Tax Certificates questions

[Ronen Avisar]

Hi there from Israel,

I am willing to enter into the tax certificate auctions in Florida (Broward and Miami Dade) and I have some questions.

First I would like to thank Carolyn Morales for sharing a success story in Jacksonville that inspired me.

• Tax lien – let say there are 7 liens on a property, 2 were bought in 2013 and 2015 and 5 are for sale by the county. If I buy one lien older than 2 years (2016 for example) I can apply for tax deed and get the property.
• Should I pay all the 7 liens before I get the tax deed/get the property?
• If I paid and got the tax deed and the owner of the property have debt to the IRS/government, will I be the responsible of that debt?
• If I paid and got the tax deed and the owner of the property have mortgage debt, will I be the responsible of that mortgage?
• Tax Deed – the amount on the deed reflects all open debts on the property?
• Lots –
• How long it takes to build a home (wood) in Florida in general from an empty lot to the key? (in Israel it is 2 + years…)
• Is a grown tree in the middle of the lot is issue in Florida or you can cut it down without permit (in Israel you can’t cut it down).

Thanks

Ronen Avisar

ps - I would like to meet a tax certificates expert with some good examples in Miami on November 5-11 for a chat ,Thanks 

[Jermaine Chad Ingram]

@Ronen Avisar

It’s a big question but I’ll try to take your points one by one

first off there only seven liens on the property because the liens expire after seven years.

Yes you can buy a lien that is two years old and filed a tax deed application immediately.

You must pay all of the outstanding liens in order to file a tax deed application so yes you will have to pay all seven years and more fees.

Yes if the owners owe money to the IRS it would be a separate matter from the county property tax charges.

The mortgage on the property, if it has one, would be discharged in the lien process.

The amount on the deed reflects the total amount of the outstanding liens that you would’ve already paid by this point.

Depending on your planning process and the effectiveness of your contractor it should take you about 10 to 11 months to build a house but it can take you a year to get the tax deed.

An extra point that you haven’t asked about is, after you acquire the property with a tax deed, in order to convey that property to someone else or to refinance, you will have to get what’s called a quiet title action

If the tree is larger than I believe 16 inches at chest height then you would need a permit to cut it down no matter where it’s located on the property

Although I do not consider myself an expert in tax deeds I have been through this process I would love to meet up with someone from Israel for a coffee to talk about how the process works here.