All Forum Posts by: Felipe Lois Affini

 Hi Jason,

The first thing to assess your risks is to know exactly when the property was bought at the tax auction and if the buyer is the one selling it to you. 

 You mentioned the redemption period - up to 2 years - so if you are buying after the two years I would say your risks are minimum (of losing the property to a family member of the deceased owner).

The simple answer to your first question is Yes. A family member may reclaim the property but it will depend on a lot of factors (like proving their rights on the property, etc).

About your second question, it will also depend. If you buy and start rehabbing before the redemption period you will have greater financial exposure, mostly if you proceed with the substantial rehab as you mentioned. If someone reclaims the property you may lose most or all your rehab investment.  

If you believe its a project that is worth the extra risk and extra due diligence you may seek legal advice from a RE attorney. Analyzing all the docs and data he/she may give you the guidance you need to move forward or let it pass. 

 This is the safe move most Title Companies like to take. They don't like to take risks.

Some will issue a title policy after 2 years.

I sold a property recently (with title insurance) before holding it for 2 years. 

It will always depend on the property, who bought it and the title company you will use.

 @Thor Fink, like @Bruce Lynn explained it will be most unlikely you get a loan in the terms you mentioned. 

The best chance that I see is for you is to find private capital. Find someone you can educate about investing in tax sales and create a JV agreement. That way you can save most of your money using somebody else capital to buy at the tax sale (you may use your funds to rehab the property or buy different properties).

Hi @Ramona F., have you been able to contact the owners?

This is a great way to buy the property (pre-auction). 

Check with the county where the property is located which law firm handles the auction and keep checking on their website if the property is at the next month's auction.

Remember that in Texas we have tax sales every month (but not for every county) and the redemption period can be 6 months or 2 years. 

Let me know if I can help in any other way.

And good luck. 

@Christian Walker, like @Arnie Abramson mentioned that is not a short answer. The right answer is: it depends.

I sold a property that I got at the tax auction after holding it for 2 years, and it was a regular (Realtor, title policy, etc) sale.

I just sold another one after 1 year at the same terms (Realtor, title company, etc). 

You can find some service providers that work with specific title companies that can get you a title policy after the 6-month redemption period. But it will cost probably an extra 2-3k.

But if you can find someone that is willing to buy without a title policy you could sell on your terms.  

I hope it helpe, and good luck at the next tax sale. 

Hi @Gloria Wang, 

Do you have a specific State or area you want to invest in (SFH, Multi-family, etc)?

I invest in Texas (I am out of the US too). If you want some contacts in Texas I will be glad to send them to you.

Hi @Mary Jay, how are you doing?

I will give you my experience as a foreign that does not live in the US and does not have a green card or residency Visa.

I create an LLC for my investments and, with that, an ITIN number. As it is a pass-through entity every year my CPA files the tax return (for my LLC and for me and the other partners of the LLC) and then we pay the taxes on an individual basis.

As far as I can tell, in this case, the tax paid is probably the same as US citizens (considering the tax brackets, etc). 

If by local RE taxes you mean property taxes yes, they are the same (at least in Texas, Florida, and Georgia where I have been involved in RE deals). Never heard about different property taxes for foreigners. 

But the best advice I can give you is to find a CPA that is used to work with foreign investing in RE. Depending on the goals, financing needed, etc, the structure would be different. Also is important for her to check with her local CPA if her country has any form of taxation agreement with the US to avoid double taxation (or at least compensate the tax paid in the US in her local tax return).

I hope I could help. 

@Garrett Henson It's pretty much what @Bruce Lynn and @John Underwood said. 

If I understood right, you may have a cash buyer willing to buy this parcel, right? In that case, and if you were clear to him about what he/she will get (no title insurance) then you can move forward and sell the parcel. You should do your due diligence (as your buyer should too) and access the risks involved (check the title chain, how long the previous owner held the property, liens, case notifications, etc). If you are fine with that do it.

Hi @C. Wei, I am a foreign investor and my focus is in Texas too. I mainly invest in Tax Sales. 

I can recommend you @Bruce Lynn, he is a very knowledgeable Broker in the Dallas area (he is also a very experienced RE investor). 

If you want to learn more about the area that I invest in (tax sales) feel free to ask me anything you would like to know. Also, follow @Arnie Abramson he is "the guy" in that field.

Good luck with your investments. 

@Cortney Arenstein, I am glad you didn't pay the taxes. You would have lost your money.

As Texas is a tax deed state I would search for specific education. Reach out to @Arnie Abramson and check if you could attend one of his seminars (you can do it from home as he mentioned he is doing through Zoom). He helped me a lot in understanding and investing in properties in Texas (even I am not living there) successfully. 

Also, as most of the auctions happens at the county courthouse, I would attend one (check the closest county from your home having a sale in March) to see how it goes (and start to understand the process and legal terms).