All Forum Posts by: Nick Vafa

@Silvanus Beckley Thank you, sounds great!

Hey Everyone,

I’ve been on BP for about a year now but have decided to finally introduce myself. For the past year and a half, I have dived into real estate investing and am constantly learning new things. I started out with the goal to master tax liens and became very comfortable with them, eventually purchasing a tax deed and flipping. After formulating my plan, and identifying my target markets, I miraculously was able to secure funding from someone who trusted my vision.

Last year, I attended 2 tax sale auctions ( Carroll County MD and Washington DC) and invested $113,000 in 5 liens. 2 were redeemed on their own, and I moved to foreclose on 3 of them, and ended up generating 10% profit overall as a result of interest. Not bad for my first year. Last week, I purchased 5 liens in Carroll County, and now we wait and see. This upcoming week I will be at the DC tax sale, and hope to secure some liens there, though it’s much trickier.

I am located in the Washington DC area, and want to make connections! I’m young, but ambitious and want to explore new avenues. I feel comfortable with tax liens now, and I want to begin exploring flipping in Baltimore. If anyone wants to get in touch and learn from each other, please feel free to send me a message!

Hi Eric,

Im not sure how Alabama tax deed laws operate, but do you know how long the redemption period is on the tax deed, if one exists? In the case that there is no redemption period, or if you feel the owner will not be able to redeem during that period, you must decide if the markup is worth the final flip price of the deed. In the case that there is no redemption period and you feel as if you can earn back the markup and still clear a good revenue after flipping the deed, then it is a win. Do some research and determine what the deal is with the redemption period, then you can decide if the markup is worth the purchase. 

@Sabrina C. I would advise checking with the Department of the Comptroller and the Treasurer's office for more information. Also, are you certain that New Haven has an upcoming tax sale? Or are you searching for the OTC list instead?

@Russell Brazil Right by P and 1st. It seems to be a very interesting case to be, as the tax lien occurred as a result of an estate sale and the owner by default has failed to pay the taxes. I have a question that you may be able to help with: The new owner has listed this property for sale however I still hold the lien on it. Will they be able to make a sale before paying me, or does my lien have to be paid off first? Based on the listing price, the neglect of the property and the circumstances by which the new owners have acquired this property, I would rate this a 50% foreclosure chance. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Washington.

Purchase price: $29,965
Cash invested: $92,965

At the annual District of Columbia tax sale, I picked up two liens this summer. The tax lien itself was $29,965, which was equivalent to a year and a half of unpaid property taxes. Since the property was vacant for a portion of this time, the tax rate was multiplied by a factor of 10 ( as per DC vacant property tax regulation ) which explains the cost of the tax lien.

Since competition is always fierce in DC, I bid an additional surplus of $63,000 on the lien to win the final bid. All in, this tax lien cost me $92,965 to purchase. After doing my research, I had identified this property as a strong foreclosure candidate, which is why I felt comfortable with the cost of the surplus bid. I came in under budget, as I had set aside $100,000 budget for this specific lien.

As always, there are three possible outcomes.
1. I will receive the appropriate fraction of the annual 18% interest on tax liens in District of Columbia for the period I hold the lien and get my surplus bid back.
2. The owner redeems the property once I have begun foreclosure. I still receive the appropriate interest, and receive reimbursement by the property owner for all litigation fees accumulated thus far. I also get my surplus bid back.
3. I go through the entire foreclosure process and receive the deed to the property. Once DC takes out appropriate fees, I receive my surplus bid back and secure the property.

While the redemption period in DC is up until the foreclosure is issued, after 4 months, the tax lien holder can begin the foreclosure proceedings by taking the necessary steps such as having the post tax sale notice posted and waiting 45 days. As of last week, I have begun the foreclosure proceedings with the lawyer. Most likely, the entire foreclosure process will take close to a year.

Stay tuned for updates and feel free to ask questions ! I am also beginning foreclosure on the other lien I purchased, I will post the details soon.

I am hoping to start the pre-foreclosure process on a tax lien I purchased over the summer in Westminster, Maryland. Since I am not local to the area, I am in search of an attorney that has experience in Carroll County tax lien foreclosure proceedings and would be able to provide me with some more information. 

 @Jerry K. You almost had it! I read through the post, it's got a lot of great content, thanks for linking it for me 

@Jerry K. That's great! I have been interested in Pinal County , AZ for some time now, I will most likely start working that market next year. I will make sure to take a look at your posts, thanks!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) other investment in Westminster.

Purchase price: $5,637
Cash invested: $5,637
Sale price: $6,000

This property is the 2nd of 3 tax liens I purchased at the Carroll County tax sale held in July 2018. Compared to my other redeemed property this lien took several months longer to be paid back ( 5.5 months), therefore I earned a bigger profit on this lien. The delinquent tax payer redeemed 5.5 months after the tax sale, so I received 6.4% interest on my original investment as the yearly interest rate in Carroll County is 14% .

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this tax lien opportunity from the Carroll County tax sale website, which provides listings for all properties included in the yearly tax sale. In Carroll County, bidding is done auction by surplus, not interest bid down method. Carroll County holds live auctions only, with no internet or over the phone bidding options.