Has anyone heard of "H.M.Dignam Corp"?

[Woody]

I came across some listings from H.M. Dignam Corp.  They claim their listings are publically held land.  Does anyone know anything about this corp?  Their prices seem to be reasonable.

[bizurko]

Sure. I found out about the H.M. Dignam Company because they were competitive bidders with me
on a property in NW Ontario. Neither of us were the winning bidder, and when the municipality sent back my 20%, I also received a list with the names of and amounts offered by all the other bidders.
H.M. Dignam was one of them, so I did a quick google-search and, lo and behold, found this website: <http://www.dignam.com/>.  The site certainly will give you enough info about the company, and they seem to be reputable enough (and I have heard other innocuous stories about people acquiring land through them). But note that they are doing what everyone on this board is trying to do, and that is buying cheap land. And like many others, they re-sell it, for a profit. A major difference would be that H.M. Dignam will offer to finance the purchase for their clients. So they seem to be actively soliciting tax-arrear and other types of property. But why buy a property from them if you can beat them to the punch?

[speedfreeksteve]

I've subscribed to their little catalog mostly just for fun for over 5 years.

I have heard a long time ago that they get virtually all of their land through tax sale auctions. They have established a company with a good reputation, however I won't comment on whether I feel it is deserving or not.

Some of the customers they sell the land to are to "sight unseen" customers that are out of province or from the US. They don't hide this fact, they promote that in their catalogs that it's normal to throw down 10's of thousands of dollars on a piece of land based on a picture and a vague description.

They also seem to go after the properties that nobody wants due to certain issues (zoning, landlocked, swamp).

Bidding on a tax sale property yourself is better for two reasons: 1) you more likely won't overpay 2) you have the opportunity to get a comprehensize  package from the township that should alert you to potential problems. Dignam doesn't provide this, only a map to get to the property.

[Rob]

The prices do seem reasonable.  You could probably get those properties cheaper through a tax sale, a local real estate agent, a local newspaper in the area you are searching, and perhaps even MLS. 

Tax sale properties are one get way to buy a property but lets not forget about all of the other ways.

[gap]

I've been getting their catalogs for awhile and have considered purchasing a couple of times.  The really nice bonus to buy from them, is that you buy with a very low d.p. then finance over 5 or so years.   BUT, in the meantime, you can build a cabin, or put in a road.   So, if you have minimal cash, you don't have to give it all away, as in the tax sales.   Then, you can use the rest of it to improve on the land (if you can), then reappraise and resell after you pay them.  In the meanwhile, you could mortgage the property with a cabin and a new appraisal....
Kinda cool.   
I did ultimately proceed to tax sales myself, and my financial situation drastically improved (due to my financial prowess...lol), but I wasn't in need so much of the terms and benefits they offer.

[speedfreeksteve]

The prices do seem reasonable.  You could probably get those properties cheaper through a tax sale, a local real estate agent, a local newspaper in the area you are searching, and perhaps even MLS. 

Tax sale properties are one get way to buy a property but lets not forget about all of the other ways.

They may seem reasonable, but keep in mind that many of the properties are landlocked, or have other issues. Probably why they encourage people to buy lots sight unseen.

You're right that there are alot of other ways to find land. Other than local newspapers, one of the best ways is to go to a local bar or coffee shop in the area and chat with the locals about pieces of land being sold by owner. There's also some people  that have some land up for sale, but just haven't listed it with a real estate agent.

[Frank]

I've made several successful purchases, which I later turned a good buck on, from people who didn't even know their property was for sale.  That is until I knocked on their door and introduced myself, after a coffee and some chat a gentle inquiry as to what they had planned for their property revealed that they had originally had big plans - which fizzeled, and yes on second thought they might look at an offer to purchase.  Of course, I had done much research in advance of making the approach. 

In most cases you will find that people's expectations are much less than what the property is worth - remember these folks sometimes purchased and owned the property for a long time.   The result is that they don't fully appreciate the current worth of the property, or are knowlegable as to its potential uses - some of them actually believe it is worth the value placed on it by MPAC.

Try it (but do your homework first), the worst that can happen is they tell you to scram and you have lost nothing.     Don't wear a happy face, or they will think you are selling Wal-Mart credit cards.

[landfanatic]

I heard of Dignam a few months ago and immediately purchased their catalogue subscription. I found a great deal on a lot in Northern Ontario for $8,000.00 and flipped it within 3 weeks for $16,000. Local real estate agents were selling it for around $15,000... since then, I haven't found any properties in their catalogue significantly lower then market value, I guess it was a one time thing. Most of their lots are overpriced. The only advantage in purchasing property from them is their owner financing, it's easy on the wallet. They do not disclose any important information regarding the lots so be sure to do all your research prior. The contract they send out is pretty mediocre compared to other owner financing contracts I've had. I recently purchased a lot in Florida from a company www.UnitedLandSales.com and the contracts they provide are more detailed with regards to what you can and cannot do with the property while financing. They also provide land disclosure statements.

I will purchase again from Dignam when a good deal comes along. I'm not one to attend Tax Sales, I always buy on owner financing, keeps more up front cash in the pocket.