Posted by David Krulac on November 02, 2001 at 21:24:45:
where in Pa are you? I’m in central Pa
Tax Sales in PA- Any Success?? - Posted by Dougw
Posted by Dougw on October 28, 2001 at 06:59:17:
Does anyone have any experience in buying property at tax sales in PA? There is an upcoming auction near me and before I spend days at the County courthouse and looking at properties I would like to solicit any advice and/or success stories out there on purchasing properties at these sales.
Thanks
Re: Tax Sales in PA- Any Success?? - Posted by Tim Fierro (WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (WA) on October 28, 2001 at 09:39:59:
You can do as I have done thus far.
I have a sale in my area in December. Found out about it from reading something, then went to investigating further.
Do a search on this site for TAX SALE, LIEN, and maybe TAX LIEN. Read those for some starting basics.
I then went on-line to see if I can get information on-line. So far I have a spreadsheet of what is ‘set’ for the auction at this moment with a month away before the auction. I have looked up and placed in the spreadsheet; Parcel, address, owner, assessed, taxes due, size of parcel, with home or not and what kind, use code of the land, zoning codes, and other miscellaneous items. I then checked my map book for the area and typed in their map and grid numbers.
Ok, now I drive by each one to see where and what it looks like IN PERSON. From that I can determine if I want to highlight this parcel and participate in the auction. My county auction is CASH after the bid, so I will be limited to only about $10k in cash to work with. Thus any property that has a ‘starting’ bid of about $10k will be out for me. See if your auction needs cash at that moment, or if you get 24 hours, or exactly when they need their money for a successful bid.
Determine if your county is a TAX SALE, or a TAX CERTIFICATE county. What do they give you? Maybe put a search of the site also for TAX COUNTY or COUNTY TAX for more hits here to learn.
Be careful of bidding, and winning, a parcel that would be unusable. If it is zone for something, you may not be able to use it the way you want. Is there a resale for this parcel that you plan to bid and win on? Do you plan to keep it as a personal property?
Whatever you see scheduled for a tax sale now, may drastically be cut by the time the auction comes. If you want to go directly to the owners now and buy direct from them, you should do this soon before the auction.
When you do a search here, look for a response I got from someone about some gotcha’s. It went something like a winning auction bid got a parcel of land, but on the land was a mobile and there was a 99 year lease on it that was paid UP FRONT. No income producer there. Things like this you may not find out until later.
And something that is in the back of mind also, I am the newbie at the auction; who else will be there if this happens only once a year? People who are more experienced and have done their research too? Just because I look at a parcel zoned as a Park where they owe only $13, maybe they will pay before the auction or maybe someone else will bid too. I think a Tim Fierro Park sounds pretty cool! I also see a parking lot where they owe about $300 in back taxes, will that owner be there, or will someone else have investigated it also and they would like to bid on it?
But with the preparation I have done, and going to the auction, at least I will have learned something and can be even more prepared next year.
Re: Tax Sales in PA- Any Success?? - Posted by Ronald * Starr
Posted by Ronald * Starr on October 28, 2001 at 20:42:23:
Tim Fierro (WA)-------------
Interestingly enough, at many tax sales there are mostly amateurs and beginners. There are a few where there may be r.e. brokers, and knowledgeable investors. But often they will not be bidding upon the properties you want, unless you are going for the best properties.
At a lot of sales there are no houses and the experienced investors have learned that most of the good properties scheduled for the sale will be pulled off and most of the properties that are sold are not worth much, certainly not worth their time.
So, the beginners are the main buyers at the sale. By doing your homework carefully you are probably going to be more knowledgeable that at least half of them. But that does not guarantee you succes in bidding. Beginners often will over-pay for properties. As long as you know the value and keep you bid low to make a good profit, you will probably do all right.
Remember what I told you before. There are other counties nearby. You might find a good deal there.
Good Investing and Good Posting*Ron Starr
Re: Tax Sales in PA- Any Success?? - Posted by DougW
Posted by DougW on October 29, 2001 at 10:34:16:
Thanks for the advice guys. As I looked deeper into the sale in PA, I found that the upcoming sale is the judicial sale, the upset sale was held in Sept. Basically, these are the left overs that did not sell at the first sale. Never hurts to look though. I have a list of the properties and will do an initial drive by before I spend hours in the court house researching.
I believe that the tax sales are free and clear but I would certainly confirm that before making a move.
Doug