Hi y'all from Birmingham, AL!!!!

[Anastasia Jordan]

Hello!  My name is Asia and I'm from Bham, AL. 

I came upon this site a few days ago after googling about Alabama property tax sales. I was bored and just riding around town one evening and saw an abandoned house in the middle of a nice neighborhood (boarded up, grass overgrown, residue from flames, garbage, busted window, etc.). 

I went home and was angered that such a big house was going to waste. Did some further googling and found out that the property was up for tax sale and google lead me to some Alabama threads on this site. 

I've looked into it in the past but ever did much research into it. I've been doing a lot of reading on these boards and am eager to learn more.

[Denise Evans]

Hi @Anastasia Jordan. I'm pretty much the recognized expert on tax sales in Alabama. Not boasting, but it's a complex field and hard to figure out on your own. Welcome to a very lucrative investing strategy.  

Quotes for properties in Jefferson  County often take quite a while. If there have not been any prior requests for that property, then ADOR (Alabama Department of Revenue) will have to await word from Jefferson County regarding all the accrued taxes over the years since the tax sale.  Jefferson County is very short handed on personnel. That might take as long as 4 or 5 months.

Or, other people might be ahead of you in line asking for a quote. When you make the application, send an email to ADOR and asked if you are first in line for a quote. If not, how many people are ahead of you.

If there are people ahead of you, then each one in line will be given a quote, and then 20 days within which to buy. Each one who fails to buy, it then goes to the next one, for another 20 days or so.

Finally, depending on how long ago the sale occurred, even after you are given a quote and agree to buy, it might be another 6 weeks before you get a tax deed. That's because the former owner is notified and given one last chance to redeem. Sometimes, they do. I just lost one because the owner redeemed after I agreed to buy the property. The tax sale was MANY years ago. It happens.

The trick is to have enough irons in the fire that you will be able to buy some of the properties.

A warning, in case you have not seen this on any of my other posts:  Even though you have a tax deed, the former owner might STILL have redemption rights. A 3-year redemption clock starts ticking down from the date you take possession of the property. This is different from, and in addition to, the regular 3-year redemption after the tax auction.

If the property contains a residential structure, and you've made what are called "preservation improvements" (repairs, basically) then the redeeming owner must also pay you the VALUE (not the COST) of those improvements as part of the redemption price tag. So, don't be afraid of outstanding redemption rights, but make sure that almost all of your improvements are preservation improvements rather than additions or upgrades. Also, if you rent the property out to a tenant, you are allowed to keep all the rents up until collection. BUT, you'll need a 30-day cancellation clause in your lease, because once the owner redeems, you are no longer entitled to possession. If you are not entitled to possession, then your tenant is also not entitled to possession.

Good luck!