Tax Deed State-Buyer Beware Checklist

[Dane Barrick]

Our syndication agenda revolves around acquiring discounted land, building single-family homes, and selling upon completion.

what are the top 5 boxes you check when prospecting auctioned land at a tax deed sale?

[Lynnette E.]

Originally posted by @Dane Barrick:

@Lynnette E. if you have done your due diligence on the front end, what else can you do to protect yourself if you don’t qualify for the innocent landowner defenses you mentioned?

Part of you due diligence should include looking at past owners of the land.  If a parcel was owned by a company that manufactured anything, especially metal things or used chemicals, you can bet there is some level of contamination.  Also looking at the state and EPA websites for contaminated land or land that was cleaned up will give you some general information.  Sites are on the web give this information for free.  Look at https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/c...

Or just pay someone to look for past use and contamination.  A realtor should be able to coordinate this.  And also check to see if the title has this information recorded, often the government does record it.

Remember that most clean ups are legally cost recoverable to each and every owner and operator in full.  So negotiate to pay part as the government will go after everyone with money.  And once you owned it, even if you sell it, you were a past owner so now fully responsible for the whole cost of the clean up....so selling is not a good idea at the point you know its contaminated post purchase.