All Forum Posts by: Ashley G.

This is the best first step advice. The laws vary state by state and can vary county to county. For example, in Georgia, you are not allowed to go on the property period. In Alabama, if it is abandoned you can take possession with a Tax Certificate upon receipt of the certificate or file an ejectment suit after 6 months of holding the certificate. You can then fix up the property even rent the property and keep the rent in most cases. The taxpayer even owes you for the value of repairs if they chose to redeem, unless you miss the deadline to send the invoice then you get nothing.

When I first started I studied lightly into all the tax laws in all the states that have them. Then based on my investment requirements I narrowed it down and studied deeper into the most promising states for my personal strategy. I studied California and decided it was too expensive as well. Your danger you are going to fall into doing this long distance is that there is a lot of footwork required. South Carolina is super easy barely an inconvenience; you purchase and after a year you get either a deed or check in the mail. You still want to check the nuances you don't want to be stuck with a garbage parcel on the other side of the country that is now a headache you have to pay taxes for every year. 

What is your goal interest income or property?

I would strongly suggest you drive past that property. What state and county is this? That makes a difference in whether or not this or any parcel is worth your time. The laws vary so vastly state to state county to county that a profitable deal in one jurisdiction would be a total loss in another. Judging from the numbers only if this were in Alabama that would be a burned-out mess of a home that you would now be responsible for demolishing. Now if the land were in a desirable enough area that it could be sold for a profit might be worth it. If your plan is to get a house not so much. 9 times out of 10 if the structure is worth redeeming it will be redeemed. The profit is in finding that 1 or at least knowing what to do with the other 9. There is a way to make a profit even in the case of redemption it really depends heavily on the laws for the area you are investing in and what your overall goal is; the interest or the property.  

@Ebony King. Thank you. Some things you have to find out the hard way but I hope it helps others. I mostly buy in Jefferson County. I find that the worst schools in the county are often in neighborhoods with the highest amount of tax-delinquent homes and many of the delinquent taxpayers are not residents of the neighborhood they neglect to pay taxes in. They live in nicer neighborhoods with better schools and of course pay the taxes on those properties. Because of this, I feel that purchasing these tax certificates is similar to public service. If you don't mind me asking what is your strategy with the land only deeds? I mainly focus on houses but land is abundant. 

I have purchased tax properties in Alabama. The biggest thing you need to look for is that redemption affidavit. On my first house, the taxpayer sent me the blank affidavit and nothing else. I had no idea what it was she did not even include a letter requesting the preservation costs just that blank affidavit. She then faked a letter in court, lied and said she sent it with the affidavit. If you don't reply to that redemption affidavit within ten days you lose all rights to your preservation costs by the same token if the homeowner does not reply to your preservation costs with a specific action within 10 days they lose the right to dispute your preservation costs. (or they should according to the law but you will quickly find out that what is written in the law does not matter in Alabama unless you can fight it out in court like all the way to the State Supreme Court fight)

A good idea is to communicate with the redemption office and make sure you file any amounts you feel you are owed with them as well as copies of the communication and proof the taxpayer received the information such as a registered mail receipt. (unfortunately, sometimes this might not be enough but it is better than nothing) 

Another thing you have to watch out for is taxpayers lying and telling the redemption office you have not responded to their request to redeem. They will then be allowed to redeem behind your back, without paying you for insurance or preservation costs. The redemption office knowing you and having information from you such as copies of your response to the affidavit and proof of reciept can help avoid this. 

Alabama is hard to buy in, even the judges will admit they don't fully understand the law because it is ambiguous. I probably would not buy here if I didn't live here because they do make everything incredibly difficult and the people at the courthouse give the worst advice and opinions (even when you don't ask). Be prepared to take everything to the courthouse in person. They will freak out if you ask to mail in paperwork and ask a million questions as to why you can't stop your day to drive down to the courthouse to hand them a document that could easily be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed. You can easily lose your investment missing a deadline or because of the judge not being satisfied with your notification to the taxpayer (had this happen too. I use software for my invoicing judge completely ignored the invoice and allowed a taxpayer to redeem as if I had never responded. It was incredibly frustrating because the law does not specify how invoices have to be sent she basically just added her own rules after the fact that investors somehow should magically know through osmosis I guess.) With that being said if you are not a lawyer I suggest you find one that can help you file suit in the very likely chance that taxpayers are allowed to redeem without going through the process properly. It happens a lot you will need the attorney to file the revocation petition when this does happen. Scrambling to find an attorney after the false redemption is a frustrating and expensive task. If I am not mistaken the only legal fees you can charge are for ejectment costs so you definitely don't want to play the redemption revocation petition game, those legal fees (Think $500 an hour in Attorney fees alone) could easily kill any profit you did have and if you lose you could end up losing your entire investment and then some. 

@Valery Mora Kepley no but I love an excuse to go there and I love checking out properties so its a win for me even if I don't buy. I also enjoy researching and learning different laws, business operations and such so I know a lot about a lot of things most of which I don't intend to buy but who knows if an opportunity presents itself I am poised to take advantage. 

Hi @Abdul Rauf M. pm me maybe I can help. I enjoy completing the due diligence and finding properties. I have the most knowledge about tax delinquent sales in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia but I'm constantly studying new states. Surface knowledge of Mississippi, California, Maryland, New York, Colorado, The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Currently researching South Carolina and Texas. 

Thanks @John Underwood . True compared to SC and TX  it is a lot to go through. Does SC do over the counter sales or do you have to show up at the auction?

@John Underwood the redemption period is technically 6 years and you have to pay the taxes for all years. You get your deed after the first three years but the taxpayer can still redeem for three years after the deed is issued. If you never take possession the redemption period could technically never end. There are also as you said other hurdles but the system is designed to be fair to both I guess.

Thanks for the information about your state. I though Alabama was ok until I read your post. Your state just automatically sends the deed no application needed? Is the competition there steep and when can you take possession in your state?

@Denise Evans, thank you for writing the book it has been an invaluable tool for me. Thanks I try to learn from mistakes and obstacles but in all honesty, your advice and resources helped make it possible. It was one thing to read books and post on the process in general; but when it was time to act and I needed information specific to the state, I could have easily lost thousands learning the hard way, without the nitty gritty detailed info you provide.