[quote=massey]Is there any way to participate in the court house step sales if you intend to finance the property with a loan, or must you have the sale price in cash?[/quote]

No.
You need good funds (cash or equivalent) on site.

If you bid 400 when you only have 350, you are committing a criminal act.

This is what i was told by my title officer and by auctioneers on site.

Do bear in mind that money from a loan on something else (eg: a cashiers check from your heloc) can be good funds.

There is no appraisal.
There is no inspection.
If a tax lien shows up down the road it can be re-attached to the property anytime in the next 4 months. That would become the buyer’s responsibility then.

Conceivably, you could pull funds out of a heloc, buy a place with a cashier’s check (and yes they do give you change if you win for less than the check) and then take out a loan after purchase to pay back the heloc.

If you can do enough detective work prior to the auction, it can be worth it but assume others will do some of the same work.

Last time I was there, half the people had phones, multipage spreadsheets, and laptops with 3g antennas. This screams corporate sponsorship to me. Just sayin.