address of this property – because it goes to auction a few days after our next WREIA meeting in March.

If you want to learn from professionals who make a living in the Auction process, IN THE DC AREA, join us at our WREIA meeting this month.

The March WREIA meeting is Monday, March 19th, in Bethesda.

Here are some quick details –

The March topic is obviously ” Auctions ”

Join us and learn:

• Why auctions work so well in real estate
• Main places to “view” auctions in 2018 – live and online
• Can you really do this in your PJ’s?
• Beware of these “speed bumps”
• When auctions go bad – a few stories you can learn from and avoid
• and more.

Join us as we talk about Auctions in the DC area.

Come on out and meet real people doing real deals in real estate – right here in the DC/Baltimore area.

Reserve your seat at this link.

Have a great weekend!

John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association