Looks interesting....anyone?

Why do you need his material to:
1. Find vacant land that is behind on taxes.
2. Get it under contract with the owner.
3. Find a Buyer.

And somewhere along the way, get the taxes caught up so it doesn't get taken out from under you.

I believe that to be the gist of this program. Is there anything there that you just can't figure out?

Wow Steve thanks!

I guess being a newbie there is stuff in there that I can't figure out...and I depend on BiggerPockets to help me out...

Can anyone guide me on step 1? I know how to do steps 2-3...but step 1 is where I need to start, and there's nothing in the forums.

Thanks again for clarifying his program Steve.

Well, the tax assessor or tax claim dept should have a list of the properties that are behind on taxes. From that list, you find the ones that are vacant land. And you might be lucky enough to find an area where that info is online, making the search simpler.

A couple of years back I did a similar check for an area in PA known as the Poconos; plenty of land there that is behind on taxes. But then you have to ask yourself: Why aren't the taxes current? Can you correct the situation?

Vacant land produces no income; it simply drains funds to pay R.E. taxes. So people who at one point in the past thought they could build on the land come to realize that they no longer want to build; then they also realize they are being drained by the taxes.

That is both the opportunity (the owners become "don't wanters") and the challenge (how to get it to be income producing). If you can flip the land to somebody like my dentist (who owns vacant land that he happily drives his tractor on to cut the grass, hoping that some day somebody from NY will want to pay through the nose), you can get a quick profit. You just need to find that buyer first, or just use options that will allow you to get out.

And you can't forget about catching up the back taxes; you need to get the buy price low enough to cover those, and leave you a profit when the sell happens.

Thanks Steve for the Summary.
The guy seems to make it sound too easy to do.

Steve, how does this compare to waiting for a tax lien auction? I understand most people will end up paying the tax and not letting it go to auction, but wouldn't the few that do go to auction be much cheaper?

If you're the only bidder, then the tax lien sale might be cheaper. But there could be "rights of redemption" beyond the sale date too.

Don't forget the possibility of bidding wars at an auction, and that there may be other liens such as IRS. At auction, you get to take care of those "other" liens, but under an agreement of sale, the seller can be given that obligation. And then you walk away with no loss if the seller is unable to cover them from the proceeds or other seller funds.

Last week I was at a sheriff sale. There was a bidding war on a property (with a house on it) with IRS lien over $1M. The bank set the opening bid well below the debt amount owed - I wonder why :)

So these auctions carry their own risk too.

Hey, although this post is originally old, I thought I jump in and add a few things as well since there was some recent activity.

Basically Steve is right when it comes to finding the land parcels and motivated sellers. I have done it and actually bought land for under $100 (the price to the seller) plus a couple hundred (or less) to pay-off the tax delinquency.

The initial key is to find areas with plenty of land, i.e. partially developed subdivisions, with plenty of owners that have essentially "given up" on their lots - but the area still has broader appeal - i.e. like the Pocanos (which I don't personally know about) - but imagine it is like a resort type area.

Then, comes the profit strategy. Most land you will buy will be valued say between $1500 and $10,000 and you will pay between $25 and $1000 (low to high on both).

Take an example of a lot that is worth $2500 in the open market. The lot has a tax delinquency because the owner has "written the land off". You offer them $100 and they accept. You pay the $100 plus $200 for back taxes and you own the land for $300 free and clear. So, as noted, you are not buying liens - you are buying the land and taking title.

Now, you market the property using unconventional methods since traditional listing usually doesn't work and then you sell for a down-payment plus payments. You make it really easy for your buyer to buy.

You paid $300 to buy. You sell for $2000 CASH today or on TERM with $500 down payment plus $150 per month for 18 months or a total of $3000.

This makes your offer to sell very compelling - and imagine doing this with 5, 10 or even 100+ lots of land. It's pretty cool.


Hope this helps.

Jack Bosch is yet another guru doing the piggyback trick, where he gets other gurus to interview him--and vice versa--to mutually promote their products. It's a valid strategy to buy tax-delinquent land, though be sure to ask if the profit is worth the fuss, esp. for small parcels.

More importantly, be sure that the seller doesn't have judgments or liens from this OR ANOTHER property or situation in his/ her life that might make the title uninsurable. If you buy a lot, sell it for a profit, and a subsequent buyer may have a claim against you later for encumbrances on the title. A good way around this is to sell with a Quit Claim Deed, but most savvy buyers won't accept that if they have serious plans for the property.

Thanks for all the great reply's.
Always remember if sounds to good to be true it probability is.

Wow, very interesting. Great information guys.

Good info here, this guy is hammering my inbox.

Does anyone want to share what you say in your letter/post card to owners?