Hello, what are some of your thoughts on buying tax deeds when you’re first starting out to acquire property for deep discounts? I’ve done some research and I know the worst is additional costs that can come up if you were to take ownership of the property, but I’m very optimistic overall that I don’t feel discouraged about taking on something “possibly” more problematic than most. I know I have to do due diligence and get title searches of the property before I bid and in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons. Am I looking at this the wrong way? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

Tax deeds or tax liens?

I have been buying tax liens for over a decade and have a portfolio of houses where  I received a tax deed.

Tax deed states you are buying the property on the spot and these often go for near retail 

I am trying to get into tax deed sale excess proceeds . The county sells property for taxes and any excess proceeds from sale can be claimed by the previous owner of the property. Most of the time that person does not know there is money to claim. Ijoined a surplus recovery company. Still difficult to get info from county to research and skip trace the previous owner

Tax Deeds area alive and well in Texas-even though the last couple of months have had fewer counties with sales.  That is about to change and there are still deals to be had here if you know where to go and how they work.  There are classes available online for those who are so inclined.

As for excess proceeds, in Texas the most you can charge to help someone claim them is 25%, not to exceed $1,000 and you must be an attorney to charge anything.

@John Underwood thanks for asking... when I first started look I was looking at tax deeds without realizing that there was a difference between the two. Now I see that you can buy a lien and have it transferred into a deed. Do you think this is a good idea to get into?

@John Underwood and when you say “go for near retail” do you mean one you (after acquiring the deed) sell the property?

@Arnie Abramson thank you for the response! I’ve seen on the county websites that they have training available but I haven’t seen much else about it. I’ll do some additional research to find the trainings

Originally posted by @Kadesha Copeland :

@John Underwood thanks for asking... when I first started look I was looking at tax deeds without realizing that there was a difference between the two. Now I see that you can buy a lien and have it transferred into a deed. Do you think this is a good idea to get into?

 Yes, that is what I have been primarily doing for over a decade.

I have done well with it.

Originally posted by @Kadesha Copeland :

@John Underwood and when you say “go for near retail” do you mean one you (after acquiring the deed) sell the property?

 No, I'm talking about investors bidding up a tax lien to near retail of the property.

Originally posted by @Kadesha Copeland :

@Arnie Abramson thank you for the response! I’ve seen on the county websites that they have training available but I haven’t seen much else about it. I’ll do some additional research to find the trainings

 Don't pay for training this is readily available for free.

@John Underwood Hi, I have also been looking into Tax Sales. About how much do liens sell for on residential parcels? How many counties/states are you in?

Originally posted by @Jacob Powers :

@John Underwood Hi, I have also been looking into Tax Sales. About how much do liens sell for on residential parcels? How many counties/states are you in?

 Residential houses sell for around 7k to 30k each.

I concentrate on 2 counties in my state of SC.

@John Underwood how do you do title searches before you buy the tax lien?

Originally posted by @Kadesha Copeland :

@John Underwood how do you do title searches before you buy the tax lien?

 I am looking at 1000 properties. I do not do title searches. The Tax Deed laws are strong enough that I don't worry about it. Plus I keep most of my properties as rentals.

@John Underwood Thank you for the info!

@John Underwood you’ve been very helpful! Thank you so much