allegheny county sheriff sale (Washington: sales, real estate, rental)

[pit2atl]

Does anyone have any insight on these sheriff sales? i've been doing some research on the auction part of the sale, but has anyone on the forum had any experience with it?

I have some extra cash and i really want to get my hands on some city property, as rental investments. And those sheriff sales have some really decent prices..

[chielgirl]

Be cautious with sheriff sales. You may be liable for any liens against the property.

[PeterRabbit]

Some of the multi-family units are non-conforming use. You've got to do your homework.

[Quiet-T]

The whole concept seems inappropriate to me. I don't like the idea of the government seizing property (particularly something as substantial as a home) over what is generally a few thousand dollars in debt.

That being said. IF the government is going to be in the business of selling real estate, then they should be made to play by same rules as other sellers - such as furnishing disclosures about the property and allowing viewings/inspections.

[gg]

I have not bought a sheriff sale home, but I know a few people that deal in them. You need to do a title search and that will cost a few hundred or so for each property. There are some properties that may be offered "free and clear", but many are not and it is up the the buyer to find out how much is owed. It is a bit dicey. I have been tempted, but I don't like to spend money on a title search and find out bad news then writing a check for the search. Only attorneys do searches and they don't work for free.

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by Quiet-T

The whole concept seems inappropriate to me. I don't like the idea of the government seizing property (particularly something as substantial as a home) over what is generally a few thousand dollars in debt.

Thank you. For the most part I despise sheriff sales and other LE auctions. While occasionally there might be a legitimate/valid reason for them, more often the government is basically stealing your property. There were some very fishy cases in Washington county a few months ago where friends of government officials "showed up" and got prime real estate at bargain prices.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Velvet Jones

Thank you. For the most part I despise sheriff sales and other LE auctions. While occasionally there might be a legitimate/valid reason for them, more often the government is basically stealing your property. There were some very fishy cases in Washington county a few months ago where friends of government officials "showed up" and got prime real estate at bargain prices.

There are no doubt there are some fishy stuff that goes on, but people that fall all the way to a sheriff sale situation are not exactly upstanding. They take banks and also tax payers for some money by not taking care of business. If they cannot afford the home, they should sell it long before a sheriff sale would take place. I have been in situations that I felt I was in over my head on a few homes and I sold out, so I am not exactly feeling sorry for people that for some reason feel they can get some free pass on living in a home they stopped paying on. Why should they? I don't, nor does anyone else.

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I have not bought a sheriff sale home, but I know a few people that deal in them. You need to do a title search and that will cost a few hundred or so for each property. There are some properties that may be offered "free and clear", but many are not and it is up the the buyer to find out how much is owed. It is a bit dicey. I have been tempted, but I don't like to spend money on a title search and find out bad news then writing a check for the search. Only attorneys do searches and they don't work for free.

How, exactly, is a 'search' done? Is it some secret database only attorneys have access too? I've always been curious about this. Wiki explains it as an 'exhaustive search of many sources.' I know a few attorneys, and I doubt that they'd do anything 'exhaustively.'

[gg]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

How, exactly, is a 'search' done? Is it some secret database only attorneys have access too? I've always been curious about this. Wiki explains it as an 'exhaustive search of many sources.' I know a few attorneys, and I doubt that they'd do anything 'exhaustively.'

They have access to a database. That sheriff sale thing is a drag. I would love to get into buying them, but I hate fronting money for a possible dead end. Maybe they keep it that way to encourage the behind the scene deals for the big wigs? You know, you have to be a member of the club kind of thing to get the best deals.

[tarnas]

There's actually no mystery to this. You can do a preliminary title search yourself, you rarely need a lawyer or special company, you just need an afternoon to go downtown, check out the records, and then call around the usual suspects that might hold a lien against the property -- water/sewer, electric, gas, and Jordan Tax Services.

All liens back to year 2000, and probably back to 1996 or so, _should_ be listed in the document database:
https://dcr.alleghenycounty.us/PropertySearch.htm

You need to get familiar with block-lot ID numbers, and other document ID numbers -- your first stop is looking at the basic info about a property at the assessment database:
Allegheny County Assessment

So, with about five minutes of work, I can tell you whether the title is clear or clouded, and just how clouded. It will take about an hour downtown to get together the chain of title (deeds past and present) and the mortgages involved. I deal with abandoned buildings that don't have mortgage issues, so I don't like to get involved in that end of things. This is for computer-savvy people who are serious, and who can physically go downtown and navigate the gov't offices involved -- but for me, that's a skill set I found easy to learn after feeling the pain of shelling out $300 for a title search on a property I ended up not buying.