All Forum Posts by: Eric B.

@Mark Ainley So far we hold the properties in my personal name and his LLC. But I'm hoping soon to acquire an Illinois LLC and start buying properties in its name.

Actually I'd enjoy the opportunity to speak to the attorney you'd refer me to to draft up an operating agreement. On the other hand, would it be more beneficial for me to start an LLC now and have the operating agreement already drawn up as part of the LLC package?

I live, and now I invest, in Illinois. My partner lives in Georgia. By partner, I mean money partner. We have a verbal agreement that he provides the funds while I provide pretty much everything else (finding properties, due diligence, research, attending auctions, boots-on-the-ground activities, etc.) for properties within the state of Illinois.

It's a great agreement and I enjoy it. We have bought one property together, and plan to buy many more. Before him I spent years staring at great deals I couldn't touch because I just didn't have the money.

He is hungry for more Illinois properties, and so am I. We trust each other and enjoyed doing this first deal together. But we're also both realistic enough to understand that this is business, and all parties involved should be as protected as possible.

So now here is my question: is there a standard contract for such an arrangement as ours, or do I need to get a lawyer? And if the answer is the latter, then can you recommend any good lawyers that will work with a guy with a tight budget? (If this person does title searches as well, that would be a plus!) I live in Chicago, in case that affects who you would recommend. I invest in counties all over the state.

I too was caught by surprised by this. Even still, I never actually bought a note from there.

@Patrick R. Saucrr 1) Depends on what the rules are for that particular county. If the rules allow a bad title report to give you good cause to renege on your title obligations, then no, you should wait until you win the property to do a title search. On the other hand, if a winning bid gives you the deed unconditionally, with no chance whatsoever to turn back, then yes, you should do a title search beforehand.

2) & 3) Ask the County.

4) I would.

Does anyone know of any title companies for Will County, IL? What about title-clearing services? Actually, my partner and I bought this property at a tax deed auction, so the title may be clear already, but the county gave us no guarantee of that.

Okay...it sounds like I don't really need to start incorporating until I start buying tax deeds.

I recently read some advice that you should never purchase a tax lien in your own name. Well, before reading this advice, I had already purchased about a dozen tax liens in my own name. a few of them have redeemed.

Now I'm thinking that maybe I should acquire an LLC or S-corp to buy my liens from here on out. But here's the thing. I've owned an S-corp before. From 2011 until I dissolved it in 2013. I did almost nothing with it, although it did have its own bank account. I acquired it through a website, not a lawyer. Although it was a lawyer that set it up for me.

Here's my question: if I give this another go, do I buy the entity through a website like before? And if so, what sites would you recommend? Or should I get it through a lawyer this time?

Or was that even good advice I read? Should I just continue to buy them in my own name like I have been doing already?

@Paul Wiseman I am currently a student of Tony Martinez & Saen Higgins, and can tell you their educational program is excellent.

But neither theirs nor any other educational program can replace diligent research. You must get to know county rules for participating in the auctions, bidding, buying over-the-counter, submitting your payment, how to receive your money after a lien has redeemed, and a number of other things. And research is key. You don't want to invest in anything you haven't done your homework on. I dare say deeds require more thorough research than liens, but both require you to do research. 

Yes, investing in liens can be easy, and fun. But ONLY after you learn the rules and know how to play the game.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Quick question. On iltaxsale.com, every single county has a list of assignable certificates available for that county. Does that mean that you are buying liens from an individual through the county, or does that simply mean you can assign the lien you buy from the county to someone else?

Also, just for the record, I personally would never sell a tax lien I own to anyone else, nor would I buy one from anybody who is not a county. I find that practice to be less than desirable, to put it kindly!

Another great place for information and resources is https://taxsalelists.com/. They have videos and webpages  that can be helpful, and if you subscribe, they have lists available for every single county.