Beginner Needs Answers
I'm not an investor but I thought I could some help here. I want to buy a house for myself in my small Texas town using tools like John Becks or some similar for foreclosures/tax liens.
It is an economically depressed area and I see foreclosure notices at the court house regularly. I just wouldn't have a clue as to go about finding auctions etc much less how to buy.
I read bad things about John Beck but of course I don't want to be an investor...I just want to find one deal.
I also found "Texas Homes for pennies but it is $100 and I don't know if it's any better.
Is John Beck really that bad if I just need the basic info like where to buy a home?
Thanks
PXJ--(TX)------------------
I'd suggest you forget about the foreclosures and the tax sales. These are not for beginners who don't know what they are doing. If you wanted to buy a lot of properties, my advice might be different.
Instead, just start looking at every property that is for sale and learn the market values in your area. Then start making low offers to the owners of properties that interest you.
Good Investing************Ron Starr*************
This is one case where I disagree with Ron (although not completely).
First see if you can find a Real Estate Investment group/club in your area. It is a good place to meet people who have some (hopefully) knowledge of the business.
Second go to the County clerk and/or Treasurers office and ask if they can recommend lawyers who frequently do work in the tax lien/deed area. Don't be put off if they say no -- ask someone else in the office until you get a few names.
Go talk/interview the attorneys explaining what you want to do and ask for their experience in this area. Pick the one that feels the most right to you. It would be helpful to have specific questions written down (and know the answers to a few) so you can choose the best one.
Have them lay out a specific plan of action with timelines and dates for working through the tax lien/deed process. Understand their fee structure.
Work the plan and use the lawyer to ensure all of the legal requirments are met.
As long as you are willing to do the leg work (research the properties, including property problems - such as contaminations, zoing restrictions, new developments, rights of way, eminent domain, etc.) you should be able to find some property (if patient enough).
Good luck -- and it always helps if you can find a mentor!
_________________
Tax Liens are my Gig
Sometimes I pass, sometimes I Bid...
Glenn
[ Edited by GlennI on Date 03/02/2004 ][ Edited by GlennI on Date 03/04/2004 ]
Thanks for the replies. I am not able to just find a property for sale and pay for it Anyone can do that...it's called buying a home. I have almost no/little money. I am disabled, get Social Security and have a Full time start up business with part time money.
But there are so many "stories" like you see from the John Beck type programs. I just though there would be an opportunity for me to find a deal simply but with some work and luck. Working and learning is not a problem.
The homes Im talking about in this area around 10-20 thousand. In fact the home behind me was just bought for 2 thousand right out from under me because I didn't know how to find out who owned it!
Thats the level I'm working on. (very low)
I was at the courthouse today and saw 3 homes on the bulletin board with around 1,000 in taxes owed each. I don't understand these notices and what they mean. I'm reading this bulletin board and people are saying things like you can pay the taxes yourself and possibly become the owner down the road a bit.
So you see I don't know what to do and need to read more but surely if make people make money doing it, it would much much easier for me to just make one good deal for a property if I applied myself.
I will take your advice and continue to read more and maybe you can see more now what I'm dealing with.
Thanks
[ Edited by PXJ on Date 03/02/2004 ]
I would love to help you get a home cheaply, with minimal risk -- but the fact is there is some risk with any venture using tax liens or tax deeds.
You need to be very aware that it requires alot of work, research and specific legal processes that must be followed to acquire property via the tax lien or tax deed route.
Not to futher scare you, but even if you follow all of the procedures, you can still loose some of your investment.
As it sounds like you have very limited resources (i.e. money) to invest, if you are going to still try to obtain a property in this way, I believe you should focus on tax deeds or auctions. Once again go talk to your country treasurer's office and see what properties are coming up for auction. Only focus on those that you can get a tax deed on. Do research on the properties to determine those that are likely to meet your needs.
Once again there is some risk in all of this and realize it is possible to loose money. People always talk of successes -- but most will hide the failures and losses.
