Delinquent Tax Sales

[Stephen Daniel Pace]

Hi Bigger Pockets! Anyone familiar with Harris County Delinquent Tax Sales in the Houston area? Is there REI opportunities at these auctions? Are the auctions pretty competitive? Any experiences or advice on this is much appreciated!

[Bruce Lynn]

@Stephen Daniel Pace    There can be opportunities, but it is a fair amount of work weeding thru the properties to find the gems from the trash.  Then another process to acquire them at the right price that makes sense.  Most of the properties need a fair amount of work, and in most cases you don't want to do the work before 2 years when you can get title insurance for resale.

I always suggest...get the list....do your research....go to the sale, not to buy, but to watch.  They have them every month in Harris county.   See what people bid compared to what you would pay.  There used to be a lady that would do a brief class beforehand if you get there early.   Sorry I can't remember her name.   She had some youtube videos at one time.    Talk to people to see why they bought a property you were interested in and why they paid X amount.    

Plenty of people at the sales who have no clue.....last month at a sale I saw multiple bidders, bidding on lots that are in the flood plain, have no access to water or sewer.  Too small for septic permits.  City swears they will not issue permits to build or access to water/sewer.    Not sure what the intensions of the buyers were, but probably they were buying lots with no value to me.   I guess you could haul in water and put a garden on them.

You will likely see 100s of people at Harris County, so yes, typically very competitive.

Get there early....learn the rules...read the paperwork...network network network....ask lots of questions of the people there and find the experts...to learn more.