All Forum Posts by: Dale Thomas

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I've made an offer and I will let you know how it goes.

Thank you, Dale

Hello BP! 

I have a question about note buying for the BP community.  I have an investor friend who is looking to liquidate one long term note out of his portfolio.  He's had trouble getting payments on time from the customer and it otherwise does not fit within his current investment strategy. I would like to make him a cash out offer but I'm unsure what is typical when buying notes. Any note buyers have insight for a notes newbie? 

Thank you, 

Dale

Hi Samantha,

I'm originally from Centerton! I still have a bunch of family in that area and visit quite often. 

BP is the right place to learn about RE investing. Let me know if I can help!

Sincerely,

Dale

No problem @Jacob K.!  I've never had a situation where the tenants were still occupying. I don't want one either. I really don't want to be the person who "takes" someones home away. I would rather leave that up to the banks and the sharks...lucrative or not. 

In fact, @Jay Hinrichs, I've gone so far as to contact the original owners of properties to see if there was something I could do to help them retain ownership. Most of the time I either can't find them or I find their obituary. When I have found them they were either in the process of getting the property back (in which case they think it's remarkable that I'm contacting them to help) or they were just done (in which case it's a prime opportunity to make a deal to clear the title). Either way, I would much rather operate my business that way. I will say this, I've read a lot of your comments Jay and I think you are very knowledgeable in lot a different aspects of real estate. I'm just honored you tagged me in one of them! 

Concerning the mortgage, maybe @Deborah Hardin could shed some light on a question that just came to me. Say you were going bring a quiet title suit (or that other action that I cannot remember the name of) to clear the title of a tax sale purchased property and there is a mortgage listed a lien holder...wouldn't you have to notify the mortgage holder of the suit? If so, what would be the possible ramifications?

I agree with you partly @Eric Metz. I will say this...in my humble and personal opinion there is no guarantee that you will walk away from a tax sale with a property that does not have some other hoops to jump through like IRS liens or something similar. BUT when it comes to closing and final inspections...you do NOT get that with tax sale purchases in Arkansas. You pay for the property upfront and then in a few months they send you a Special Warranty Deed.

Again, I don't think there is any better way to know what you are buying than nerding out in the courthouse, sifting through old records. Then call anyone that you can find related to the property, even if it's a lien holder or mortgage company. After that you could go so far as to visit with the neighbors (I've done that too). You may end up losing a few deals because as Jay stated you will be informing other interested parties. Then again, you are likely to save yourself a bunch of headaches.

I wish all of you the best of luck and many blessings!

FINAL DISCLAIMER: I'm not killing it at the real estate game so you may not want to necessarily follow my lead.  :)

Dale

COSL does a good job with their "Interested Parties" section but they are human so they make mistakes just like the rest of us. For instance, I purchased two small tracts of land last year where there was a governmental agency listed as an interested party. It was kind of scary looking. I went to the courthouse to do my regular research and found the lien. I also found another entry where the same lien had been satisfied. I printed them both off, took them home, and read over them a couple of times to be sure I was right. I must have been the only one that did my research because no one bid against me at the sale and I got both tracts for the minimum bids. That little bit of extra time and gas turned out to be a win for me. 

Here is another "error" which does not have to do with interested parties but with spacial research. I researched a property that was for sale by the COSL that was platted on top of another property...overlapping if that makes sense. The legal descriptions were almost exactly the same! As it worked out, two separate entities were deeded large portions the same property in separate instances. Historically, by chain of title, I thought that the COSL instance of the property should be real owner but the "other" owners were actually living on the property. This is probably the assessors fault. I passed on that one after visiting with an attorney. Too much hassle, not enough reward. The scary part is, last time I checked, both instances still had a parcel number and were still in the system.

Moral of the stories...KNOW what you are buying as best you can.

Best regards,
Dale

Hi @Jacob K. and @Deborah Hardin,

Disclaimer: I'm NOT an attorney so this is personal opinion. Deborah is probably much better equipped to answer your question concerning this. That said, here is my two cents...I will always err on the side of caution when it comes to tax sales. I have gone so far as to contact the mortgage holder to get their opinion as to their interest in the property.  I was taught that when you buy something from the state through a tax sale, you are only buying the states interest. Prior to making a bid at any tax sale, I research properties to the point I have a real comfort level in my mind with what I'm purchasing. At the minimum, I would say dig through the county records to see what you can find. 

On the property where I contacted the mortgagee, they still wanted a pretty hefty chunk to "buy them out". No one bid on that property at the sale. Do your due diligence. Knowledge is power or in this case, the knowledge kept me from getting into a property with a potential huge hiccup to deal with post purchase. 

Best of luck!

Dale

Welcome to Bigger Pockets from a fellow Arkansan! 

Make sure to check out the webinars and the forums. They are FULL of great information.

Good luck with all of your investing!

Dale

Welcome to BP from a fellow Arkansan! Make sure to check out the webinars and the forums. They are FULL of great information.

The best of luck to you with all of your investing!

Dale

Mark,

You just went above my pay grade! You might try posting a new question and see if you can get a response from someone else on BP. Sorry I couldn't help on this one!

Dale

Disclaimer: I do the following all the time in Arkansas and have not run into any problems yet. Following this advice may not be suitable in your area.

I would save the cost of getting a real survey if possible. I like to get a copy of the subdivision plat to use for marketing plus you can use it to help find the property corners. In Arkansas plats are filed at the courthouse. I'm not sure about PA. 

The real estate company I work closely with keeps a "pin finder" at their office and they let me borrow it when searching for property corners. It's basically a glorified metal detector with the specific purpose of finding iron pins in the ground. If you don't have one at your office or have one you can borrow it might be a good investment to get yourself one if you plan on selling a lot of tracts of land.

Another method of finding property corners is to ask the neighbors where they are. A lot of times they will know and can take you right to them. PLUS, the neighbors are one of the best prospects to buy the property you are selling and this will be a good way to make contact with them. 

Once you find the property corners, try to get a good measurement between the corners and see if they are very close to what is on the plat. If they are and the neighbors agree that it is the right location you could save yourself some money. If they are not real close, then hire a surveyor. He might even give you a discount for finding some of the pins in the area.

If you do not feel comfortable finding your own pins than you can always wait to see if the buyer wants it done and have it written into the offer.

Again, maybe it's not the best advice for your area but it's worked for me.

Dale