Courthouse/Tax Assesor Research
Greetings, I am new to REI and would like some help with Courthouse/Tax Assesor research. I live in the Atl. Ga. area and really could use some guidance.
Rookie Tone' 
Tell me a little more about what you are looking for, and how we can specifically help you.
BAMZ
First, thanks for such a quick reply! My main problem is simple, I Have no clue when I go to the Courthouse!! I don't know what I'm at/for.
I guess what I'm saying is that I need a mentor or tutor to show me how to read the various forms and books I need to look at in order to be able to spot a deal when I see one.
I'm sure I've allowed plenty of very good deals slip through my fingers because of lack of experience and I'd like to fix that!!!
After reading some of the other letters posted on this site, I've decided to focus on Bird-dogging so that I can sharpen my
courthouse skills before moving on to bigger and better things.
I have already invested in Lou Vukas' Real Estate Uncovered course and would like to be able to put it to practical application, so I'm hoping that this is a logical first step.
Thank you again for allowing this confused rookie a few minutes of your time and I hope you can help me get my REI career off to a great start!!!
Rookie Tone'
WARNING SEVERE RANT FRUSTRATED in VA! I went to the local real estate club last night. It seemed like nobody had wealth mentality thinking. The most knowledgeable investor in the meeting said his goal was to do 3 deals this year (ROFLMAO!) He tried to tell me Lease Options were GOD's gift to investors (HA!!!).
The thing that killed me was nobody seemed to no what a short sale was. The L/O three deal a year expert said he tried to do 2 short sales and it doesn't work in this area. I started to say well I'm going to make it work #$#%# LOL!
I went to my courthouse today. It felt like I was speaking greek. They weren't trying to give up any list. They appeared to be very helpful if you already had names and were looking for more information.
The courthouse people (various depts and offices) were like what is an NOD
I guess it's different per area. An investor would come off blind mailing neighborhoods in this area.
I agree with you 100%!! I could use a LOT
of that myself. I have the desire to want to do this business full time (motivated by the fact that I lost my "regular job" several months ago).
Problem is, I jumped into this thing without doing enough research first. The courses that I purchased (not including the Lou Vukas course) gave me so much partical information, that by the time I got to Mr. Vukas' course I was THOROUGHLY confused!!
Now, my problem is simply one of confidence. I'm so overloaded with information that I'm having a hard time separating the good from the bad.
That's why I've decided to start from the beginning and try to do this right. So to anyone reading this post, understand that
you have here a most willing student!!!!
ANY advice that you can give me to get me started would be GREATlLY APPRECIATED!!!
Rookie Tone'
If you want to find Tax Auctions, look in the Sunday paper. A list of all the up coming tax auctions will be found in the legal notice section.
Locate the property, inspect it, investigate the neighborhood, obtain the property value asscessment (PVA), get your finances in order (10% down, the rest in 30 days), be prepared to bid against some seasoned vets (don't let emotions get in your way). If you have done you home work, you should look to gain something 20 to 30 per cent under market value range. Don't think you are going in there and walk away with a deal 20% on the dollar, it just ain't going to happen.
P.S. For some investors only three deals a year will fit their investment goals. They will only purchase if they can make 35 to 40 per cent on their investment. They may pass on 50 other deals in order to nail down those three. Other will do a higher volume in order to accomplish the same end. This is what make REI such a good deal, no one will get all of the possible deals to be had.
Happy hunting[ Edited by Vern on Date 04/02/2003 ]
How this thread drifted away from the original title is anyone’s guess, so I’ll try to shift it back to WARIV78s question.
When I research a property I’ll check online with the assessor’s office for the owner’s name, parcel number and legal descript etc, then check to make sure the property taxes are current.
The next thing I’ll do is check online at the recorder’s office for deeds, trust deeds, liens and judgments etc. I want to check at least as far back to when the last title insurance policy was issued.
If there is a document I need I'll pick it up at the recorder's office the following day.
Then I’ll check the comps and if I’m still interested I’ll pull a property profile from one of the title companies I subscribe to on line to make sure I got everything I need.
Of course different counties will have different ways of looking for these records on their sites. Some counties you need the recorder’s code number vice the document name which should be located somewhere on the site. Some counties you can pull up that days recordings and then search through each document. Some counties aren’t even on line and you will have to visit the recorder’s office or court house. Each area is different as to the procedures, but the info is basically the same. What you want to do is ask questions of the clerks as they are happy to help.
John (LV)
Sorry for casting the dark cloud in the topic!
Vern I agree three deals with high profit margins isn't a bad thing.
If it takes this guy all year to do three deals where he makes 30K total. Then he might as well keep his day job! This guy mentioned out of 6 deals he made 30K total
I think in my case I kind of mislead myself into believing I was going to get different list just by going to the courthouse.
I still plan on using the courthouse but when I go back I’ll some properties I’m researching.
I think in this area it would be more effective to do a mass mailing/repeated mailings www.usps.com and www.melissadata.com are some good sites