How I can get a list of tax lien properties in Los Angeles

Question

Should I go to local office and request the list of tax lien properties?

Account Closed · Answer

You can click on the list for June 2019 and it appears. It looks like they have not started a list for October.

Did you purchase a tax lien property in the past? Los Angeles is supposed to be the worse area to purchase tax lien properties because there are too many investors in the area with suitcases full of money. San Bernardino County is supposed to be better. I drove around San Bernardino in a bus full of investors for two days. We looked at about 60 properties and during the auction every property sold for more than their market value.

Many bidders never look at the properties. We got out of the bus and tried to speak with every occupant, neighbors and we tried to see all sides of the structures. One property showed a house on a lot. When we got to the property the only thing on the lot was a concrete slab where a house used to be. Someone must have thought there was a house on the lot because it sold for more than $300k and it was in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road.

There was another house that looked beautiful from the front. When we looked in the back yard the house was about 60% burned down.

Another property in Big Bear California looked really great on the internet. It had two units and what used to be a Bed and Breakfast. Every investor's eyes lit up and everyone got excited because the first impression is this has to be a super great deal. Some fool must not have looked at the property because it sold for about $600k. It looked like it was built in the mid 1800's and only 1 unit was habitable. That unit might rent for $1200 to $1500 if you spend about $100k bringing it up to code. The 2nd unit would be more suited for storing hay and the Bed & Breakfast would be great for the horse barn. You would never get a permit to re-open a restaurant on that property in this era. The two buildings were tear downs and the lot was not worth $600k.

We stopped at one house and spoke with the owner who was losing his house before the day of the auction. The owner and his family was really happy and laughing like they were at Disneyland. He said rather than sell the house he would rather take his chances at the auction. He owed the bank something like $160,000 and the house was worth about $260,000. The house sold at the auction for somewhere around $320,000. The homeowner gets the excess money so he was very smart and some fool paid $60k more for the house than it would sell for on the market. The only problem with losing the house at the auction is I think it takes 1 year for the county to pay the homeowner the difference, but it is money in the bank.

Lynnette E. · Answer

California does not do tax lien  sales.  They do tax deed sales.  These are very different things, so google it if you need to.

Account Closed · Answer

Go to:   https://ttc.lacounty.gov/schedule-of-upcoming-auctions/It looks like the next auction is on October 21st.

Account Closed · Answer

Tax Lien Properties are very dangerous to purchase. Imagine buying the home of your dreams, you find it was used for a meth lab and the house is not habitable because it was contaminated and Red Tagged. Now, since you are the owner, you have to pay a hazardous waste contractor $500k to tear the house down to the ground.

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - TREASURER AND TAX COLLECTOR'S2019B PROPERTIES WITH SPECIAL CONDITIONSINVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU BUYFollowing is a list of parcels with special circumstances, e.g.,contaminated property, easement, Coastal Commission Act, Mello-Roos,etc. Please be advised that there may be other parcels that are not listed,as the Tax Collector is not always aware of the condition of the saleparcels. Also, parcels are sold “as is,” and the County in no wayassumes any responsibility, implied or otherwise, as to the condition ofthe properties, of any other liens that may exist, or any other specialconditions

Account Closed · Answer

You can click on the list for June 2019 and it appears. It looks like they have not started a list for October.

Did you purchase a tax lien property in the past? Los Angeles is supposed to be the worse area to purchase tax lien properties because there are too many investors in the area with suitcases full of money. San Bernardino County is supposed to be better. I drove around San Bernardino in a bus full of investors for two days. We looked at about 60 properties and during the auction every property sold for more than their market value.

Many bidders never look at the properties. We got out of the bus and tried to speak with every occupant, neighbors and we tried to see all sides of the structures. One property showed a house on a lot. When we got to the property the only thing on the lot was a concrete slab where a house used to be. Someone must have thought there was a house on the lot because it sold for more than $300k and it was in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road.

There was another house that looked beautiful from the front. When we looked in the back yard the house was about 60% burned down.

Another property in Big Bear California looked really great on the internet. It had two units and what used to be a Bed and Breakfast. Every investor's eyes lit up and everyone got excited because the first impression is this has to be a super great deal. Some fool must not have looked at the property because it sold for about $600k. It looked like it was built in the mid 1800's and only 1 unit was habitable. That unit might rent for $1200 to $1500 if you spend about $100k bringing it up to code. The 2nd unit would be more suited for storing hay and the Bed & Breakfast would be great for the horse barn. You would never get a permit to re-open a restaurant on that property in this era. The two buildings were tear downs and the lot was not worth $600k.

We stopped at one house and spoke with the owner who was losing his house before the day of the auction. The owner and his family was really happy and laughing like they were at Disneyland. He said rather than sell the house he would rather take his chances at the auction. He owed the bank something like $160,000 and the house was worth about $260,000. The house sold at the auction for somewhere around $320,000. The homeowner gets the excess money so he was very smart and some fool paid $60k more for the house than it would sell for on the market. The only problem with losing the house at the auction is I think it takes 1 year for the county to pay the homeowner the difference, but it is money in the bank.

On the Los Angeles County website there is a list of properties that sold at previous auctions. The list stops at December 2016 for some strange reason and does not cover 2017 to 2019.

I checked about 20 properties on the list and every property is vacant land that sold for only a few thousand dollars and the highest price I see was $48,000 for 80 acres. Several years ago, I looked at these vacant lots that are for sale and they are in the middle of nowhere with no roads, no electric, no phone and no water. It costs a fortune to bring phone and electric onto raw land when there is not a power post for several miles and then you have to get surveyors, draw maps, get engineers to work out grading details, draw blueprints and that is why so many people buy raw land and it ends up at auctions.

I am sure there are houses being auctioned, but it is strange that the houses are not on their list of properties that sold in the past.

Cynthia Hughes · Answer

@Sean Wang www.propstream.com

Sean Wang · Answer

@Jack Orthman Very impressive experience. Thank you master!!! But as a newww guy who has a full time job to do now, how to start with little money. Due to the property price in LA, it is so hard to find a good deal. So hard to do Brrrr.

How I can get a list of tax lien properties in Los Angeles

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