Tax Liens and Distress Sales - Opportunities for Real Estate Investing

Title: 

Tax Liens and Distress Sales - Opportunities for Real Estate Investing

Word Count:

642

Summary:

Sales of properties by tax-distressed owners can be quite a steal. Starting Up Your Own Real Estate Investing Business

Keywords:

Tax liens, distress sales, real estate investment, buying properties, real estate, property management, good investment strategies, expert real estate investment

Article Body:

With the current real estate hiccup going on the U.S., more and more people are losing their homes because they failed to pay their home mortgages. But what happens to the homes is something few people think about. This can be a very good real estate investing opportunity for the shrewd, and one can quickly earn profits in a very short amount of time.

How To Earn Through Tax Liens

If a homeowner has defaulted on his payment, then the mortgaging bank will start the pre-foreclosure process. A tax lien will then be issued for the property, so that the right to retain the property can be gained. You can do real estate investing in tax liens for a certain property that has been issued a lien and put out for an auction sale. The way you can earn profit from this is that the state will pay fixed interest on a tax lien and there are others that will start the bidding price at auctions in the amount of the lien. 

If the tax lien is unpaid during the duration of the redemption period, then all other mortgages and liabilities on the house are extinguished, and the title to the property will be cleared. The investor will now own his or her new property with a clean title. If the owner can pay the liability on his property however, the investor can still earn through interest earned on the lien. Real estate investing in this manner can lead to profits both ways.

Real Estate Investing Through Auctions

Sales of properties by tax-distressed owners can be quite a steal. However, you'll need to find out if your real estate investing opportunity is going to be worth it. Check the property location beforehand, because you might be buying something worthless, like purchasing a piece of land that is routinely flooded. If you are able to acquire and own a piece of land legally, you can participate in property auctions as well. But, you'll have to have ready cash on hand or in easy access, because auction sites will typically require that those who win the bidding on their chosen properties to pay a down payment or the full amount in a short span of time, if not cash up front. This is one of those investments not for those without capital.

Starting Up Your Own Real Estate Investing Business

You can always start up your own business in the real estate investing industry. Given that you have enough capital, and you have enough knowledge on the state rules on tax liens in your area, you can start investing in property tax liens immediately. One of the most important things to do when doing business in this nature is to check the property liens that you'll be buying. Physical inspection is needed, but since it can be so time consuming, limit your searches to somewhere you can drive to. A real estate investing business will also require that you have adequate knowledge of the legal processes involved, since tax-distressed sales by homeowners will involve banks and other institutions, most notably the government. You can earn high profits with just a few pieces of properties sold, but you can also spread the profit out and sell properties for a smaller markup, provided that the turnover for those profits will be faster so you can move on to other properties for sale.

A distress sale is a great opportunity for investment, but one should always be careful since at auctions you won't know if the property you're buying is a good buy, and not a lemon. You should also check if the owner of the property is not on the verge of bankruptcy, because the IRS can override your lien and take first priority as well as your real estate investing opportunity away from you.