Looking at my county sheet of foreclosure sales I see two numbers.
Bid Amount: 166,129.92
Deficiency Amount: 77,948.32
I am unclear as to what they mean by deficiency. Do they mean that this is the amount past due on the original mortgage? Or is the amount the last bid was under the original mortgage?
The deficiency is usually defined as the amount below what was owed on the original mortgage. In this example it looks like the amount owed was $244,078.24 but the bidding only reached $166,129.92
How do you know when you see a nod if that is the only lien on property? Do you have to have a title search done for every property that you are interested in?
A title search would work and be the most accurate. You could also use a service like realquest.com that usually gives accurate lien information (at least in my area).