Bought my first tax deed land, Arizona

[Tom Wolff]

Long time lurker who bought his first tax deed land yesterday!  State had acquired property almost a decade ago through unpaid tax lien, no redemption period anymore, bought the property outright for $3k.  Called local real estate agent, property is worth 40-45k ... I'm ecstatic.  It's a vacant lot and easement might be an issue, however, I'm looking into that.  Arizona will send me a Quit Claim Deed when all the bidders on all the properties have paid up and my bid will officially be approved in a few weeks.  My next step is to initiate a quiet title action to clear any issues up and put it on the market.  All fees included I'm hoping to net nearly 35 thousand on this one.  Is there anything else I should be concerned about or looking into?  Anything an experienced investor might say I'm missing?  I already have a real estate agent on it, photographing, looking into any current issues, et cetera.

Thanks!

[Randy K.]

Congrats on the purchase! Your uncle may be right about the 27 acres for $3k in AZ claim, but numbers like that are typically seen way out in the desert, miles from the nearest town (Holbrook, Kingman, St. Johns, Willcox, etc.), and odds are good you'll need a 4x4 vehicle to access the parcel. For him to say, "Land is cheap in Arizona.", is, for the most part, only applicable to the extremely rural portions of the state. That said, Surprise isn't a bustling metropolis or anything, but you're definitely not getting land there for $111 per acre.

Surprise is a relatively well-known city in the NW portion of the Phoenix area. With your uncle being in Tempe (another city in the same MSA), I would've thought he'd be familiar with it. Unless perhaps he just recently moved to Tempe? Whatever the case, personally I'd follow through with the deal, considering the price point you're at. Raw land typically does sit on the market for quite awhile down here, but if you're comfortable with the risks and have patience, keep on keeping on.