All Forum Posts by: Jamie Watson

@Ray Harrell it very much depends on your clientele. We had many long term tenants. It was affordable and somewhat close to a smaller college. We had maybe two fights in the time we owned it but we werent there to break them up. We didn’t know until after they happened. We told people we weren’t going to babysit them but they had to keep to themselves and not disturb others. We screened pretty carefully. Anyone with a history of violence or drug abuse was turned away. Bed bugs were an issue once but we made a rule no one could bring their furniture into the house unless it was inspected and that seemed to help. Everyone has a different experience. We certainly learned as we went on some things.

@David Bardwell depends on the agent. We give ours bourbon. Lol

@Durante Kirby we owned a 9 bedroom. It was by far the most lucrative property we have ever owned, paid for itself like three times. We sold it because we decided we had done it long enough. We owned it for about 6 years I think. It is fairly labor intensive but not a full time job. We collected rent (in cash) weekly. I would advise trying to get renters on venmo or another platform for safety reasons. Collecting every week can be time consuming and we thought it was a matter of time before we got mugged. Screen your tenants, make sure it’s zoned properly and do regular room inspections. We did “room agreements” rather than leases so the tenants understood the rules. Getting insurance was a little tricky and expect the quote to be high. Message me if you want any other advice.

Welcome to BP!  My hubby and I are part timers and would be happy to share experiences!  Best of luck!

Thank you!!!!!  So helpful you guys!!!  I'm excited to try this out!

Originally posted by @Matt Schelberg:

@Jamie Watson Welcome to tax liens!  You're actually more likely to foreclose on properties that are vacant, so if your goal is to produce interest income, I would recommend that you focus on occupied properties that you expect will be redeemed by the owners/bank.

Now if you're talking about wanting to avoid evictions, that's a different story.

To answer your question about mortgage companies paying the delinquent property taxes on behalf of the owners:  if the borrower is underwater on their mortgage and not making payments, they bank may decide to walk away rather than throw good money after bad.    In some cases it is also possible that the mortgage has been sold, and the new mortgagee may not even realize the taxes are delinquent.

@Ned Carey is the resident expert on tax liens and may want to weigh in here.

 So it is very possible these properties have outstanding mortgages and I need to do my homework on the title search.  :)

Hi!  Thanks for the input.  Yes by foreclosure I mean filing for quiet title and then eviction.  I don't mind filing for quiet title and getting the house but I don't really want to go through the eviction process....and ofcourse I'm good with getting the interest income but my ultimate goal is to get the property to flip.  I am still learning....that might change.  Someone asked what county...it is Allen County, Fort Wayne.  

I'm a newbie to tax lien auctions.  In my county (in Indiana) they have over 1000 properties going up for sale on Wednesday.  I drove around doing my due diligence on them and most of them are occupied.  I'm really not interested in going through the fore closure process so I think I'll stick to the ones that seem vacant.  However, I'm just curious...do most of these properties have to be paid off in order for the tax bills not to have been paid.  Most mortgage companies force you into escrow for property taxes.  Also, any other thoughts you have on the tax lien process would be welcome.  Thanks!

Hey guys! Thanks again for the responses. So I just got off the phone with another agent in the area and apparently there is a PR initiative by banks to sell to owner occupant even when the property is not Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In many cases that includes them doing some of the rehabbing themselves and in other cases that includes favoring an owner occupant over an investor. I guess I just answered my own question but thought I would share. Happy Monday!

Thanks for the responses. I'm not so much focused on that one property as I am on the trend. And there has to be a reason why a BANK of all entities would not favor the almighty dollar and quick closing. What is that reason? Does anyone know?