subject: Delinquent Tax Sale For A New Home [print this page] If you dream of owning your own home, a delinquent tax sale might be the place to find an inexpensive house. Due to the meltdown of the housing market over the last 5+ years, there are various ways to obtain bargain properties that are in some form of financial distress. Some common distressed properties include short sales, foreclosed properties, and delinquent tax sale homes. You can find out about these via online auction websites, realtors who specialize in distressed properties, or through the county courthouse.
Short Sales
Short sales are real estate offerings that involve negotiating between a buyer, seller, and bank that holds the mortgage. These listings generally have a ballpark asking price that is fairly low for the market and is substantially less than the seller's loan balance. Since the housing market decline, many homeowners have loan balances in high amounts. During the bubble, mortgages were given out with little or no down payment required. It seemed like a good idea at the time because real estate values were going through the roof. Equity, back then, was increasing each and every day. If you were trying to sell your house back then, people would stand in line at your front door bickering to out bid each other and pay more than the asking price. When values dropped, many found their homes to be worth less than half of what they paid for it. Thankfully, banks are willing to accept lower offers in order to square things all around.
Foreclosed Properties
A house goes into foreclosure after the homeowner has stopped making payments. This doesn't happen in month one, but rather a few months down the road. Homeowners are given warnings but you can't get blood out of a turnip. If they can't pay, they can't pay. Some homeowners opted for strategic defaults which means that they willingly surrendered their over-mortgaged houses. They stopped making payments and told the bank, "Here, you can take it back." What resulted was a glut of homes on the market that the banks had to unload which they did at substantially lower prices. Buying a foreclosure or bank owned property is a good way to pick up a bargain home.
Delinquent Tax Sale
If a homeowner can't pay property taxes, the county will seize the home and sell it to pay the back taxes at a delinquent tax sale. The county treasurer will have the sheriff evict the tardy taxpayer and put the house up on the auction block. There, buyers can buy property at inexpensive prices. In order to purchase a new home, buyers must have cash in hand to hand over if their offer is accepted. It's a wise idea to view the house, inside and outside, to decide if this is the home of their dreams. Some of the houses are fixer-uppers but if the foundations are sound and the places are in good locations, this can work out fine for everyone.
While it is sad to see others lose their homes, it's an investment opportunity for those who can afford to buy. For the evicted homeowners, they may actually be relieved to be out of their over mortgaged and overtaxed houses. They will now have the opportunity to start over.
