Sheriff Sale Ins and Outs

A sheriff sale is a county sale wherein the officer of the law is the overseer of the event. In most cases, properties are the items on sale. These properties are ones whose owners may have had some difficulty paying or meeting the mortgages or other property related expenses. When there is a mortgage, and the house owner has some difficulty meeting the payments, the lender will usually take over. Cases where the owners proclaim they can pay what is due may be given chances for a couple of months but the lender will usually sue for the rights for the property and then proceed to sell it or do whatever is necessary to take back the investment. 

Advantages

One advantage of going to a sheriff sale to buy property can be the lower cost of the starting bid for property. These kinds of auctions or sales usually start low to encourage bidders. The bidding may become higher when there are competing individuals or groups that are determined to get the property in question. Another advantage is the duration that each property is announced for auction. Real estate lots that will be auctioned off are usually posted long before the auction and prospective buyers can actually checkout the legal package before buying it. Enough research can be done on the piece of land to be able to assess it for advantages and disadvantages. 

Disadvantages

One of the biggest disadvantages of a sheriff sale is the inability of the prospective buyer to actually have a look-see in the actual property. Most, if not all cases, do not allow prospective buyers to go in and inspect the house to be auctioned off. This means that before any sales occur, there maybe people still in the property, living in the house. Once it has been sold off, the winning bidder will be able to sign the deeds to the place and take legal action to oust the current residents. The lawsuit that comes with illegal squatting can be very tiresome especially of the current residents are old or poor and they appeal to the sympathy of the people and the court. Another disadvantage of an auction is the emotion that usually occurs when the bidding gets competitive. Competing parties tend to let their pride get the better of them during auctions and bid too much for a substantially lower priced piece of real estate.

In all, a sheriff sale can be advantageous when the property is cleared before the auction. It is best to do research on it to see how easy it is for the current resident to be moved.