All Forum Posts by: Jared Hettler

@Ned Carey 

I see. I still feel as though the list of each county's repository properties is too good to be true. And as they say, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. But I went to a law firm and inquired about this list and a specific property from this list (it was a property with an extremely old house built in the 1880s in bad shape, in a not-great location,) and was told the property was free and clear. On this list, I have seen plenty of properties for prices under $10,000 and the strange thing is that they are on there because they were not sold at the commissioner's sale which is sale in which the property is sold with liens attached after it is repossessed for tax delinquency, and it is also fair game for counter offers. This repository list however is apparently first come first serve, whoever goes to the county courthouse and offers to buy it gets it. The strangest occurance I've seen was a property listed for $2,300... it sold 9 months prior for $289,000. I never had the chance to drive out to look at the property. The only way I can imagine such a deal would not have been snatched up the second it was up for grabs is if the house is burnt to the ground.

@Alex Deacon 

I believe the repository sale is different than a Sheriff Sale. I'm not entirely familiar with Sheriff Sales so I could be wrong but I believe the repository sale is a sale in which the property is tax delinquent, taken away by the county, put up for a commissioner's sale (I believe that is NOT a free and clear sale) and then once it is not sold there, it goes onto the repository list, which is to my understanding, free and clear and is on a first come, first serve basis in terms of offers. In comparison, the commissioner sale is published in the newspaper and is up for counter offers and I believe it comes with any liens owed.

@steve Morris 

I've gone to a law firm about one of these properties to inquire as to whether or not I would be responsible for paying any liens or hidden costs and was told no. My understanding of it is that commissioners sales are sales in which the buyer is responsible for all liens/debts attached to the property, but the repository sale is free and clear.

I see. That's what I figured, it is near a major city so I was thinking a cash buying investor would be my best bet. Thanks for the response, Bruce.

So my fiancé and I have found a repository property in PA that we are considering purchasing. Knowing that most times it's required to have a "quie title" established in order to get insurance on it, I had a question. Is it possible/likely to be able to sell the property/house to an investor at a discount without a quiet title if the investor intends to flip the property? For example, if the house is purchased for $5,000 and is worth $200,000, is it possible to sell it to an investor at a price of $75,000-80,000 without a quiet title? 

thanks for any input and advice. 

@chris k okay I understand. It's more for insurance than it is for liens and such. Thanks for your insight and thank you for sharing this knowledge. 

@Chris K Okay I see. So when you say contested, who would be contesting it, anybody who has a lien on the property? And is the quiet title only necessary if you get the title search done and it comes back with liens attached to the property? Or is the quiet title necessary either way? Sorry for my questions if they seem silly. 

thanks in advance and for your previous responses.

@Chris K thanks for the response! I'm still learning the terminology and laws about titles and things of that nature so when you say "quiet title," what does that mean and regard? What is the difference between a property with a quiet title and one without a quiet title? Is it just simply running a title search to find out what liens come with the property? 

thanks! 

Hey everybody, hope you're weekend is off to a good start. 

I had a question about repository properties in PA. It's proven to be fairly difficult to find any information about legalities about these tax delinquent properties. I seem to get different answers that often contradict each other everywhere I go. My fiancé and I are looking at a property in Montgomery county, PA that we believe to be a very good deal that we could make a sizable profit off of. Being that it is tax delinquent and for sale by the county on the repository list however, I wanted to know if there is any law about how long you need to hold the property before selling it or anything along those lines? Or is it possible to just sell it ASAP after the deed is mailed to me? 

Thanks for any input guys, and have a good weekend. 

Thanks for the response Bruce. 

So in PA, or at least in Montgomery County, there's two types of tax sales for property. One of which is named "the commissioner's list," which may have a different name in other areas, not 100% sure. But this type of sale, (the commissioner's,) is a type of auction if you will. You place a bid at the courthouse, they publish it in the newspaper and give a period of time for counterbidders to offer. If nobody counters, you get it. If they do, you go to an auction for it in which other people may also show up and bid. All liens come attached with properties in these sales. 

The second type of sale is named the "repository sale." Again, I'm inexperienced still so I'm not sure what these are called in other areas. The repository sale is a "free and clear" sale, or so I was told by the tax claim bureau at the courthouse. These are listed for incredibly low prices, so I naturally raised an eyebrow at it not being sure if there was a catch or not. For example, my fiancé and I saw a property going for 0.01% of its value that it sold for last August. We plan to go look at the property soon and run a title search on it if all goes well when we take a look. Something of note however, is that the repository sale is different than the commissioner's in that there is no counter bidding. You place your bid, and then it goes through the school district and county bodies for approval. If approved, you get it (there is no redemption period for these, they are repossessed by the county.) Let me know what you think of these two sales.

Thanks in advance!