All Forum Posts by: Robert D.

The stickers mean that if the owner doesn't fix the property, the city will eventually take action against them either in court or they will demolish the property.  There could be structurally nothing wrong with the property but they do not know that and they will want to see a report from a Professional Engineer before permits are even pulled.  This will likely cost $250 or more.  They will probably want the permits pulled by a licensed contractor unless you intend to live in the property after it is fixed and are willing to sign an affidavit.  Sometimes they put stickers on buildings simply because the water has been turned off for a couple months and there could be nothing wrong with the building.

The Cook County Property Tax Portal and the County Clerk's Delinquent Property Tax Search provide different types of information. That being said, both sites have disclaimers at the bottom re: they are not the official records. As I always tell clients, the online information should be used as a tool but not as the "official" records. I am frequently retained for the purposes of giving clients an objective analysis of the tax situation on various properties and then guiding them through the process, whether they are investors, property owners, mortgage companies or title companies. Thanks for asking and good luck!

The redemption period depends on the type of property and the number of tax years delinquent. If it's a dwelling structure of 6 or fewer units, the initial redemption period is 2.5 years and can be extended by the tax buyer to 3 years. If you have gone thru the legal process (petition for tax deed, take notices, etc.), you can usually obtain your deed about 1-2 months after the redemption period expires. If you are going to be bidding at the 2014 Annual Tax Sale in 2016 and there are prior years, those prior years' taxes will be added to your tax sale and if not, they will be "merged" (wiped out) into your tax deed once you obtain and record your tax deed. If you want to find out the tax history, order a tax search from the Cook County Clerk or check the County Clerk's website online. Good luck.:

@Christopher Montgomery,

Allow me a follow up, please. I don't agree with @Joshua Andrews that buying this asset is a bad idea. If the numbers work and I could get the 2nd lien to sell at a discount, then I would absolutely do it...and I would NOT lose money. I would only do it if the numbers made sense, but if they do, the first would never get a chance to foreclose.

your plan should work ..however how would you know the plaintiff's attorney would even talk to you about paying off somebody's missed payments ? imagine, there is an ongoing foreclosure, you can review the file and figure out at which stage the foreclosure is ..but are you certain that e.g. Pierce and Associates would even respond to your phone calls or inquires ? you are not part of the case....you could possibly file motion to intervene, have a judge listen to you and allow you to move along with your plan... to me there are a lot of unknown...dont have that much gamble in me ...

Can you really tell by just mere pictures? I mean, I could think of 10 factors to come in play.

This type of loan is generally available to individuals who own a property that has been rented out to blue chip companies, multinational companies and public sector companies.

Many inexperienced tax buyers in IL don't realize that while the bid rates on the initial tax sale are typically low (0-5%), the penalty rate on subsequent years' taxes paid and posted by the tax buyer are 12% per year or part thereof. Therefore, if someone redeems the tax sale the day after a tax buyer pays and posts a surtax, the tax buyer has just made 12% interest. A year and a day later, the tax buyer would make 24% interest. Another thing to keep in mind is that only "police and welfare power" municipal liens must be paid before obtaining a tax deed in IL, other muni liens and judgments do not have to reimbursed and are the liability of the former owner not the tax buyer. I have many clients, both professional tax buyer and "mom and pop" tax buyers that are doing quite well investing in IL tax liens.