New to Real Estate · TX (texas) · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 5 votes
My county does not pursue delinquent property taxes. I know, it’s weird. Because of that there are a plethora of abandoned properties in my county that owe back taxes. How do I go about acquiring these properties if the county has not done anything?
Real Estate Broker · Coppell, TX · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y
@Jerry Hodges What county are you in? Unfortunately there are some counties that are very slow it seems. I've seen in Dallas for example a property with 20 years or so of delinquent taxes. All this owed was more than the property is worth. Sometimes it seems like they won't take action until a person passes. I spoke with the tax appraiser in one county about this, telling her we could buy the properties and start paying taxes and improve the property if they would act in 2-3-4 years, but when they wait 10 years, it now longer makes sense. Not good to leave the houses vacant for 10 years....roof caves in, termites, other issues happen, but they just don't want to create issues for themselves I think in some small towns or counties.
There are some counties I've never seen a sale....then some have monthly if there are plenty of properties. Some yearly, some every couple of years.
New to Real Estate · TX (texas) · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 5 votes
5y
@John Underwood I mean to acquire them through the delinquent taxes, not purchasing from owner or heir. However I can’t find a way to do that unless the county puts them in auction, which they almost never do.
@John Underwood I mean to acquire them through the delinquent taxes, not purchasing from owner or heir. However I can’t find a way to do that unless the county puts them in auction, which they almost never do.
You are correct,if you want a tax deed they will have to go through auction process.
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
In my county they have to be delinquent for more than 5 years. By the time they auction them, often the taxes and interest on late taxes is more than the property is worth. It may be better to try to get the owner to sell it for a nominal amount to get the tax delinquency off their credit score,
Real Estate Broker · Coppell, TX · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y
@Jerry Hodges What county are you in? Unfortunately there are some counties that are very slow it seems. I've seen in Dallas for example a property with 20 years or so of delinquent taxes. All this owed was more than the property is worth. Sometimes it seems like they won't take action until a person passes. I spoke with the tax appraiser in one county about this, telling her we could buy the properties and start paying taxes and improve the property if they would act in 2-3-4 years, but when they wait 10 years, it now longer makes sense. Not good to leave the houses vacant for 10 years....roof caves in, termites, other issues happen, but they just don't want to create issues for themselves I think in some small towns or counties.
There are some counties I've never seen a sale....then some have monthly if there are plenty of properties. Some yearly, some every couple of years.
Attorney · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 888 posts · 759 votes
5y
Each county can pursue delinquent taxes its own way, within the statutes and caselaw. In Texas, we do tax suits, so check the public records in the district court(s) covering your county. This sounds like a low population county, so small-town politics might be the issue.
So which properties get sued? All tax suits invoke the takings clause under the US and TX Constitutions, so it gets touchy. Taxing authorities can't go after just the ones with the biggest bill, or most valuable property, or most number of years delinquent. These absolutely have discriminatory impact (even when there's no discriminatory intent). Older people, minority communities, women head-of-household are all statistically more likely to owe back taxes for any number of reasons. Larger counties will use a "lottery" system to pick random accounts from the entire county that owe back taxes.
If your county is not trying to sue for back taxes, go to the taxing authority and find out which firm represents them and ask about their tax suits. County will usually collect on behalf of smaller tax jurisdictions (hospital district, college system, port, etc.). School district will be the next biggest. Then it is usually MUD/PUD. Lienberger, blah, blah, blah, and blah represents counties in most of Texas.