All Forum Posts by: Adam Walter

#1  Tenants/Contractors/Neighbors, etc will stir emotions in you that you didn't know you had.  Don't make business decisions when you are emotional.  Sleep on it, talk it over with someone, calm yourself down and then make a intelligent decisions on what's best.

#2  Look for business decisions that are best for everyone involved in the outcome.  For example when a tenant is behind in rent and I don't think it's not going to work out, I give them 2-3 options that I am willing to accept and have them pick one.  

1. If you pay me $ by Friday, you can stay
2. I'll give you $ if you leave the house by next week (cash for keys, I'd rather give a cooperating tenant $200-300 than a lawyer)
3. Do nothing and sheriff puts belonging on the curb.

The tenant is the one who picks the option.  I didn't evict them; they choose that option.  I makes hard situations go a lot smoother.  I've had tenants who've I've evicted, call me a year later to see if I'd rent to them again!  

@Seth Fopeano  I have attended and purchased properties at the Hamilton County foreclosure auctions for many years. 
Currently it is very competitive and what I would consider very few deals to be had, partially because of the hot market and also because of the low supply of properties.  Also the foreclosure process in Ohio is very different today than it was a few years ago.  I don't want to crush your dream, but now is not a good time to get into this field.  Feel free to reach out to me with more specific questions and processes.   

@Ronald Stanley  First of all, each state and area handles the sales differently, so what works in one area might not be best for others.  I am in Southwest Ohio and attend/buy in the Cincinnati area tax foreclosure sales.  I normally do as much due diligence that I can do in the office a week or so prior to the sale.  Once I narrow down the properties I'm interested in bidding on, I physically view the properties a couple days before the sale.  The reason I wait so long is that many times properties are withdrawn from the sale a few days before.  Sometimes, I will even look to see if a tax payment has been made which usually indicates that a payment plan has been initiated and will be withdrawn.  It's disheartening  to do a lot of due diligence and go to the sale to have it withdrawn.  

Right now, in my area investors are paying crazy amounts for foreclosures sales.  For the previous 8 years, I haven't missed a Tax Foreclosure sale in Cincinnati.  The past 8-10 months, I've gone to maybe 30% of the sales because people are buying at such high margins.  I'd rather wait until the craziness subsides than to do all the work at low profit margins.

@Chris Seveney  This is the same in Ohio.  I purchase properties at the sales.  The redemption period here is up until the confirmation which is usually 30-60 days.  I haven't had any of my mortgage foreclosure purchases redeemed, but it is common for the tax foreclosures to be redeemed.   

Thanks to everyone who responded.  To clarify the situation, below is how the complaint is worded:

1. This Trustee state that the mortgage is a preference as defined in 11 USC Sec 547.  This is an adversary proceeding as defined in BR 7001 and this Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 USC 157 (F).

2. 11 USC Sec 547(b)(4)(A) provides that "...a Trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the Debtor in property...made on or within 90 days before the date of the filing of the petition.."  Further, that statue, in 11 USC Sec 547(c)(2)(B) requires that a security interest given to the creditor must be perfected/recorded within 30 days of the granting of that interest.

3.  In this case, the mortgage was given on October 31st, 2018 but was not recorded until February 5, 2019, beyond the 30 days of the granting.  The filing/recording date of February 5th, 2019 is within the 90 days before filing the bankruptcy (April 12th, 2019) therefore avoidable as set by the time limits of the statute.

Wherefore the Trustee requests the Court order the mortgage to be avoided.  

I have a call with my attorney later today to discuss this.  My thought is that the statue was not created for a situation like mine where an incompetent title agent didn't record the deed in a timely fashion.  Also the intent of the debtor filing the bankruptcy was to keep her condo and car which was granted.  It would be pretty ****** if the court granted the debtor her bk and then allowed the trustee to foreclose on her.   I am not that familiar with bankruptcy court so, I'm not sure what may or may not happen.  

