All Forum Posts by: Josh James

Lyn,

Great questions, and most of the answers are not simple ones. I am not an attorney, but I am an experienced tax deed investor here in Texas. Yes the auction is similar to foreclosure. You get possession rights, along with all other rights to the property after you purchase, with the exception of the right of redemption.

The county is not first lien holder. They are a superior type of lein in Texas. Their foreclosure will only extinguish liens that have been addressed in the tax foreclosure suit. Also there are liens that cannot be extinguished by the sale becase other government offices are superior to the county and other local taxing authorities. Some examples are federal tax liens, state child support liens, and epa liens. Do yo see the pattern there? All of those are higher authority government offices. The types of liens that are extinguished, if the lienholder is properly notified in the tax suit, include corporate liens like mortgages, and individual leins like a mechanics lien. Do you see the pattern there too? 

A bankruptcy can absolutely put a wrench in your plans. I have a friend who went through 5 years of that after he purchased one. He did not lose his ivnestment, bt he did become a party to the bankruptcy.

Now, for your last question, what you pay is up to you. It greatly depends on the property condition. Obviously you wouldn't pay a high price for a house that is unfinished on the inside. I have seen these from builders that walked away from a house. So condition plays a large role in your bid. Also keep in mind most of these properties have been sitting for years while back taxes accumulate, and then must go through the court and be auctioned. This usually means a lot of time spent vacant, and a lot of damage.

Just make sure you get a good handle on your property taxes. They are high here.

I would love to meet up with other investors who are interested in the area.

@Jesse Lucero Sure thing. I may not be free, it depends on when you are coming. We can discuss details and try to arrange a time and place. 

@Wes Brumit Boy, there sure is a lot of information about the market here. I personally do not invest near the base, so I am not in touch with the market there. I invest mostly on the south side of WF.

If you buy before the sale, be sure to get title work. Also there are lots of posts on BP about Texas and its tax sales.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&term=texas+tax+sale

I have done several, so don't hesitate to ask if you have any more specific questions.

Damon and Melissa, age discrimination like in Bob Estler's comment. Not to mention everyone always pointing at you and telling you how young you are. I too had an older guy that I took along with me to negotiate my earliest real estate deals. Then, when I felt I had enough deals under my belt that my experience and holdings would speak for me, I didn't need the older guy with me. That is when all the comments about my age started. The idea of having an older business partner was also mentioned in one of the earlier BP Podcasts too.

I think you are wise for asking questions here. I found myself in a similar situation when I was exiting the eighth grade. I was considering skipping high school and going straight into college. I had the test scores I needed, but my family strongly encouraged me to attend high school instead. So I went to high school, then college. I had followed their plan, but not mine. Had I started younger, I would be farther ahead today. Despite that four year setback, by my mid twenties I had several properties. I owned and some and I managed others. You will meet a lot of non-motivating people along the way. Stay your course, do not let them steer you astray.
On a side note, do not be surprised if you encounter age discrimination. I encountered a lot of it. Sadly it is legal in my state. Only people over 40 are protected from age discrimination in Texas.

@Damon Armstrong I started in real estate when I was 20. Best thing I ever did. I would suggest you go to college for the right reasons. Since you are asking for advice, I will give you my two cents. Just keep in mind that this is what I would do in your shoes and not necessarily the one, true, and right solution.
With that in mind read on. 
As many others have posted there is not really a real estate degree that will be exactly what you need. As a real estate investor for over a decade, the most useful knowledge sets I have are finance, business, accounting, and construction; in that order. If you must attend college, then I recommend taking finance as your major and making a lot of friends with people while you are there. Many of them will go into the finance world and will be great relationships to have. Making connections is the most important part of college. You can always pick up books, and BiggerPockets, to get whatever knowledge you may need. The college campus is one of the highest concentrations of people you want to connect with. Treat it as a huge business networking event.
Also I think you should get your real estate license and make that your primary source of income. Try to start off as a salaried or hourly full time or part time assistant to another agent or a broker. You might even take a similar approach to a local real estate investor.
I commend you for setting a goal and going after it. I must encourage you to not let college inhibit your goals and drive for success.

Bump for calling FSBOs and I suggest craigslist advertising too. Check with Wichita Falls Code Enforcement about bandit signs and their placement. What areas are you targeting? What zip codes or specific neighborhoods? Price point? 

I met one of the Capital Concepts reps at a wholesale meeting once. I decided to try them out. I wanted to get a prequalification letter. I have good credit, assets and income. It was back and forth with documents for more than 6 weeks. They were pretty disorganized. I worked with three different people during the course of attempting to get approval.

Long story short, I steer clear of Capital Concepts too. I was wondering why they were on the lender list. I thought it might have only been me with a bad experience. Has anyone had a good experience with this particular hard money lender?

On the bright side, since then I have built a good relationship with a local bank. They beat the interest rate by more than half, I pay no points, and defer my interest payments for 3 months.

Hi Sharon and welcome to BP. I am a rehabber in WF, and I like the market for a few reasons. The military base means a decent turnover rate of home buyers. Plus a lot of industry related to oil and gas and healthcare are here. Do you have an area picked out? Property characteristics?