Found A Property To Be Foreclosed On...What Should I Do?
Hello All,
As I am new with Foreclosure investments, maybe you can give me some tips. By searching properties using parcel numbers, I found a nice lot which the County now shows currently 3 years behind in property taxes for a total of just over $8000. Through a friend in the mortgage business, I have a property profile including the owners information. So far, I am unable to find this owner. I contacted the tax division of the county, who indicated to me the property would be foreclosed on this April, if 2002 taxes weren't paid. There shows no loans, however who knows about leins from other sources. This lot is worth well in excess of $100K. I have been told everything from forget it, wait until foreclosure (which then everyone chases it) to pay the taxes and one year from now the property is mine! What I see is a nice lot, neglected physically and financially for some time , hence an opportunity. Based on your experience, how should I pursue???
maybe the owner is no longer on planet earth, there is a way to check probate records. buying at the auction might be one option. in addition liens can be checked at the county recorders office.
My first question would be to you is did you do an actual title search on the property?
How do you know the lot is worth 100k?
What state is the subject property in?
Your first step in locating the owner would be to go down to the tax office yourself and run a name search on this person and see where the tax billings are being mailed to.
[addsig]
Thank you both for the reply. Here is some answers... YESWINNER: Indeed, I am not sure if the owner is "still with us." How do I check the probate records? I feel if I wait until the auction, I may not get it, or at least pay far more than I may be able to prior. JOHNMICHAEL: I did do a complete property profile through Stewart Title Co. I have NOT paid for an actual Title Insurance Company to check. I assume that would show possible leins other than what the profile shows. As for the $100K + value, this is an assumption based on my research thusfar, current owner of a property nearby, and tax assessed value well over $100K. I would of course, prior to purchase do some form of feasibility study. This property is in Washington State. As for going to the tax office, would this be different than the information included in the report I pulled from the Title Co? It shows two different addresses for the owner. Neither one is he located at. A general search online and by telephone 411 has turned up no info based on the owners name. SO...what would be your ideas from here? Thank you all!!
investoraz
Doing a property profile is not good enough as it will provide limited information and as an investor you will want to do the tax research and title search your self, this is not difficult just a little time consuming.
Tax assessed value may be helpful but can place you in a danger zone as far as true retail value goes, you should acquire at least 3 comparables of recently sold properties within as close proximity to your subject property and likeness of your property to place you in a closer ball park of value.
You are dealing in a sellers market as a whole and the price trends on the properties in Washington are on the rise and this makes it vary important to purchase wisely and not over pay for the property.
All this said and done you still need to locate this owner so let's get it on!
Contacting the neighbors next door to the subject property and directly across the street
can yield a wealth of information
Some great Internet tools are:
Qwest Dex - www.qwestdex.com
Google - www.google.com
Can provide address and phone numbers from the “invisible web”
Be sure to use quotation marks for words grouped together
Offers reverse telephone search
Search Bug - www.searchbug.com
A simple personal property tax search can provide new location information
Polk City Directory located at the public library is a great tool as well - start with the newest directory and work your way backwards until you find a lead.
Your Skip tracing lesson 101 is done good look on your search.
[addsig]
Try searching for the owner thru www.deadleads.com
Hello all, thank you for the advice! It appears through my research, I have located the owner. Whether he is actually "available" I am not sure. I found his condo and mailbox which states his, and another name. HERE IS MY QUESTION NOW: How do you approach this situation?? Do they even remember they own the property? Can they just not afford the taxes? Are they in the process of taking care of it? Who knows. I do not want to insult, or upset them, nor do I want to emphasise the value of the land. What if it turns out he is deseased and family is unaware of the land? What do you do when finding a property of which is not "on the market," though in distress?? Thank you again!!!
I would not be to concerned about insulting or upsetting anyone here.
You might start out by just simply asking the owner an open ended question. Ex:
"Hi, my name is Jon and I am interested in your property and was wondering what your plans are?"
Be interested and concerned for them. Do not be the one answering the questions and in a cordial but firm way, anwser their questions with a question as best you can.
You just might find yourself helping them solve their problem while creating a win - win situation. Let that be your attitude.
[ Edited by jrbrein on Date 01/08/2005 ]
As a real estate agent, I could probably find the person you are looking for within an hour. Look up the address on the county web site. When you locate the persons full (and spelled correctly) name, look in www.accesswa.gov for public records. It may take some time if there are a lot of records pertaining to this person but somewhere in all that paperwork is a current address. I have some other sites that I have access to and I get a kick out of finding people so if you want me to help you, let me know. All I need is a name and the address of the property you are looking for.
I guess I should have read the rest of the posts, huh?
Call them. Keep it impersonal. Express your interest, offer them a price you are willing to pay and give them time to think it over. You don't have to tell them how you found out about the property. They may be in a real bad situation and you could be doing them a real big favor. You'll know within the first five minutes if they are interested or not.