South Carolina Injury Law Journal - Anderson and Greenville Lawyer & Attorney Workers' Compensation Cases, Product Liability Lawsuits, and Accidents

    Embracing the recent Spring like days with open arms, I awoke on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, to a light rain, dark clouds, and cold weather.  Nothing outside the normal as we had still not approached the 85-95 degree days of a “Southern Summer” but we had enjoyed a teaser of warm temperatures. 

    I had a mediation scheduled in town, conveniently located less than a mile from my home on the West End of Greenville.  As I was presenting the mediation a bustle of sirens and activity seemed to provide both an ominous future for my presentation and someone’s well being.  It wasn’t until the completion of a very short, yet required mediation, that I learned the sirens rushed to less than a block from my home.  Having planned to be in mediation all day it was hard to transition back into traveling to Anderson for work with all the activity going on around the house. I planned to finish my work day out from my home office. 

    Little did I know my home office was going to be near a recent crime scene. The city block on Vardry Street between Green Avenue and Anderson Avenue was blocked off with yellow crime scene tape and the foot traffic was ever more increased (see photo above).  The conditions remained cold, rainy, and dreary.  However, few details were being offered by the young, Greenville City Police officer standing post on the Green Avenue block near the crime scene tape.

    The Greenville News would provide a report late in the day indicated that several people were behind a home on Vardry when one of the persons started shooting.  One person was killed, another injured, and another that fled from the altercation.

    In the snap of someone’s fingers the lives for all these people changed today. I wonder if they had come to grips with who they were, what their purpose was in life, and made it clear to everyone they loved how much they cared for them?

    Probably not. More than likely, they were spending idle time doing unproductive things with unproductive people expecting positive results out of negative input.  How will the cycle change if someone is constantly going around in those circles? 

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The current home I live and work out of is on the West End of Greenville, South Carolina:

• nestled less than a block from $250,000.00 condos and single family homes of the Pendleton West Subdivision;
• less than two blocks from the Greenville Drive baseball field  and Liberty Tap Room (closer than Pendleton West is to the before mentioned attractions);
• 1,500+sq ft., 3br/2ba single family residence;
• built in 2004; and
• bought at a Greenville County Foreclosure Auction done by the Master-In-Equity's office for  $90,000.00.

The current Greenville County Master-in-Equity, Judge Charles B. Simmons Jr., provides an excellent "Primer for Mortgage Foreclosure Sales" on the Greenville County website. Judge Simmons highlights 14 points that are important if you decide to embark upon this path during the recent economic climate.

As an attorney and real estate investor, I felt confident in the process because I had bought foreclosure sales before from banks but not "on the courthouse steps" so to speak. I made several mistakes and got lucky. I do not trust that luck will get me through again so I share these tips:

1. Always have title work done/checked on your prospective foreclosure house!- The house I bought was being foreclosed upon the "Smith" family-seriously.
2. Physically go see the house. Don't trust internet services or court records. I visited my prospective house but never got inside. I knew I was going to "gut" the inside to my liking but wanted the "bones" to be good. On another home I went to go bid on, I went by the morning of the auction and there was no house on the lot, just a lot. Imagine how high I would have bid for what I thought was a house and a lot.
3. Factor in more time and/or money if it is inhabited. I paid for the first month's rent and moved the inhabitants of my foreclosure house out because I had just sold my house. I was on a tight time frame with repairs and knew how slow the eviction process could be if disputed or fought.  "Honey attracts more flies than vinegar." 
4. Have financing and closing attorney already arranged. You only have a short turn around time to complete the closing on the house after you put your deposit down the day of the sale. Likewise, you can't move in or make repairs until you have title, ie close.
   
5. This is not a "new" thing. Some people make their living off of buying homes in foreclosure sales. You may very well find a great deal but don't think you will be the only one there.

Anytime there is an opportunity for reward there is a risk. Foreclosure sales are the poster children for inherent risks. Do your homework and you can capitalize.  Have fun and enjoy your new experience.

If you would like for me to forward you the recent article entitled, "Prudent Bidding at a Foreclosure Sale," by Clifford P. Parson and C. Joseph Roof that was published in the January 2009 edition of the South Carolina Lawyer, please email me (trey@trammell-law.com) or post a comment request.

A side note: I do civil personal injury law, not real estate law. Outside of paying lots of money for a "Real Estate" class in law school and visiting the records room of a Georgia courthouse, I have no real estate law experience. 

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