My tax sale experience

[Beeman]

Many have posted asking about tax sales/auctions. I went to my first tax sale and learned a bit. There were almost 100 properties listed, only 1 I was familiar with and interested in. By the day of the sale there were only 15 left as the owners or lien holders paid the taxes and got them removed from the sale. All sales were to be cash and in the event of an unsold property you could place sealed bids later. All properties were subject to 1 years redemption after the sale was confirmed, so the owner lien holder could buy you out during that year and redeem their property but they had to pay you 10% interest. You were given a deed but you had to register it yourself. No guarantee of title and you could not buy title insurance, most companies would not touch it for 10 years! Due to the redemption period it was advised you did nothing to the property aside from maintenance. You are however responsible and should obtain insurance for liability if you think necessary.

There were some deals to be had as some land sold pretty cheap. Some on the other hand went high as there were interested parties. I didn't buy anything this time but I will go again.

[texican]

I went to one Tuesday.... only one property was sold... the fools who almost lost their mineral tracts (gas wells) redeemed them with ten minutes to spare.

I was the only person at the sale that was going to bid on the oil and gas property... I was so purpled off when the deputy said they'd paid at the last minute. I could have made a killing... I may go to another one, but think I'll be better served by contacting people behind in their taxes and offering to purchase directly from them...

[clovis]

I go to alot of auctions too, with the intent of reselling what I buy.

The old rule of 10:3:1 applies to me. Out of 10 auctions I attend, 3 will really good, and 1 will be outstanding. The other 7 are often total and complete wastes of time, but I usually learn something.

Clove