Real Estate Broker · Dallas, TX · Member since 2015 · 10 posts · 3 votes
I am wondering what the process looks like to find properties that have back taxes owed. Specifically around the DFW area Texas. So Dallas, Collin, Denton, Tarrant Counties ect.
I am guessing it is done either at the Appraisal District or the county tax office. Do I have to look up specific properties or is there a way to search properties that are behind on their taxes by X amount or time? Can this be done online or do you have to do it in person (I'm sure this probably depends on the area/county/city)?
Are there any blog post about this on BP?
Also, what other questions should I be asking in regards to this?
Thanks!
Joe
p.s. would there have been a better forum to place this in?
Flipper/Rehabber · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 6 votes
7y
@JosephNewton I used to specifically target the tax lien and foreclosure auction in Ft Worth. In the 2000's, it was a great deal. Today, because of our market, everybody is a rehabber and flipper, and the tax auction is like low hanging fruit. Everyone is there. They get over bid by huge sums. Even vacant land now is overbid. You also need your cash on hand for these purchases. In Tarrant county, there is typically half a dozen auctions going on simultaneously, with bank foreclosures being read out, the tax lien auction itself, and Auction.com running their own.
I would suggest, you go down and watch the fun (first Tuesday of every month, except when it falls on a holiday). There are different providers who will offer you the lists for whatever their prices are. You can use the tarrantcounty.com (which has the auction list for free online) and TAD.com websites to find owner information, taxes paid, taxes owed, etc... You'll need to dig a little deeper to find any other liens, so make friends with a title company as well. There are still deals to be made, but it's very few and far in between.
I hope this helps a little. You are more than welcome to reach out if you need more specifics. Good luck!
Arlington, TX · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote
10y
Hey Joe, I was able to get the Tarrant County List from the Tax Assessor's office but it's comprehensive, meaning the entire tax roll. You'll then have to have the data converted from ASCII to excel or something user friendly. The fee is $100 in CD format or you can set up an FTP site and provide the address to the county.
Architect, Green design/build consultant · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 62 posts · 12 votes
10y
@Thomas Guillory, what exactly did you ask for at the Tax Assessor 's office? Did you ask for a "delinquent tax roll", and did you have a hard time explaining you were NOT looking for properties in tax foreclosure, but actually properties with back taxes owed?
Architect, Green design/build consultant · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 62 posts · 12 votes
10y
Thomas Guillory , I got the CD of delinquent tax rolls from Tarrant County too; the only problem is he second file with the actual data with amounts owed is blank, filled with zeroes.
I was able to convert the larger DAT file into a readable excel format, but not the second file.
Were you able to get usable data from the 2nd file with the actual amounts due file? If so, can you guide me?
Arlington, TX · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote
10y
AishaE., I asked for the delinquent tax rolls specifically and was told that I would be receiving the entire tax rolls for the county and would have to sift through the data and determine which records were in default.
Flipper/Rehabber · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 6 votes
7y
@JosephNewton I used to specifically target the tax lien and foreclosure auction in Ft Worth. In the 2000's, it was a great deal. Today, because of our market, everybody is a rehabber and flipper, and the tax auction is like low hanging fruit. Everyone is there. They get over bid by huge sums. Even vacant land now is overbid. You also need your cash on hand for these purchases. In Tarrant county, there is typically half a dozen auctions going on simultaneously, with bank foreclosures being read out, the tax lien auction itself, and Auction.com running their own.
I would suggest, you go down and watch the fun (first Tuesday of every month, except when it falls on a holiday). There are different providers who will offer you the lists for whatever their prices are. You can use the tarrantcounty.com (which has the auction list for free online) and TAD.com websites to find owner information, taxes paid, taxes owed, etc... You'll need to dig a little deeper to find any other liens, so make friends with a title company as well. There are still deals to be made, but it's very few and far in between.
I hope this helps a little. You are more than welcome to reach out if you need more specifics. Good luck!
Hey Joe, I was able to get the Tarrant County List from the Tax Assessor's office but it's comprehensive, meaning the entire tax roll. You'll then have to have the data converted from ASCII to excel or something user friendly. The fee is $100 in CD format or you can set up an FTP site and provide the address to the county.
I hope this helps
Hi Thomas, can you tell us how you got these files converted from ASCII to excel?
Is the CD format in an excel sheet or something like that?
@JosephNewton I used to specifically target the tax lien and foreclosure auction in Ft Worth. In the 2000's, it was a great deal. Today, because of our market, everybody is a rehabber and flipper, and the tax auction is like low hanging fruit. Everyone is there. They get over bid by huge sums. Even vacant land now is overbid. You also need your cash on hand for these purchases. In Tarrant county, there is typically half a dozen auctions going on simultaneously, with bank foreclosures being read out, the tax lien auction itself, and Auction.com running their own.
I would suggest, you go down and watch the fun (first Tuesday of every month, except when it falls on a holiday). There are different providers who will offer you the lists for whatever their prices are. You can use the tarrantcounty.com (which has the auction list for free online) and TAD.com websites to find owner information, taxes paid, taxes owed, etc... You'll need to dig a little deeper to find any other liens, so make friends with a title company as well. There are still deals to be made, but it's very few and far in between.
I hope this helps a little. You are more than welcome to reach out if you need more specifics. Good luck!
Hi Jeremy,
On the TAD.com sites you mention - is this information in a user friendly format? I went to TAD.gov on my phone and it mentioned delimited versions, I don't know what that means and my storage on my phone is running low so I didn't try to download it -is the delimited data the way you were able to decipher this information? Is it readable?
It's so strange how the county can easily convert this data into readable content when they are sending these bills to the homeowners but act like the data must be jumbled for anyone else smh lol.