PXJihave muchthe same problem as you. my cercomstances are a bit differnt but i have the same basic problem. Ineedto find a house in my area for cheap and i have very little money to work with.
fortunately for me, i happen to live in a state where they have a number of different tax processes.
some counties offer tax deed sales here (which is they auction the property of with all the legal stuff taken care of minimum bid is back taxes and asorted legal fees including the cost to forclose)
my state also offers tax liens where we can "lend" the tax money owed and will most likely get it returned with intrest.
if it doesnt get returned then i can go through the process of forclosing, all the legal hassle and i might snag a property for real cheap.
what am i to do? i'm not realy sure, but i have a plan of attack.
i'm going to invest in a few of the cheaper tax liens ive found (the ones im sure will repay) and take that money, reinvest it, and just grow my money for however long it takes till i have enough to attend one of the local tax auctions and buy a property outright (that ive thoughorly researched) for my very own!
will that be the end? no, if it makes me money... even if its slowly then its worth it.
my advice for you, id research the laws of your state quite a bit, then if your trying to get a property though the lein process your probably best finding a lawer who knows what they are doing. i orginaly had the same plan get a property from a lien but the more research i did the less likely it was expecialy in my state where forcloser includes court costs and well right now where im strugling to pay rent... thats not going to happen because no matter where i look im looking at alot of time and alot of expens and both are against me. so im just going to do it slow and steady and save, invest, save, invest until i can buy one outright in my area.
your best plan of atack has probaby already been said get a lawer t help you. i just wanted you to know there were others like you out there and what we are doing.
take care,
be well,
and have a nice day,
pucx
Yes, maybe I should focus on tax deeds or auctions. I just posted this in the tax liens forum because I thought it most appropriate for what I need.
I actually don't know the difference between tax liens or tax deeds or any of the proceses that these properties might go through.
This is why my original question was about the John Beck type program. I thought that might give me a head start on understanding what it is possible and what my options are and where to start.
Good advice all around though. Thanks.
I went down to the Tax assessors/collectors office and asked homes with taxes owed against them.
They gave me a list of 50 properties/homes now owned by the county with names of previous owners, description, addresses and values from $50 to $21,000.
There was a local policeman in there who spoke to me about the auctions which he said only happen 1-2 times a year but very few people show up.
I wonder what I can do with this list? Could I make the county an offer if I want one? Maybe I should ask an attorney? Is any of this info covered in the John Beck or other real estate packages? I mean finding this stuff out is laborious. I would much rather pay for a $50 package to answer some questions than try and firgure it out on my own.
I'm very new, so I can't speak like a professional. I'm still searching. And I'm sure there are great sources. But I just recently saw taxliens point o r g It looks their material is a masterpiece (That is my own opinion) and it looks it has everything. and just $199. And just their web site is full of valuable info.
Up to now what I learned, you don't need an attorney in this point. You need knowledge. Before doing anything, you better know what you are doing. Also taxsalelist point c o m looks pretty good, too. One prof. here gave its name.
Good Luck
Wow...greate site and fill of info.
I'm not sure I should have even posted this in the tax liens section here. Tax liens may not be what I need to buy a property but I am learning about some things anyway.
Thanks
PXJ--(TX)--------
Interestingly enough, John Beck at one time owned a lot in Lubbuck with two houses on it. He got it from foreclosing on a tax lien. I believe he sold it some time ago.
Besides the properties already owned by the county, you can buy properties at the tax sales and then hold them to see if they get redeemed. Many will, a few will not. I bought a house in Waco for the minimum bid, $5K about four years ago. It was redeemed within 3-4 months. I got my money back plus 25% over. I suggest you read the state law on the topic of collection of delinquent property tax liens.
I recommend that you read through past postings at this website for more education. You might try putting texas and tx into the search function.
Good Investing*************Ron Starr**********
Post your Texas questions. I do know quite a bit about this state as I practice law here and invest in Texas tax sales.
I would be glad to help!
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Go to some local banks and ask to speak to the person in charge of REO's or Loss Mitigation. You may find it easier to get a house cheap through a bank.
Quote:
On 2004-04-06 03:02, DariusBarazandeh wrote:
Post your Texas questions. I do know quite a bit about this state as I practice law here and invest in Texas tax sales.
I would be glad to help!
Darius, having heard lately, that Texas (especially DFW area) is experiencing record numbers of forclosures, does this also equate to many tax related problems? How is the market in this area for your line of investing?
Thanks, Gary
Numbers are up for both types of foreclosures: mortgage and tax defaulted. However my suggestion has always been to stay away from larger counties and focus on the smaller counties. I have been telling people this for years and its still true today.
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