Chapter 34.01 of the Property Tax Code describes the Sheriff Sale Process. A Sheriff Auction, Sheriff Sale, Tax Sale and Tax Auction are all the same think. This process is followed in all counties in the state of Texas. They are an excellent starting place in understanding the Property Tax Foreclosure Sale process! These guidelines are found in the Property Tax Code, Chapeter 34, Section 1 . The following is a very GENERALIZED summary of the Sheriff Tax Sales process provided by the property tax code as it relates to a buyer. Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. If you feel…
Author: James Murphy
Securing Tax Lien Property can be tricky! The law is unclear as to what you are allowed to do! You have won your property and you are excited to take over your purchase! Definitely, go to your property as soon as possible and take an assessment of the situation. Is anyone living there? Of course, this seems like it would be obvious, but not necessarily so!! Often, tenants will abandon much of their property (typically not much that you would want, but their property, none the less) and it may not be clear whether or not they are still living…
Tax Deed Mistakes can make the difference between a lucrative deal and a financial disaster!!! Know before you go!! I cannot say this enough! What mistake am I referring to? The mistake made over and over again at every sale – Not knowing how much you will owe IN ADDITION to the sale price, is the mistake that most often creates a financial disaster! Tax Deed Mistakes happen, but this one is so common that I have decided to designate a tab just for this subject! PLEASE, if you are going to bid at a Texas Tax Deed Sale, read…
Tax Sale Registration begins with registering to bid on the tax auction. Not all counties require this step and you must check with your individual county to know if this step is required. For easy reference, I have included this information for most counties on your County Reference Page at the bottom of the page. For example, Dallas County does not require a tax sale registration in advance to bid at their auction. Their auction is informal and is conducted by a person simply raising their hand and stating the amount they wish to bid. Other auctions, such as some…
Zillow is a free, on-line resource that reports home values from across the country to the public. Information is reported to the website by realtors is also gathered by the website from public databases. It then uses all the information to compare and form its’ own interpretation of the data. How do I Effectively Use Zillow.com? Open Zillow from your internet browser. Enter the address of the Tax Foreclosure Property including city and state in the box labeled, “Find Homes”. For example, enter “3447 Hilllsdale Lane, Garland, TX”. What you will see – Section One A map with the property…
Tax Sale Resale Property refers to property that has gone through the Tax Sale or Sheriff Sale process, but was not sold. This property was “struck off” which means that the taxing entity that foreclosed on the property has taken possession of the Sheriff’s Deed for the property and is the legal owner of the property. They are now the ones responsible for selling the property. The laws that govern the procedure for “re-selling” this property are much more flexible than the original sale of the property. Time Period – The taxing unit now in possession of the property has no…
Analyzing Tax Foreclosure Property is a critical step! You have accumulated all of your data, and now you have to compare the properties to decide which is your best prospect. An Excel spreadsheet (or the equivalent) is the easiest way to compare Tax Foreclosure Property. I find three documents work best – a General Comparison of the properties, a Home Repair Analysis and a Holding Costs Analysis. General Comparison In the General Comparison, I compare CAD Values Zillow Values Bedrooms and Bathrooms Exterior Materials Age Homestead Exemptions After I do the Home repair analysis for each home, I add Low…
A Short Sale is simply a sale of a property before foreclosure for LESS that the owner owes on a mortgage. In today’s economy, many home owners find themselves owing more money than a house is actually worth. If a homeowner finds them self unable to pay their mortgage for whatever reason (loss of job, divorce, etc.), it is difficult to know what to do. A sale of the house under normal circumstances is not possible because no one is going to pay more than the fair value of the home. This is the point at which this type of…
A Tax Sale List is the list of Tax Foreclosure Properties (properties foreclosed upon due to non-payment of property or county taxes) which will be sold to satisfy property and county tax liens at a Sheriff’s Sale or Constable’s Sale. There are several different methods for obtaining a these lists and the method which you choose to utilize will depend greatly on which county’s tax sale is of interest to you. Each county tax sale list is located differently. The information provided by independent websites, government websites, local papers and services varies greatly. Local Print Advertising In Texas, a property…
Texas Sheriff Sale Resources fall primarily into three categories – Books, Courses and Professional Advice (attorneys). Books – The market is flooded with books on real estate investing and to a lesser degree on Sheriff Sales. If you want information on a subject, all you have to do is look. Finding specifically Sheriff Sale Resources in the way of books is not as easy. The problem is that getting information does not necessarily mean getting ACCURATE information. Anyone can write and self-publish a book and there is no governing body to guarantee accuracy! To make this even more challenging, accurate information for one…