All Forum Posts by: Steven Steiner

Ah - there's something I wasn't clear on: So the Property goes to then the Tax Deed sale if foreclosure isn't acted on within 2 years (NJ) by someone with the 1st Lien in line (latest Lien)? Is that right?

Yep - I get that your money can be tied up for a while for sure. As far as the "lot of cash" goes, I have seen many sales for under 2k. Not that that is anything to sneeze at, but is that a lot? Or is it that the smaller sales don't normally amount to much profit because maybe you only get a 4% penalty of $2000? Still, I don't know, seems like it is worth it for the "lottery ticket" situation where maybe once in a blue moon you get the property. As far as the neighbors being mad - if the current owner still wanted to live there I am sure they would work something out and if they don't, then you would think that you could maybe have someone handle the eviction in your stead and then just sell it? I don't know. I would definitely hate to put anyone out on the street - I don't think I could do that...

@John Underwood @Rick H. thanks for replying!

Rick: YES! I think I understand much or what I am learning/reading, but I still keep wondering what is the "catch" or the "gotchas" that I might be missing. I understand the house in a listing could have a leaky oil tank, etc. - but is there something else. I.E. I see a lot of listing with houses in good shape and they just missed their last tax payment. I know they might pay it before the actual auction comes up - but if they don't, I just can't understand why if like, let's say, there are 4 houses on the same block that haven't paid. OR - I noticed there is like a section where like 5 people didn't pay their water and sewer bill. As if the people on this block were on strike or something :-) I googled flooding, etc. in the area and I am not finding anything unusual.

So yes, I was just looking for like anecdotal-stories as to what the things I could be missing is. In summary, I know there is like a statistic going around that like 99% of Liens are paid - in other words, rarely does the 2 year period expire and you get to foreclose - which is fine with me. But is this true? Only 1% don't get paid - and if that is the case - isn't Tax Lien investment like a no-brainer - you get your penalty money if they pay and if they don't pay for a while you get to tack on more interest...what the heck is the catch here? What is the horror story. If I pay $1000 - what is the situation where I LOSE all of that $1000 because the person doesn't pay AND I don't want the land with the single home on it? (Again - forget commercial places that could have a Uranium spill :-) )

Thanks guys! 

Hi everyone. This might be a TLDR - but if you have the inclination...

So I have been researching Tax Lien Auctions pretty heavily recently and I had some questions which might be simple questions, but I haven't found on any websites or books yet, so I figured it was worth a shot to throw them out to the smarties at Bigger Pockets and see who could hit a single:

1. To be specific, I have been checking out Neptune NJ. I notice in the results from 2015 - ALL of the high bids except one, from what I can see, were big boys like Investment Firms, etc. I guess some of them, after research might turn out to be the mortgage holder protecting their investment - but in general, are people doing Tax Lien Auctions noticing that big banks, etc. are winning all the auctions? How does this go - do they just keep bidding things up until the "little guys" tire out?

2. I see where a thriving hotel had an unpaid tax bill. That hotel is still in business right now and getting 5 star ratings on Trip Advisor. I see why someone would want this debt - so that they can get paid the penalty - etc. Why would a thriving hotel be in a situation where they wouldn't pay their own tax bill? Are they maybe struggling behind the scenes? Can there really be an oversight this huge?

3. LASTLY... :-) So if there is a listing that has a house attached, and the house looks great, and you can see they have had the same owners since 1996 - why would this be popping up. Like maybe older people just missed their bill in the mail? Fell on hard times? I mean if I see like, for instance, land is worth $100,000 and house is worth $100,000 and there's a $2000 unpaid tax bill....what could be up here? Land is not in flood zone....I mean I just don't get what some of the downsides to some of these could be. I know I am missing something....

Thanks a lot for any help!

Steve

Hi @James Mikel - so I know this is an older thread - but hopefully you might still be interested in shedding light. So this is Brevard, Florida. So the 18% Lien you got, that was from a lean with a property on it? And other than the normal due diligence, like making sure there wasn't a nuclear waste dump in the yard was that all that needed to be done to then go ahead and purchase this? I noticed on the Florida websites they will put a Primary Residence tag on there letting you know I guess someone considers it that - which kicks in those special Florida rules, but that doesn't seem like a big deal. I guess in summary - was there a particular GOTCHA you had to eliminate for this Lien - or is there too many to list? Anyway inside is appreciated as I am learning...Thanks!

Thanks Jake, my bad. Well now I have to research Tax Liens vs. Tax Deeds :-) Guess I will do that now.

So you wouldn't be responsible for the Property Tax payments if the residents didn't want it and you had the deed? Or you were just saying other than that you wouldn't have to make any other payments?

@Jake Ebanks

I found this awesome website, which I think it the website for the software company and they have links to all the sites that use their online bidding - I know they have Orange County on there:

http://www.realauction.com/county-tax-lien/#

I am not affiliated with them at all.

Can I ask you a question? I was just looking at Orange County yesterday and there are SO many vacant lots on there. A ton of them - some of the Tax Liens are for sale for as little as like $43. So I get the concept behind them - my question is - I guess until someone wants that land, or if you actually want that land, you will be holding that Lien and I guess if you want to be able to foreclose - you have to keep paying the tax yourself - and even if you DO foreclose and own it - then you have to pay the taxes until you are ready to use it for something or sell it to someone. But there is so much land, not sure what the demand would be unless you see something there others don't. Anyway, I am babbling, but I live in Pennsylvania, I can't imagine it wouldn't be for me to buy a Tax Lien on a vacant lot and then somehow expect to get my 18% on that $43 for a while if ever...

Hope some of that made sense :-)

Thanks - Steve

Thanks! That sounds promising. When you say "Help us bid" - do you mean at the auction, or you mean research like I was saying?

I found it Ned via the Transcripts, it's Show 056 with Ankit Duggal. Link to it here for anyone interested:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/bpp56-ankit-duggal-p...

Thanks so much Ned. I am definitely going to search out that PodCast - I have listened to other episodes and the questions that get asked are always so on point. Thanks for the heads up on that. - Steve