All Forum Posts by: Denise Evans

That is correct.  Plus, if the seller bought it off the state inventory instead of at auction, then most people calculate the interest wrong. They say, "I paid $1,200 six months ago, so six months of interest on $1,200 is $72, the redemption price is $1,272. That is not right. The $1,200 already includes interest. You can't charge interest on interest. The interest clock on the principal amounts just keeps ticking away, that's all.

@Laura Tabarez, You have to assume there are redemption rights for at least three years after the tax deed date. It might be longer. It might be shorter. But you have to assume it's what I said, because usually that is the case.  You can calculate redemption price tag by creating a spreadsheet that starts with the date of the auction, and the amount due on the date of the auction, then you accrue interest at 12% per year.

On my spreadsheet, to keep things simple, I usually create one column that lists the date the interest starts--such as the date of the auction, and the date of payment of each year's taxes after that.  Then I create a cell with the current date. The I create a column that uses a formula that counts the days between the date the interest started and the current date.  Then I create a column that calculates the annual interest at 12% on the principal amount, and divides that number by 365. That tells you how much interest accrues each day. Then another column multiplies the daily accrual by the number of days. That gives me the total interest due until the present day.

You simply add up all of the principal amounts and all of the interest. That is the redemption price tag.

@Laura Tabarez, please read my posts about possession issues, and about redemption issues. In a nutshell, you could buy the property and start making repairs and the owner can sue you and claim the property was not legally abandoned, just vacant and in bad shape. You have to be careful about those issues. Redemption issues come up when someone sells you a tax certificate for $5,000 (or even a tax deed) but it turns out the owner (or former owner) still had redemption rights and can redeem for only $1,500.  You just flushed $3,500 down the toilet! 

@Shimira Greene, you can sue for rent only if you have a tax deed.  Contact me this afternoon and I'll get some info from you and see why your case is taking so long.

@Michael Watts, I'll let you know. Right now, even Mobile County is not SURE what they are going to do, so I'd hate to have people pay for a class that turns out to be not relevant after all. 

@Michael Watts, currently the plan is for Mobile County to do an online auction. They might change their minds if they run into technical problems, but I think it's probably a "go" for them. They will be using a company out of Mississippi that has pretty extensive experience.

Alabama tax sales law has changed dramatically.  SB257, which was signed into law, changes interest rates to 8%.  It might or might not be retroactive, depending on who you ask.  Procedures for improvement payments upon redemption have changed. Those might or might not be retroactive, depending on who you ask.  

Mobile County will have an online lien auction, while Shelby, Baldwin, and a few other counties will have on-site lien auctions. Most counties will still do certificate auctions rather than lien auctions.  

A new appeals court decision means tax deed owners can sue former owner for the reasonable rental value of the property as money damages, even if the former owner redeems.  

A new Jefferson County circuit court decision says all state inventory properties more than 6 years old are voidable by taxpayer, but I don't expect that decision to gain any traction with other courts.  It's a rogue decision, in my opinion.

There are other important changes. This is NOT a year to take things for granted, including what you THINK you know about Alabama tax sale investing.  Some things are good for investors, some things make investing trickier. It's a mixed bag.

@Veronica Correa, do you plan to buy it at foreclosure?

@Veronica Correa, please clarify. What do you mean when you so they don't want to "pay the remainder."  I don't know what that means.  If your grandmother died owning a life estate with other people as remainderpersons, they do not have to pay. They have it automatically.

Did your grandmother have a will? Did she have a spouse alive at the time of her death? Have you watched my video about who inherits when there is no will?  Do you know who her legal heirs are?

@Idylla Realubit, I do not know them. I DO KNOW you better know as much about the subject as any investor you link up with, because there are a lot of people out there saying they are experts when they are not.  You can't tell the goods ones from the bad ones without knowing the subject yourself. And, someone saying they've been through my class or bought my book is not enough.  How much algebra do you remember from school, despite having taken the class?