2 Imperative Land Acquisition Tools

Jack Butala: 2 Imperative Land Acquisition Tools. Leave us your feedback for this podcast on iTunes and get the free ebook at landacademy.com, you don't even have to read it. Thanks for listening.

Jack Butala: Jack Butala with Jill DeWitt.

Jill DeWit: Happy Friday.

Jack Butala: Welcome to our show today. In this episode, Jill and I talk about two imperative land acquisition tools. Things you can't live without. Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landacademy.com community, online community, it's free.

Jill DeWit: Okay. Marcus asked, "I'm considering buying my first property with back taxes/a tax lien. The tax lien is for a $1000.00. How does this typically work? Do I buy it, and pay the taxes off, and then sell it? I'm remembering some people on this group saying that you can sell it without paying that off." I said it right.

Jack Butala: Well, that's true.

Jill DeWit: Right.

Jack Butala: With tax liens it's slightly more complicated, so there's a couple things that can happen. If you're looking at a property, it's got back taxes associated with it, it's either got, you know, a couple years worth, and then you just go in and pay it, and it's over. If you want to. If it's pretty far back, and it's a tax lien state, it's got a lien associated with it, so there's going to be somebody ... You're going to have to pay a little bit more. That's the only difference.

You still write a check, and it still goes to the same department, usually, but it's going to be for just slightly more.

Jill DeWit: Because somebody bought the tax lien on the property, is what you're talking about?

Jack Butala: Yeah. Yeah, and that's way beyond the scope of this whole thing, but that's all it is. Don't be afraid. It still goes away when you pay it. Write the check.

Jill DeWit: Now, this is my ... I want to make a point that, it doesn't mean that every time you buy a property, and there are some taxes still due on it that this is the situation, because it's a little bit different. Just a property that's three years behind on their taxes, may not be in the liens situation.

Jack Butala: That's right.

Jill DeWit: It may not have been sold to somebody else.

Jack Butala: That's right.

Jill DeWit: You know, they bought the lien, and all that good stuff. It's just like, "Hey, they ... It's overdue for three years."

Jack Butala: Yep.

Jill DeWit: "Someone needs to catch us up at some point." Then, in that situation, you don't have to do it at that time. You can sell it with that. You always want to disclose it, and let the next person know-

Jack Butala: That's the last part of the question.

Jill DeWit: -you know, what's coming along. Yeah, you don't have to do it, and just let the next person know.

Jack Butala: A tax lien that starts the clock pretty severely ticking. There's a small chance that, and I want you to be real careful here Marcus, that the week or so that it takes you, from the time that you decide to buy this property, to actually get it recorded in your name, depending on how you do it, there's a chance that that actually could be the week where it's over. Where the property gets lost, and you could lose the money. What you want to do is really call either the Treasurer or the Recorder, whoever is managing the tax liens for that county, and have a real candid conversation. "I'm buying the property. I'm doing it this week. As soon as it's in my name, I'm planning to write a check to write the tax lien off, is does that work within the time frame of this, or do you guys actually having a lien sale, right now? Where it's going to actually, I could lose the property, lose all the money."

That's the only ... Is it ... The chance of that happening are so slim, it's still worth a call.

Jill DeWit: Right.

Jack Butala: Must be a good deal; $1,000 in back taxes.

Jill DeWit: Mm-hmm (affirmative). It's good. Love it.