How to Buy Your First Property at a South Florida Courthouse Auction

Before You Bid a Single Dollar: The 30-Day Learning Period

Don't bid on your first auction without first spending 30 days as an observer. What to do during those 30 days:

1. Register with the county clerk (Miami-Dade and Broward both require registration)
2. Pull the daily auction list every morning and observe which properties actually come up
3. Watch how many cancel or postpone (typically 40–60% of listed properties)
4. Pick 3–5 properties and do full due diligence on them as if you're bidding
5. Watch the actual auction — see what they sell for relative to your analysis
6. Notice how many properties see zero competitive bids (lender takes them back as REO)

After this exercise, you'll understand the market dynamics, calibrate your ARV estimates, and know whether your bid ceiling methodology produces competitive but winning bids.

Month 1: Get Your Infrastructure Ready

• Cash ready to deploy: You need to be able to wire a deposit within 24 hours of winning and the full balance within 48 hours. Have your funds in a liquid account that can wire same-day
• LLC or entity: Most serious auction buyers take title through an LLC for liability protection. Set this up before your first purchase
• Title company relationship: Identify a South Florida title company experienced in courthouse auction purchases. They'll run your pre-auction title searches
• Contractor relationship: Know who's going to rehab the property before you buy it. Rehab estimates are more accurate when a contractor has walked comparable properties
• Pre-auction title search vendor: Establish a process for pulling title searches quickly (within 48 hours) on properties you're researching

Identifying Your First Target Property

For your first auction purchase, apply these filters to reduce risk:

• ✅ Single-family residential (simpler than condo — no HOA litigation risk)
• ✅ Opening bid at least 20% below your estimated ARV (cushion for unknowns)
• ✅ Clean lien search — no IRS liens, no complex municipal encumbrances
• ✅ Vacant or clearly abandoned — reduces eviction risk
• ✅ Neighborhood with active investor rehab activity (proves exit market exists)
• ❌ Avoid condos for your first deal — HOA and insurance complexity adds risk
• ❌ Avoid properties with visible structural damage (roof, foundation) until you know your rehab costs cold

Running the Numbers: Your First Deal

For every property you research, complete this calculation before the auction:

Write this number down on paper and commit to it before the auction starts. Do not adjust it during the auction.

Auction Day Protocol

1. Log in to the auction platform at least 15 minutes before start time
2. Pull the latest cancellation list — confirm your target is still on the docket
3. Review your max bid one final time
4. When your property comes up, let others open the bidding if the opening is aggressive
5. Bid confidently in clear increments — hesitation signals you're near your ceiling
6. When bidding reaches your max, stop. Walk away without exception
7. If you win: confirm your wiring instructions immediately and initiate the transfer within the hour

Get the Docket

Marcus's Courthouse Auction Docket Reportgives you the full upcoming auction calendar for Miami-Dade or Broward, with opening bids, estimated ARV, lien complexity flags, and Marcus's notes on each property — so you can walk into your first auction already knowing which properties are worth researching.