How exactly does this work? In my local paper theres a page and a half of properties. Some of them list amywhere from half an acre to over a hundred. The legal stuff gives a list of all that is required if you win the bid; is there anyway that the amounts owed could be found out before hand? The properties have an amount listed with them, but the legals say that you must pay all back taxes, how would I find that amount? Is it different than the amount shown? I'm in Indiana, if that helps any. Thanks in advance!!!!!
Most properties that have already gone through the foreclosure process for property taxes owed, will end up in the hands of the entity owed (i.e. the County Tax office). As of a certain date, the properties will be sold on the court house steps by auction method. You must have the cash to purchase and most counties require a deposit on hand before the auction date if you wish to be a bidder. Sometimes a property can be picked up (purchased) for only the amount of back taxes that are owed. It depends on who's there and bidding that day. Highest bidder (WITH CASH) wins. You can check the records at the court house by using the property description (listed in the paper, probably); or ... most employees are glad to help you look them up if you go down there. Secondly, you can also find out properties that are IN foreclosure BEFORE they are foreclosed upon completely, thereby offering the current owner a situation of paying their back taxes FOR them in order to save their credit rating and THEN take over the payments yourself IF it is an assumable mortgage. Hope this helps.
I Indiana the amount shown is most likely the back taxes plus the advertising expense. Properties seldom bring much more than the taxes due. The owner who is in arrears on te taxes still has 2 years to pay up including 10% interest, and retrieve his property. Seldom the bidders wind up owning the property. Thee are a few people who bid off several places as an investment. You will in recent years see many Sheriffs Sales. These are morgage forclosures. They show how much you have to bid to pay off the morgage. The lender is there and will bid against you if the property isn't going for close to real value.
You'd better find out more in your own state. In Pennsylvania, a tax sale is only because taxes are owed for more than two years. But, there may also be liens on the properties for other reasons that could amount to 10 to 1000 (???) times the amount of taxes owed. A title search would show what other liens are there against the property...but again, each state has its own rules. If you are eager to buy a particular property, say one that adjoins yours, it wouldn't hurt to contact a lawyer ahead of time, or at least a title searcher, if you don't know how to do that yourself. Ann
I purchased a course at www.taxsales.com a few years ago for AZ. They have a manual available for each seperate state and offer some techniques for how to go about buying these properties at different stages of the process. The course wasn't very expensive at the time. I haven't looked at the pricing lately however. I mainly used the methods for acquiring property before the county foreclosure although I have bought a couple after the fact when both the price and the property were right. I currently hold title to 45 properties in AZ. Each state has different laws and procedures so you need the manual for Indiana for certain. You should be prepared to invest some time in learning the law for your state and doing your homework both in the courthouse and in the field. Rarely do I buy anything I haven't laid my eyes upon.
Thanks for the replies. Were still looking into, and I was almost sure someone on here would know something about it. The "legals" say they only have one year for redemption. I think if we were to try to bid on one of these properties we'd find a real estate lawyer first, to make sure we know what were getting into. We'll find out about the redemption for sure then. The property is all close by, within driving distance, so viewing it won't be a problem. The sale isn't until 10/4 so we've got some time. There are 32 listings over a page and a half that have an acre or more and don't say "Leased". Thanks again for all the replies. Was hoping we were one step closer to getting more space but this looks kinda complicated. We'll have to see.
In my county if you win the land auction bid, the money goes into an escrow and is held for 1 year and 1 day past the sale date before a deed is issued. During that time the original owner can pay what is owed plus the sale expense and still owns the property and the winning bidder gets his money back. You go to the courthouse and research the recorded deeds/leins/mortages on the property you are interested in and that tells you how much is due on the property in addition to the taxes.
Every state is somewhat different. In Wisconsin, if a person is delinquent in their property taxes for 3 years, the process towards a sheriffs sale begins. Usually it takes 6 months to a year. Prior to the sale, an appraiser sets a minimum bid price, which is usually from 25% to 50% of the property value. Sometimes the sale takes place via sealed bid, other times its in the form of an auction. Once the sheriffs sale is complete, the prior property owner has zero property rights. None. Nada. The new buyer (after payment is made) owns the property, with no possibility of any claim from a prior owner. All liens and claims have been cleared. My father has purchased no less than a dozen parcels of property via sheriffs sale. He made a tidy profit on all of them. Visit the Register of Deeds in your county courthouse and ask exactly what the procedure is in your location.
One more thing you might want to look into is whether or not you will be able to get a construction loan on this type of property, if you intend to build. We are not in your state, but back when my dad was in the title insurance business, he would not touch a tax foreclosure. And you can't get a loan without mortgagee title insurance. mary
Some friends of mine picked up a really great deal by researching tax records and contacting the owner just before the tax sale. They paid him a little more than the taxes owed and had clear title to the property.
Hubby has agreed to get restrictions in writing before bidding. Im sure we can get a copy of the code when we go to the court house to check the liens and get good addresses of the properties (so we can take a look see for ourselves). As far as the construction loan goes, we talked about not putting up permanent residence(if allowed) until the title clears the redemption date. If we need to move in, it'll be a small single wide most likely, that we can pull ourselves...if the previous owner pays up then it'll go with us as we will make arrangements so that the trailer is not attached financially to the property. That will give us time to build. Thanks to all your replies, I'm making a list of questions to ask.
What I meant to say was that Dad would NEVER pass title on a tax sale. Not this year, not in twenty years. Things might be different where you are, but if you EVER will need a loan, I'd suggest you find that out first. mary
I logged on to this site tonight to ask the same questions about tax sales!!!! I live in Franklin, which is just south of Indianapolis, in Johnson County. My wife and I are interested in tax foreclosures in Marion County. Marion County also has a one year redemption, but Johnson County has a two year deal. What I would like to know: 1. I understand that you will get a quit deed very soon after the sale and are not allowed to enter the property until that deed is issued. What happens if someone is still living there? 2. Is it true that once the year redemption is over, all mortgages and liens are null and void? 3. What about lawn care and basic upkeep of a residence? What if you have to mow for a year because of city ordinance, and then the people redeem the taxes? Is it just a gamble? 4. You have to hire an attorney to make properties null and void of liens and mortgages. True? Expensive? Is this money refundable if the taxes are redeemed in a year? clove
Might check out the website indygov.org Click on search, and enter "tax sales". While it deals with MARION COUNTY, I feel like I learned a bunch! The two biggest pit falls..... Any mortgage holder can file for redemption, pay the tax and other costs, and you are out of the picture. Government liens (IRS) are NOT wiped out after the redemption period, which will tie up your property. There are other problems, but you need to read this for yourself BEFORE you bid on any property. clove