I have an interesting situation and trying to figure out the best solution.  I sold one of my rentals to my tenant with a seller backed mortgage and note (this is in Ohio).  The date of the note and mortgage was October 31st, 2018 and recorded on Feb 4th 2019.  I went through a title agency which was owned by a real estate attorney, but his assistant handles all the transactions.  I was the one who noticed the mortgage wasn't recorded yet and got them to record it.  

The tenant (now owner) filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 12, 2019 and the property was exempted.   On June 18th, 2019 I receive a letter stating that the mortgage is subject to being voided because it was recorded so late and then the bankruptcy was recorded shortly thereafter.  He may attempt to void the mortgage and sell the property.  I contacted the Title company and spoke to the attorney/owner and he said he would take care of it.  The assistant is no longer there and she created a huge mess, my situation only a small part of it.  

After 4 or 5 months of back and forth between the attorneys, nothing happens and then covid hits so I don't hear anything for a year.  I thought everything had been taken care of.   Last month, I get a summons from the bankruptcy court for the mortgage to be voided.  I hire an attorney and he just informed me that he spoke to the attorney/owner of the title agency and he says that the title agency has no money and basically not going to do anything.  The attorney/owner is older and probably should have retire years ago.  

The craziest thing about this is the tenant filed bk for around 10k, the trustee is looking for something around 13-15k to pay all the fees and court costs.  The mortgage amount is around 42k and the property is worth around 50k.  So far, I have thought of the following plans of action:

• 1) Sue the title company:  I feel this is the most expensive route to take, and am not sure if I will get anything out of it.  It may force him to file a claim with his E/O insurance.  My attorney says that he is currently in the middle of a big lawsuit.
• 2) Just pay the trustee:  Although it's not my fault, it's better than my mortgage being voided.
• 3) Negotiate with the attorneys:  ask the title agency attorney to see what the most he can pay and negotiate with the trustee to see what the least amount he will take and fill in the void.
• 4) Fight the motion:  Maybe the court will have pity on me.

Anyone have any additional ideas/thoughts?  Thanks

@Blake Jennings Cincinnati REIA has a meetup tonight https://www.cincinnatireia.com... 

@Ned Carey  The tax foreclosures as well as mortgage foreclosures in southwest Ohio are very competitive today too.  My first tax deed foreclosure purchase 8 years was a 2 bd 1 bath 900 sq ft house in Cincinnati that was occupied.  I passed on the first opportunity because I was scared no one else was bidding on it; I thought there must be something wrong with it.   The second offering two weeks later, I bid on it as well as another investor, which made me feel better but I ended up paying 2k more than I would have.  I paid around 10k for it then.  If that same property, in the same condition came up today, 5-10 people would be bidding on it and would probably go for 35-40k.  I would pay around 20-25k today. 

I was averaging 20-25 foreclosures purchases a year, two years ago from Hamilton County which contains Cincinnati.   Last year I purchased 4 properties going to sales in 3 counties (from Cincinnati-Dayton).  Most of the regulars don't go to the sales anymore; I didn't go to the Tax Foreclosure sale in Cincinnati yesterday for the first time in 8 years.  When we do go, we just look at each other like deer in the headlights at some of the prices people are paying for the properties.   I will wait until it simmers down a bit.

@Josh Todd  I'm assuming that you are looking at Alabama tax liens, which seems to be a hot area for liens.  Information is mainly word of mouth, and you have to be willing to take a higher amount of risk.  There is some information on BP.  I would also go to the sales, talk to the person doing the sale afterwards and then befriend some players in the game, buy them lunch and couple drinks and pick their brain.  Most investors who buy foreclosures are pretty friendly with each other.  We were all the newbie at one time.  My wife hates real estate, so I am willing to talk real estate to anyone who will listen, lol.  I'm sure anyone you talk to who buys this stuff will have some crazy stories, I know I have a ton!! 

@Josh Todd  It all depends what state and county you are investing in, because each state and county does it differently.  Also depends if you are buying the lien or the deed.  I am in Ohio and am only available to buy the deed, the liens are sold to institutional investors in bundles of over 1 million dollars.   With that being said, I love, love, love, buying tax deeds at auction, they tend to be my best return on investment.