Bucket list....something I didn't know to add!

[PJBinMI]

Yesterday we had a totally new, to us, experience. A real estate auction, of property with so much unpaid tax that the court terminated the owners' rights to the property. It never occurred to me how much fun this could be, lol! My brother in law hit a very rough patch a couple of years ago and has been living with us for about the last 18 months and has saved enough money to purchase some inexpensive acreage. He and my husband had been making plans to go to this tri county auction for several weeks and earlier this week I asked if I could go with them. I've only been to one auction before, when an old hardware store was closing and there was an old roll top desk on the list of sale items. I figured real estate would be quite different and it was! We live in a rural area but there were over 200 or 300 hundred people at this auction. It was billed to start at 11:30 and it's a good thing we got there an hour ahead of time because the parking was almost full. Brother in law had been looking on line and had two properties in mind to big on. There was much milling around and at 11 those who were there to bid lined up to get numbers and indicate which properties they expected to bid on, so the popular ones could be auctioned first. I had to go back to the car to get some more stuff and had a hard time getting out of the building! (It was a Veterans of Foreign Wars clubhouse, and the place where our niece had her wedding reception, so good memories in the place.) When 11:30 came, the guy in charge started explaining all the rules and procedures for the auction. Very interesting! He spent quite a bit of time talking about what to do if the property was occupied by "squatters" and how to deal with them safely! Buyers aren't officially the new owners until they receive the deed in the mail in about six weeks but are allowed to "inspect, secure, and" one other thing I don't remember, before then. He talked as though he knew that the buyers would be out there later in the day, starting to rip out damaged stuff. LOL There was a potential buyer in the front row who kept asking very long winded and unnecessary questions. (later the same guy proved just how bad his communication skills are when it turned out that he and his wife, who was bidding on line, where bidding against one another! lol) Just before 11:30, the heating and a/c business owner we have done business with and like alot came in and sat next to us. Turned out one of the pieces of property that my brother in law was going to bid on was adjacent to heating guy's home and he was planning on buying it to keep from having a much too close neighbor! Both properties brother in law was interested in went for way way over what he could pay but he heating guy did get the adjacent property and we were happy for him. So, we learned alot about delinquent property taxes, evictions, and how different these auctions are than other auctions. There were on line and phone bidders as well as the ones present. The actually bidding as done in a very orderly and easy to understand fashion. The crowd there for the auction was quite diverse. There are Amish and Mennonite communities in this area and they were present but we left before any property that they were interested in came up. There were whole families there, and groups of friends and people on their own, but mostly men. I'm glad I went and never would have thought to put this on my bucket list but now think it is a very interesting experience to have. If I didn't have bone mets, a hot air balloon ride and parachuting out of an airplane would be on my bucket list! lol Mostly, I hope I die before any of our grown children and that we outlive our dog and cats!

[Red71]

Sounds like fun! And since your brother-in-law didn’t get property you might have more chances to go again. I’ve done a hot air balloon ride and probably would chance it again, even with bone mets. Our landing was very soft! My bucket list is more travel...anywhere! And finishing quilts! Elaine

[PJBinMI in reply to Red71]

I tried a tiny bit of quilting, part of a congregation wide creating a quilt as a retirement gift for the long time Episcopal priest. That was enough to teach me that quilting is too precise for me to handle! lol But I admire quilts that others make and am a tad envious of that talent!

[MyMiracle13]

I’ve always wanted to buy a property at auction but too scared I might end up buying something I need to spend a lot on. I should do what you did and go to an auction just to observe. Thanks for your post. I found your experience truly interesting!

Maria

[PJBinMI in reply to MyMiracle13]

Maria, it wasn't what I expected, that's for sure! It did move along quickly, once it got started, but no fast talking auctioneer that was hard to understand! Alot of time spent explaining the process, both the auction itself and how title is handled. Having bids taken on line and by phone added a whole big tech piece that I didn't have a clue about, lol. Alot of the property being sold had not been inspected fully by potential buyers, so costs of rehab seem awfully unpredictable to me. I think alot of the buyers were planning to repair houses and resell them. It was all very interesting and I was glad I went. I had thought seriously about not going but my husband really encouraged me to come and had me hooked when he said they could use my advise! (He knows me well, lol! perhaps too well!) I was glad I did. I did insist on a plan B that would allow me to leave early if I felt the need to. I am needing plan B alot these days lol. Limited energy.

[Andersl]

What a wonderful experience. Thank you for sharing

[mariootsi]

Sounds interesting!

[Hidden]

PJB, that's is so interesting and sounds like fun! I'm seriously going to try to get to one!

I've done serious bidding for properties online...it's great fun, very exciting! One of the houses I had visited and then had a handyman-type fellow in to give me estimates on the work I wanted to have done. It was in a small college town, where my son was going to school, and I envisioned making it an airbnb since it's difficult to find suitable lodging nearby. My daughter and I were online for 2 or 3 days bidding higher and higher, then we hit our limit and quit. Do you know who won? That damned handyman! He fixed it up and sold it a year later!

The next house I bid on was near my sister, in a beach resort community. I knew I could make money renting it and, while I was not able to officially tour it, my sister and I found an open sliding door and gave ourselves a tour (thank god there's no mug shot online! ). I had all the numbers worked out, and bid in auctions every Monday for about 2 months - the reserve was never met, but I could see the trend in how the bank was decreasing it. The last Monday I went to bid, very hopeful, I was traveling in a very different time zone and accidentally missed it by an hour...and someone else had snapped it up! I figured the universe was somehow doing me a favor, but I'm still skeptical of this. The folks who bought it are local, got a good deal, etc., so I'm happy for them...

Thanks for sharing this unusual bucket-list item! I am going to give some thought to unique experiences that I might enjoy that don't involve like travel or physical risk (although I enjoy both of those, too! ).

[SeattleMom]

Such an interesting post and a fun experience! Was hoping your brother in law had landed a deal!! ❤️

[viennagirl]

I hope your brother in law eventually finds a suitable piece of property. I enjoyed hearing about your experience. My son recently tried to buy a house that was being sold for taxes but in our area the government gets the first chance to buy so only the most decrepit places get sold to the general public - so he didn't buy anything. He comes over to the island quite often and is still keeping his eyes open for a nice, reasonably priced piece of land. One day he will inherit our land but I think he wants something in the near future.

I grew up in a Mennonite community. My parents were Mennonites (well especially my mom). My dad was excommunicated for smoking but of course all his friends and family still belonged to the community so it still made him a Mennonite - I guess. It was a wonderful community to grow up in and I loved the food but I married into a French Canadian family and left a lot of my culture behind. One of the things I know about the Mennonites is that they love the land and when they fled Russia they went to all the break baskets in the world and that includes Mexico, Paraguay, USA, Canada to name a few. I have cousins all over the world I think. But I live in Canada. But where ever you find Mennonites you will find rich soil. It seems to be in their blood - even to some degree in my blood because I live on five lovely acres. However, due to my mbc I don't do much gardening. But I still love the land and our soil is rich and we have a lovely big pond which is home to ducks, frogs, ravens, owls, racoons, deer and one time only we saw a wolf. We do get the occasional bear too. But don't encourage them. Hugs to you PJB. Take care. Marlene