Hi everyone,I'm delving into purchasing properties through foreclosure auctions and am trying to navigate the complexities of preliminary title searches.

He is a family friend and we have even looked at some off market for sale by seller too that I identified stuff where he wouldn’t even earn a commission and he was happy to investigate for me - more of a looking out for me / family than counting a check (I am not looking for expensive real estate and he has owns the brokerage of 20+ agents, unfortunately my purchase isn’t much of a profit opportunity for the office but would probably be more embarrassing on him if we get something wrong  😂) Noted on the inspection though and I will stipulate it is a deal breaker on my side.

All done through govdeals.com At this point the easiest and simplest and least costly thing to do is to just go to your local attonrey that does real estate closing and Pay for a title commitment/  We call them preliminary title reports on the left coast.. get the report and read it.. usually cost 200 to 400 bucks.. we get them for free from our title companies based on our volume of orders we send them..

Start-up costs are also deductible but are amortized over 15 years with a limit of 5k.Start-up costs have strict rules and your case might not be the same as this one.Case Summary:Timeline line of eventsStarted investigating property: FebPut first contract (canceled): MayBought first property: December 30thWhether a taxpayer is engaged in a trade or business is determined using a facts and circumstances test under which courts have focused on the following three factors that indicate the existence of a trade or business:Whether the taxpayer undertook the activity intending to earn a profit;Whether the taxpayer is regularly and actively involved in the activity; andWhether the taxpayer's activity has actually commenced.On the basis investor testimony, we may assume that he undertook this activity to make a profit and that he regularly and actively engaged in it.

@Clare Cui - I don't ask the prospective tenants questions aside from a preliminary qualification check and our rental application.

If the math won't work there, then the deal is probably not going to be worth a deeper investigation. 

And you mentioned when you sent your letter.Looking it this as an investigator, not a lawyer:You may not have to proceed to trial, but you may have to get to discovery, predominantly to see how - and exactly when - you could have been served with the “NOTICE OF UPDATING MAILING ADDRESS FOR DEFENDANTS AND OBJECTION TO ANY CLAIM ON SECURITY DEPOSIT,” alleged to have been “furnished” to you on March 24, a Friday last year.

Investigating 1st floor leak would be quite involved with potential sources being bathroom above but hard to say.

So... before you spend a penny, investigate the local laws.

That might help clarify (for me anyway) all of the things to be researched and investigated before a potential tax sale bid.