Access Wealth Strategies

A couple of weeks ago, our business partners picked up a home in North Scottsdale at the trustee sale auction. Since we live nearby, we took a video of us driving by the house and the neighborhood, which is a very nice gated community.

The house is currently occupied by tenants – that’s why we didn’t go inside – who signed a lease before/while the last owner was going through the foreclosure process.

There are several things to note here:

1. There are some nice neighborhoods where you can pick up homes at the trustee sale, if you do the proper research beforehand and go through the right channels.
2. Tenant occupied homes bought at the trustee sale create more complications for rehabbing and flipping the house.  You could offer “cash for keys” but sometimes it could turn into a lengthy process regardless.
3. Not having a “move-in ready” house decreases the potential buyer pool and we’ll probably have to offer additional incentives (reduced price and/or credit at closing) to get the house sold quickly “as is” (with some minor exterior work).
4. If you’re a tenant looking to rent in areas where foreclosure rates are high, beware of the financial conditions of the owner.  For example, having your security deposit held in a real estate broker’s trust account is better than giving that money directly to the owner, in case they go through foreclosure and you’re forced to leave the property earlier than expected.

Please add your comment below and let me know what you think.