Why do they list a published bid number online, and then sometimes start at a lower number on the Courthouse steps?
Jeff
While foreclosure radar tries to have bids up to date, changes to bids by the trustee can be made up to the last minute. My advice would be if you are particularly interested in an property to call the trustee number listed in foreclosure radar for the latest information.
I am new at this and was told you have to bid at least what is owed to the Bank is that true?
The published bid is the amount that was owed on the foreclosing loan and the time the Notice of Trustee Sale was prepared. The lender gets to make the first bid which is called the opening bid (or in some areas the drop bid). In California the lender is under no legal obligation to release the opening bid in advance of the sale. Although ForeclosureRadar continues to post the opening bids as they are released we also provide the trustee contact info so that you can manually check on last minute changes on the properties you are interested in as Jeff has explained above.
Investors are most interested in seeing the opening bid which can be as high as what is owed on the foreclosing loan or can be closer to market value or below. As an investor you would need to bid at least 1 penny over the banks opening bid.
Although rare, it is also important to note that the lender can credit bid up to the amount that is owed. If they start with a low opening bid they can bid above any other bids up to the total amount owed on the foreclosing loan.
Thank you for your information Michelle. Catherine