Purchasing Sheriff Sale Foreclosures

[Bruno Nunes]

I’ve been trying to purchase real estate through the County Sheriff Sale process for about a year now as an additional method to flipping/wholesaling properties. I’ve successfully flipped 1 property and wholesaled another in 2018 through this source so I’m not entirely a newbie to this process however there is still many things I’m confused about. I understand that this approach comes with many buyer beware flags but in this competitive market I feel this route minimizes the competition and could be the most lucrative.

I have a few questions that hopefully those more experienced can answer, Please help!!!!

- What is the best way to discover all the liens on the property such as 2nd liens, current owner tax liens, property tax liens etc. (I’ve tried the public search but it’s very confusing searching it on your own)

- Do federal tax liens survive foreclosure and will they need to be paid before you flip or wholesale the property?

- Do 2nd liens such as 2nd mortgages or Lines if Credit survive foreclosure on the 1st lien or do they get wiped out from the title of the property once your deed is recorded?

- What’s the best method to getting all the information on these properties so your fully aware of any and all title issues?

[Brian Ploszay]

In my market, I can access the recorder of deeds website to see if anything is on the deed, such as a second mortgage.  There also is a tax website where you can see if the taxes were paid, or if they were sold to a tax buyer.  Second liens will not survive if they are notified on the foreclosure case of the first mortgage.  If omitted, then they remain.  So you need to have the Court Case look up, and glance over the foreclosure case.  Consult a local attorney about the federal tax liens.  Finally, some municipal fines, which are not recorded, may survive a foreclosure.  Water bills may as well.  There is some variation in the way different courts handle foreclosures.