Investing in Tax Deeds really is as easy as shown on the television.
There is one vital key to getting things done right without ending up in a sea of paperwork and confusion whilst holding a deed to a hazardous piece of property. This will ultimately cost several thousand dollars to rectify, and more often than not this isn’t even possible. You will be stuck with a tax bill each year and land which cannot possibly be sold.
Real Estate Investing is a hobby of mine, and I can tell you that once purchasing the courses advertised on television you’ll be compelled to learn everything in the books. Not such a bad idea, if you plan to memorize everything you read, and are willing to travel thousands of miles around the country to make your purchases. You see, each state has a different set of purchasing guidelines and some will require you to be present for your purchase. A better idea is to focus on just one state and learn everything there is to know about how you can invest there, and what areas will be best to invest in. If this is not done I can honestly tell you that you will become the proud owner of a 20 ft. strip of land in between a factory and a condemned house in a most unsavory neighborhood.
The last 4 purchases I made were two streets away from my home. There were several lots available, all in default, but listed as such in different time-frames. After telephoning the Land Commissioner’s Office, researching the listings online, calling the Tax Collector and Assessor’s Offices to retrieve as much information as possible, I decided it was worth taking a second look at some of them. It is most important to physically visit the properties you wish to purchase for reasons already stated. It is also a crucial factor in the resale process as so many properties are bought unseen this way and nobody wants you to brag on a possible sale to them if you have never seen the property yourself!
It took approximately 2 weeks to gather the information I needed to make a decision, then I requested an “Offer To Purchase” form from the Commissioner’s Office.
I wrote out my offer, returned the forms and waited around 30 days. When the letters came back each in their own envelopes, I was delighted to see I was successful on all four properties. My net profit for 2 weeks work without raising a sweat or getting a headache was $22,792.00.
I plan to donate one lot to a nearby Church, since they have always used it for congregation overflow anyway. The others will eventually be sold, and as I am not making payments on them I can do this easier by offering seller finance. I have owned them for more than 2 years now so the Tax implications of reselling investment properties has been minimized.
Investing is fun, and really is easy especially when one doesn’t need a small fortune to start with.