Abandoned residential properties

[Lisa Johnson]

Hi everyone!  I am in the process of starting my new career as a house flipper.  One of my goal is to find/buy properties in my area that are abandoned.  My question is how do I go about this?  If there is no record of owners or I'm unable to contact owners and/ or cannot locate any mortgage liens and the property has been vacant for years, what do I need to do?  Are there forms that could be filled out and ads placed in the local paper?  I really would appreciate the benefit of your experience.  Thank you for your help.

[Charlie Vess]

Hi Lisa! 

I will always hold Foley, AL near n dear to my heart because my parents lived on Soldiers Creek Dr. which is down on the intercostal of Lillian, AL (near Foley).  Over the years I have acquired a lot of properties (Tax Deed's) in Alabama.  For starters, you can go to the State of AL website and review the available properties for each county.  Don't get detoured by certain counties that have you pay for the list because it is free.  Research the properties that you are interested in.  Concerning vacant  and/or abandoned properties, you will need to go through the respective county tax/appraisal web site to determine the owner.  I would then send a letter followed up with a phone call.  In today's times, I am finding that the parents are passing on (transitioning) thereby leaving the property to the kids who live in another county or State.  They are paying the taxes but don't know what to do with the property.  So those are the ones to go after.  Now if you are interested in Tax Deed's, do know that Alabama has a quirky law giving the owner effectively 6 years (3 yrs + 3 yrs) to pay the back taxes.  Calculated at 12%....who cares.  And yes, you can engage an attorney to petition the court thereby reducing the second 3 yr period.  Good luck!