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Tips For Buying Real Estate Tax Foreclosure Properties

There are many different names for a house that's been foreclosed upon because the owners couldn't keep up with mortgage or other payments. One of the names that these properties are referred to is real estate tax foreclosures. In many states in America, the property tax costs thousands of dollars. People can loose their homes from not being able to pay this hefty tax. For whatever reason, a foreclosure is a foreclosure. Here is some foreclosure help on how to buy these homes.

Who Owns The Home?

In the case of a real estate tax foreclosure, the government assumes ownership of the foreclosed house or business. The government does not want to keep their real estate tax foreclosure properties and are looking to dump them as quickly as possible for whatever price they can get. This is your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.

One of the advantages of having the government own the home (however briefly) is that they list real estate tax foreclosures all over the place. A foreclosure or property sale is a matter of public record. Another advantage is that the government is eager to sell. However, the government is not too interested in making any deals.

Make A Checklist

Most real estate tax foreclosure properties are sold "as is". That means if the home is in crappy condition, you will be responsible for fixing it up. This is different from traditional home sales, where the owner usually has to make repairs as part of the deal. This means you have to hire a home inspector to give you a report on the real estate tax foreclosed home. Don’t trust anyone else's home inspector.

Many real estate companies in the area often work with the IRS in order to sell real estate foreclosed homes. You need to check with them about finding out just how much property tax is owed, and what other fees are. Other fees can include transfer of home title. You also need to find out what the current assessment on the property is so that you know if you can afford the property tax. Never assume you can sell within one year of purchase.

The real estate company may also be able to give you a free history of the real estate tax foreclosure property, but usually you have to pay a fee for that, too. You need to see when major repairs were made and if the home was damaged by an natural or unnatural disaster.