All Forum Posts by: Marc Dufour

Is there a specific form or format for such written inquiry to the zoning department? Thank you!

I bought a land at a tax deed auction in northern California. I verified the zoning by looking online at the zoning on the city page (they have a lookup map for each APN) and it says residential. I also went to the city zoning department and the clerk verified, looking at the same online database, and confirmed it is residential. This online database do have a disclaimer though that the data may not be accurate, updated, etc...this is why I went to the city to check in person.

After the tax deed sale happened and I sent the money, I had 2 different realtors who called the city zoning, and the zoning person (different clerk or someone above, I am not sure) mentioned it is an open space that cannot be built. I am getting really anxious...what next steps do you suggest? Any legal action?

I am planning to rent my unit in San Francisco. I am using Craigslist and Trulia and priced it correctly....but I don't have enough traffic during the open houses. Where else would you recommend I advertise my rental unit?

I am currently looking at buying more Tax Deeds properties through auctions in Northern California. I would like to have a mentor on this. Is there anyone who could help me?

Here is my situation:

I live in northern CA. I own 3 properties and live in 1 of them.

Property 1: value $1.1M, debt = $700K

Property 2: value $750K, debt = $400K

Property 3: value $500K, debt = $330K

I don't want to use the emergency cash on my savings, but I currently contemplate getting HELOC to invest in REI.

Assuming the HELOC are for 85% LTV, the line of credit would be close to $500K.

Is it recommended to use HELOC for REI? Can anyone share their experience?

The Title Insurance refused to cash my $450 check because they first need the property certified by TTS. So I called TTS (Tax Title Services), and will move forward. I was surprised though that their fee as one component that depends on the market value of my land...1% of it! How do they assess the value??? That sounds like quite a lot to take for their service!

Update

Contra Costa County called me and the deed from the tax deed auction I won will be recorded next week and they said I will receive the actual document in about a month.

I already submitted a $450 check to a title insurance company to do a title search.

Based on the feedback above, it looks like I need to use "Tax Title Service" in any case, whether the title is clear or not, in order to then have a Title Insurance company issue an insurance policy and then sell the land I bought.

Is "Tax title service" doing a Title Search and I should not have submitted a Title Search check to another title company?

I won an auction through a tax deed county sale in California. I would like to know how soon I can sell it, meaning do I need to wait the 1 year period during which the sale can be challenged?

Do I need to obtain title insurance before selling it?

Do you have any recommendation to do a Title Search online with a paid service to find out if there are any lien on the property?

Is a Title Search done by a Title company better than a Title Search done online?

I recently bought a land at a tax deed auction in California. I am wondering how long I have to wait to sell.

- Do I need to quiet the title after the deed is recorded or can I sell it to an "all cash" buyer?

- If I decide to go the route of the quiet title procedure, how long does it take? How many approximately?

- Any other alternatives to the quiet title path, in order to get title insurance and sell?