Make sure you still have an inspection. Even though bank's won't fix anything, it's important to know what you're getting yourself into. If the home's power has been turned off then the inspector can't properly inspect the mechanicals of the home such as the hot water heater and the furnace/ac.

Do your homework and make sure you're getting a deal. Around here, banks are listing the homes pretty high until they've been on the market for a while and then they're dropping the prices to get them off the books.

Be prepared to wait and wait and wait some more. Banks are notoriously slow to respond to offers.

Thank you so much for the info, Cordovamom.

Unless you have enough $$ to cover a LOT of repairs be VERY careful.
Some banks will not even accept contracts contingent on an inspection (or much of anything else).
They want to get rid of the place and not loose any money on the loan. Nothing more.
A few places (usually smaller banks the 'hold' mortgages) are friendlier and willing to work with buyers.
I have made money (sometimes a lot) and been forced to hold on to properties (one for 3 years) to recover costs of repair when unexpected items show up.
Even with an inspection it is hit or miss.
The bank may not be willing to have all the utilities turned on for a decent inspection.
I have resorted to pressurizing water supplies with nitrogen tanks through a hose bib and gas lines from the missing meter to see if the system would at least hold pressure.

If the heat has been off and freezing conditions have occurred be VERY careful. Even a 'winterized' DWV system (let alone the supply system) can have freeze damage.
All it takes is a dip in the lines that fails to clear to freeze and cause cracks.

Have any of you ever found the mortgage company to be hostile to inquiries about abandoned property?
We stumbled across one the other day - and I am trying to get information about the place - we know the owners have abandoned it and moved out of state. We know they quite making payments several months ago. I've located the owners, but they aren't answering their phone.

I've asked my agent to call the mortgage company's loss recovery unit - we have a number and name for that person as well - but she keeps telling me that mortgage companies won't tell her anything.

So I suggested an attorney - and she said not that won't help either.

Am I missing something here? What would be the proper way to get the information about the house from the mortgage company?

MP

If the foreclosure is not yet complete with the lender being the successful bidder & taking the property into REO then they cannot legally speak with you because they are not the owners.

It's possible the borrowers filed BK & the lender has not yet been granted release of stay.

/tricia

Thanks tricia - nope talked to the borrowers today - talked to banks loss mitigation yesterday. Borrowers say the bank told them they foreclosed (to be honest they owned two properties and one has been through foreclosure and was bought by a realtor at auction) the main house in town, bank tells my bank person (mortgage company is same as my bank) that they have not foreclosed.

It helps sometimes to just go to the bank and sit in front of someone until they do what they should have done five days ago. :)

But we are back to trying to figure out who's on first again....

Just saw a piece on this on either Fox or CNN. One item the expert warned about was whether someone was still living in the house. If so, even though it's a foreclosure, it might take legal action to get them out of the house. I haven't had any personal experience with it - just what I've heard or read. They also voiced the same concerns that others have regarding house condition.

If somebody is inhabiting the house after you buy it, and they refuse to move out when requested, you have to file a writ of possession through the courts and if they still refuse to vacate, then you may have to hire a moving company to put them out at your own expense. Also, until the foreclosure process is complete, the lender does not have the right to let you in to do an inspection. The house still belongs to the previous owners. Houses going up for sheriff's sale, you don't have a right to even go in it until you've payed for it and the deed is recorded.

Talk about an act of faith. I've done it twice but you can get really burned if you're not careful.

I noticed after some sherrif's sales that the sale is listed as "canceled".
Am I right to assume that the house owner managed to work out some sort
of finance deal to keep the house at the last minute?

Mary,

Yes, you are correct that restructuring the loan, bringing it current, the borrower signing a Deed in Lieu, and/or any number of other scenarios could be the reason for the cancelled foreclosure auction.

Another possibility is a bankruptcy filing. When a person files bankruptcy federal law says that everything is stayed (put on hold) for four months. During that time frame, the lender will try to obtain what's known as a Relief of Stay from the Court. Usually, they get it but it does delay the foreclosure auction.

/tricia

Have a strange one alone the lines of this topic. A couple in our neighborhood were in the process of going through divorce. He disappeared prior to the divorce being final. Months later, he has not been found. A few weeks ago she moved out of the home. Because the divorce was not final and I'm assuming the home was purchased under both their names, I would speculate that she would have to let the home go into foreclosure to legally get out from under it. Curious, does anyone know if this is the case? Via the county assessor, I can see that their taxes were paid for the year but no idea on what the status is on their mortgage. Anyway for lay person to get such details online? (ie, who the lender is, mortgage amount, standing, etc?) Had friends that were interested in moving to the area and they are looking to get a line on the place. Unusual because the house is in mint condition in decent area. Tried to contact her, but she's not reachable. Any insight would be appreciated.

Courts can issue default judgments of divorce. So if he disappeared eventually the court would issue a divorce to her and can award her sole ownership in the house (by order of the court) and in the form of a register's or clerk's deed (one usually issued by the court) so she wouldn't need him to sign the paperwork to simply sell the house.

You can usually find out a lot about someone by going to the probate or deed registry office and pulling the records. I have found that tax records sometimes have a current mailing address of the owner. You can go to a family court and ask to see her court file (public record) from there you can get the attorney's name and contact the attorney's office - tell them why you are looking for her and they may be able to contact her for you.

MP