All Forum Posts by: Allen Tracy

 I've heard it all depends on the bank.  Many banks don't care as long as the payments are still being made but there is a chance they could call the loan due if you try it but I've heard it's very rare.  I've heard of some people asking for permission and being successful and some just doing it without asking.  I'd like to do it but I'm nervous to do it without asking and nervous that I'd get a "no" if I ask.

Saleh (the original poster of the link you provided) and I meet up weekly and we've both gone through the terrible process of having to pay two years of property taxes when we didn't even own the property (cost me roughly $10k).  Luckily a law just passed that will make it illegal for the School Board to go after non commercial properties for back taxes so you should be safe going forward on having to pay back taxes.

The way I typically go about it is I look at the taxes charged vs the tax assessment value to determine the percentage of taxes in that specific area (it varies widely across Columbus).  Then I multiply by that percentage by the amount I would like to purchase the property for and figure that eventually the property taxes could be that number.  Sometimes if you're lucky that tax assessment is still under what you purchased the property for but running the numbers at purchase price should give you a good buffer.

I believe they try to update the values every 3 years if they can.

The 15 tax abatement program is something you can apply for if you do a major remodel like moving walls or adding rooms onto the property.  I don't know the exact details but I do know the application process can take a while but could be extremely beneficial if you're doing a huge remodel.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.  As soon as I threatened to file a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel I finally got a response.  The law firm gave all kinds of excuses about all of their staff coming down with covid, people quitting, taking vacations, and how busy they've been working non stop.  While I feel bad for all of the troubles the firm has run into it, none of them are my fault and unfortunately I have to suffer for it.  At least they have offered to refund my retainer in full, I think it's the only fair thing for them to do at this point.

 Unfortunately this is extremely common in Columbus.  The sale of the property pops up on the school's radar, they go and look at what the value has been assigned by the county for the last couple of years.  If the county is way behind in updating the value the school files a complaint.  The Board of Revisions looks at it and agrees that the property has been undervalued the last few years and updates the property value.  The current owner is responsible for paying those back taxes even if they didn't own the property at the time.  All of this happens after the new owner (me) buys the property so there is nothing for Title to catch at the time of the closing.  Basically the school is upset that the county is so bad at updating values and the school wants their money.  The school will normally make a deal with the current owner and you can pay them directly what they would normally get, they'll drop the case, and the county doesn't get anything extra.  Ohio law probably figures it's just easier to go after the current owner than trying to track down and charge the previous owner.  It's a pretty messed up system and there's actually a bill that is currently trying to be passed that would ban the school from filing against property owners and/or making deals on the side.

 The school board filed a complaint against my property with the Board of Revisions to raise taxes on my property for the previous two years I didn't own it (very common in Columbus).  Unfortunately Ohio law says that the current owner is responsible for those back taxes which could result in me having to pay the county $16,456.  This law firm specializes in making side deals with the school paying them their portion directly so they will drop the case.

This is my experience with Bluestone Law Group in Columbus, OH.  I'll leave it up to you if you'd like to use them or not.

My lawyer at Bluestone Law Group was very responsive when we first started communicating.  They decided to take on my case to help me work out a deal on back taxes that the school district had filed against me with the county.  I had a meeting set up with my lawyer when there was an issue with the check that I had sent them due to a bank mishap (they do not take any form of digital payment).  I was informed that they were immediately stopping all work on my case and my meeting was canceled.  I was able to fix the problem with the bank and wire over the money, they started communicating with me again.

They listed that I would pay them a certain amount to help me with the year 2020 and another amount for 2021.  When we found out that it was only going to be for 2020 they said they list the payments separately by the years but it's not really that way and they would keep the full amount.

We were negotiating with the school district and I was trying to figure out my options with my lawyer at Bluestone Law Group but they have since nearly cut all communication with me and it's been six weeks now since they've given me any clear information about my case. Too much time has passed and the county ruled against me so now I have to pay the county on top of what I have already paid Bluestone Law Group.  Hiring them cost me more than doing nothing at all.  My lawyer says "they are very busy" and keeps promising he'll reach out to discuss my case but here we are six weeks later with no communication about my case. I should mention they have my full payment already.

I was in the middle of making a deal with the school district when this bill passed.  I was going to pay the school district directly for 2020 and 2021 even though I didn't own the property then, this would have saved me from paying the full county price.  The school district got nervous because of this bill and wanted me to pay them in advance for 2022 also.  The problem is that if the county did update the value of my property for 2022 the school district would not refund my money and I would have paid them twice.  I was trying to figure out my options with my lawyer at Bluestone Law Group but they have since nearly cut all communication with me and it's been six weeks now since they've given me any clear information about my case.  Too much time has passed and the county ruled against me so now I have to pay the full county price for 2020 and 2021 on top of what I have already paid Bluestone Law Group.  My lawyer says "they are very busy".  I should mention they have my payment already, I'll just leave it at that and let you decide if you'd like to use them.

Great work, congrats!

I'm part of a group of out of state investors and we're looking to find an agent in Albuquerque, NM.  Our goal is to purchase something in the 8-30 unit building range but we could also be interested in a portfolio of smaller multi families.  Any recommendations?

I have a lawyer that I'm currently using who mainly deals with these kinds of cases.  I'll update everyone in this thread once we have a final outcome.