All Forum Posts by: Bernard DePascale

I’m interested in Tax Deed & Lien investing and have been doing my best to self-research the in’s and outs. So far it’s not entirely complicated, but there are definitely gaps in my understanding and it’s difficult to get the proper info from just web searching.

I work a Full time (60 hours a week) job, but believe that I can still put in the proper due diligence and make good investments. Honestly, I feel like if I watched someone go through their motions for a couple of buys & sells it would click better, but any recommendations or teaching advice would be greatly appreciated. I’ve only monitored a few online auctions just to gauge how people bid and assessing how much they pay for specific lands (which seem much higher then what I thought they’d pay)

Thanks for any help,

Some Newbie from Florida

I moved into my home over two years ago and purchased it as a foreclosure. It was sold to us for 115k and since then we’ve been doing minor upgrades here and there like paint, ceiling fans, dishwasher, stove etc. We also had a new roof put in this past June.

I wasn’t really considering it, but while searching for tax sale investing I thought to look my own home up and see past tax histories. I searched for it on Zillow/realtor.com and it’s estimating the home around 150k-170k and homes in this area have recently sold for that range with similar structures.

Is there something I’m missing or is selling my home and purchasing something cheaper a good way to make some money? Or should I purchase a new home and rent out my first house? Neither of these were on my radar for investment opportunities so I thought I should ask.

Outside of the actual bidding of Tax Liens/Deeds at tax sales, what are some extra costs that an investor would run into throughout the buying (and selling if that’s the exit strategy) of these Liens?

Let’s just say there’s a piece of property that has $1,000 of unpaid taxes and I’m bidding on it to acquire the lien certificate. Outside of what I actually end up paying for it, what are some other financial costs of this whole process. I know each scenario is different, and the state I reside is Florida so this example would be in a hybrid state.

I’m really trying to gauge what my max bids would be and my range, but each time I research this investing topic, I find another term/process that needs more money. Florida gives two years, so I would have to pay for the bid, and then another year of taxes if not redeemed? Should I factor in maintaining the land/property for a certain amount of time.

I suppose my main concern is not biting off more than I can chew and making sure my ceiling still leaves me above water. Any costs that investors of any experience level run into more often than not can provide I would feel much more comfortable.

Thanks!

@Bruce Lynn I like this, very concise. It also brought to my attention the idea of an exit strategy. I considered the better my research, the better value properties I would select and thus buyers would be easier to come across, but this isn’t guaranteed. During my intro researching, the importance of having a clear title was a little confusing, but again this is just new to me. I need to surround myself in this often so I start seeing he patterns. My first bid doesn’t have to be shooting for the moon, so maybe just proving to myself that my process will work is best in the beginning; like getting all the points correct along the way, running into the usual mistakes.

I think I missed this years actual auctions for tax sales in Florida if I’m not mistaken, and OTC can be an even more due diligence selection. This is fascinating stuff

@Arnie Abramson The state I reside is Florida, which I would prefer to begin my investing since it’s local, but I’m not afraid to venture to other counties/states if this becomes more enjoyable.

@Davido Davido Thanks, since I’m new to BP I figured much of this has already been discussed in depth, but I figured I’d start out by trying a post. I’ll start searchin.

@John Underwood Is it possible that a property might have certain issues that aren’t visible? Like some zone issues or economical problems?

Or am I thinking too hard on it?

I have been doing my best to research the Tax Sale process and am interested in investing soon, however I can’t find good resources on how to properly research properties before purchase. I don’t want to end up with something that’s unsellable or worthless, and research will help minimize that risk. If anyone has any materials or advice on their research process that would help me greatly.

Trying to be as prepared for a first purchase as I can be. Thanks!