Title Search

[Orion_95]

Hello, first post here.

First, I want to thank this forum, for the WEALTH of information.  I havent stopped reading in days.

I live in Vancouver B.C, and I am looking to possibly buy tax deed's in California.

I have a few basic questions, that I hope someone can provide some insight on.

First off, once you find a property of interest to you, how do you go about having the title checked for any liens that may still be withstanding after the auction?

Second, how do you find parcels of land, by the legal #'s?  Does the county provide a map of this?

To the bets of my understanding...With a Tax Lien Sale, you buy the tax lien, and if the property is not redeemed within the specified time (1-3 years seems to be the norm), you are now the owner of this property.  If it is Redeemed, you are re-paid with interest, in the amount of the tax lien.  With a Tax Deed sale, the day after payment is made, you automatically become owner of the property (assuming no liens are left on the property.  Is this correct?

Also, I believe I read somewhere that in a Tax Lien sale, after the redeption date has passed, in some countys, you dont become the owner, but the deed is then put up for auction?  Is this true?

Thank you very much in advance, and I hope at some point, I will be able to contribute back to this forum.

Regards, Tyler.

[Rob]

You are very correct, that's how the tax lien generally works in most states.  Many times it's better to have the owner redeem the property because the interest rate is higher than what you normally could expect in standard investments (bonds, bank interest and lately stocks) and, if the property is impossible to sell, you are stuck paying high property taxes in an undesirable location.  And, yes you are right about the property going up for auction after the a tax lien period has ended.  That's the most common way, but there are minimum bids put in place you have to consider and many states require you to be in person for the auction.

In many cases the tax deed process results in your ownership of the property after a pre-determined amount of time (say for example 45 days), in other's cases it's immediate.  Someone correct me if I wrong, but in other cases the previous owner can come back and claim the property after a year or more into the future.  Each state is different but most follow the same basic rules.

In answer to your second question.  The county will provide maps usually for a small fee, at times for free if posted on their website or picked up in person.

In answer to your first question.  Have a lawyer, or title search (someone who has access to the property registration system) do a basic search.  Prices should range from 25 dollars to 1000 dollars depending on who you choose to use. 

[Orion_95]

Thanks so much Rob.  I have been continuing to read this site for the past 2 days, and have uncovered a ton more information.

Hope I can be of some help in the future.