Deals Galore, but Buyer Beware
Making a smart purchase at a sheriff’s auction isn’t as simple as having the highest bid
By Christopher Geer

The auction begins promptly. The first property comes up, the auctioneer asks for prices and a round of furious bidding breaks out. Having seen the house from the curb, you are interested in buying and put in your own bid. Suddenly, the bidding stops and you find you have won the prize. The house is yours. It is your lucky break, because the property is vacant, needed repairs are limited and your tax expenses are negligible. A lick of paint, a few roof tiles, some landscaping and you are ready to put the property back on the market to realize a sizable gain. Realistic? About as much as winning the Power Ball.

When it comes to buying property at a sheriff’s sale, it pays to discover. Indeed, most buyers will tell you that, considering you have to put down 10 percent immediately if your bid is accepted (and up to $200 for a title search), thorough background research on auctioned properties is priceless.

That’s because when you buy a property through a sheriff’s auction, you’re also buying all the problems that come with it, from liens and second mortgages to angry evictees who might vandalize the place, or who might still be living there.

“The best thing you can do is to have a title search done on the property and find out how many debts and liens are associated with the property, because you inherit those,” says Sgt. Richard Fersch, who handles auctions for the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department.

Both Allegheny and Washington counties hold sheriff sales at the beginning of each month. In Allegheny, the sale takes place on the first Monday of every month, while in Washington, the sale is on the first Friday of the month except August.

In both counties, the winning bidder is required to pay 10 percent of the bid price to the sheriff's office on the day of the purchase and the balance within the week. Failure to pay the balance on time will result in a loss of the opportunity to buy the property and loss of the down payment.

Allegheny County auctions about 650 properties each month, with approximately 75 percent of those being sold back to the lenders or mortgage holder. Sheriff’s sales are advertised publicly in area newspapers and in publications like the Pittsburgh Legal Journal. “Most of the sales are a result of foreclosures, people who can’t make the payments on their mortgages,” Fersch says.

But if you’re planning to waltz in to a county auction and find a great property for a steal, beware: “Buying property at a sheriff sale is a very dangerous thing. If you don't look into these properties, you can get seriously burnt,” Fersch remarks.

Washington County resident Tim Donahue purchased a home for his daughter in Dormont in April 2007 through a sheriff sale and offers similar advice. “If you don't conduct a title search and do your own due diligence, it can be a real problem,” he says. “I happen to know the people who owned the property I bought beforehand, so I knew how much they owed on the house and the taxes on it. You have to know what that figure is and know what it will cost to fix it, because you can’t get inside these homes to inspect them.”

In Washington County, Capt. James Altman has been managing the sheriff’s sale duties for the last eight years. “Some people just come to watch, but the people who actually bid are those that have usually done their research and know the financials related to the properties before they bid.”

In Washington County, most of the buyers at sheriff’s sales are banks. Harry A. Stiffler, an attorney from Washington, Pa., often represents banks at these sales. “People think you can get rich at these sales because it seems like these properties are sold for pennies on the headache,” he says.

“Buying one of these houses can bring a host of potential nightmares that a title search won’t tell you about. That’s the best advice I could give someone looking to buy property in this way: Do your homework.”

FEATURES

Contact us or call 412.257.0340

View more information about advertising in The South Fayette Source at www.mcmags.com.

Cover Focus
Freshman hurdler Josh Godwin during a recent meet..

South Fayette Rocks with Footloose
The musical story of a town’s toe-tapping transformation.

Cleaning Up
Volunteers were out in force this spring tidying up sections of South Fayette.

Landfill Power
How Waste Management keeps your trash out of sight and turns garbage into clean energy.

Special Needs
The school district has created a unique learning opportunity for one particular student.

History: Part One
Brushing up on South Fayette’s intriguing past.

History: Part Two
Honoring SF’s fallen in America’s wars.

Cupcakes for Seniors
When kids team up to cook food for seniors, you can bet the result is likely to be mouthwatering.

Message From the Superintendent

Sixth-grader Recognized

Green Machine Wins
“Best School Band”