Does anyone get frustrated when a tax sale property is cancelled?

[Rob]

I noticed recently, many of the good valued tax sale properties have been cancelled before auction.  Does anybody feel frustrated when a tax sale property they have done research on get cancelled before the tender process?

[Frank]

Rob
Your frustration is shared by all.  99 times out of 100 if the property is worth anything it will be redeemed at the last minute, and that is why I don't bother doing my research until a day or two before the sale.  I know that is cutting it close but it has saved me a lot of bother and cost. 

My daughter had her eye on two properties in the last two Hamilton sales, and in both cases they were redeemed a few days before the sale.

The problem lies in the vagueness of the legislation, and the fact that the courts have ruled that the defaulting owner can redeem the property right up until the time of vesting of a tax deed.  The legislation needs to be more specific, and in my view it should state that once the Municipality has advertised it for sale - the jig is up, and the sale will go through.   Municipalities are all concerned about the current situation causing would be tax sales buyers to stop showing any interest, and they have asked the Province to do something.

The province doesn't care to change it since their view is that we are all opportunists and our costs and frustrations are part of the game.

[twinn]

I agee, I have had this happen to me a few times. Frank is right, doing the research at the last minute can save some costs but it is not feasbile for everyone.  The way the law stands now, it does favor the property owner but it is all a part of the game.  I don't think that the laws will be changed anytime soon as the tax sale area is a small niche in the big picture of things.

[Rob]

That's an interesting strategy to wait until the last few days before you start on anything.  I find visiting the property beforehand is hardest part and can take the most time not to mention the price of gas lately.  After visiting the property or seeing as much of the area as possible I usually decide not to make a bid more times than not.  So when you finally find a great property, I'd rather be outbid than have it be redeemed.

Good to see you have your family involved with tax sale properties Frank.

The only way I see the laws changing are through a successful court case and I don't see anything happening on that front.

[jreist]

We have been interested in Tax sale since last fall and have just got up the nerve to consider doing research on some properties and put in a bid. 

The first place we put a bid in was in Caledon and I took a day off to check the property and submit my bid, on the day of the sale the owner came in at the last minute and payed up.  What I found interesting was that they told me that 200+ people came in asking about the property. How many people put in bids with 20% deposit on a property that was assessed at $300K+

Last month we went down to Prince Edward County and looked at some farms that were up for sale.  My wife liked a a 13 acre property with some form of commercial building on it,  but it got canceled. Then there was property up by the Ferry, but it was cancelled.  The property I liked was in Wellington with a dock that overhanged West Lake, but it was cancelled. On Friday before the sale I was going to do a title search on Mchill property but it got cancelled.

We are starting to loose interest. I came across tax sale for Vancouver in Nov 06, but their comment  said it all "In order to encourage timely payment of taxes", in other words the municipality is using us to put fear into property owners to pay up.

[Frank]

Your correct in terms of the final comment regarding putting fear into the defaulting property owner.  It is often this last straw that makes them come in and pay up, and in some cases at the very last minute.  I put in a bid last year on a nice cottage lot at Sturgeon Lake (cottage needed lots of work), nonetheless it would have been a good buy.  I went up there several times, took out a bank draft for 20% if my $100+ bid and submitted my bid at 2 o:clock.  I went for a Tim Horton coffee while waiting an hour for the bids to be open, and on my return to the Town Hall in Lindsay I was informed that the owner had just come in at 10 minutes to 3 to pay up. 

The process is there as a hammer to ensure that the Municipality can ultimately get its taxes.  That said, I have also seen people get some real bargains on tax sale properties.  A few years back I saw a lady land a property worth about $120 for $70 (thousand of course).  When she opened the doors to the place (it had been abandoned for a number of years, she also found over $100k in antique furniture which she was able to liquidate.  So there is another side to this picture.  I've heard people refer to the tax sale process as 'legalized theft'. 

[RichD]

Hey all,

I agree that it's a frustrating process and that at very least if the sale does go through then that should be the end of it, non of this being able to still pay their taxes up untill the deed changes hands. But if it was easy and clean then there would be alot more then 272 posts and 225 members in this forum and the deals would be even farther apart and harder to come by. I guess you have to look at it as a chalenge and the hunt is on.

Rich

[Daniella21]

I noticed recently, many of the good valued tax sale properties have been cancelled before auction.  Does anybody feel frustrated when a tax sale property they have done research on get cancelled before the tender process?

 "cancelled" is a lot more reasonable than what the others suggested.

[Rob]

What property / properties were you looking at that suddenly got cancelled?

[speedfreeksteve]

that is why I don't bother doing my research until a day or two before the sale.  I know that is cutting it close but it has saved me a lot of bother and cost.   

How do you check if the property has been redeemed before the sale? Do I just call the town office?

[Frank]

Yes, you call the town office and they will tell you if it has been cancelled. 

I bid on one this last week in Parry Sound.  Checked with the town office on Tuesday morning and everything was still on.  Went to check the property, surveyed the area,(did some other research on the internet beforehand), did my search at the registry office, and then went to the bank for my bid deposit and submitted it.  As it turned out I would not have been the high bidder anyways, but on Thursday (the day of the sale) an hour and a half before the sale the owner came in with the taxes and the sale was cancelled.  Now I have to wait for them to mail me back my bank draft.  Bottom line is that I am out of pocket a coupla hundred bucks for the whole thing - but it was fun and can be worth it, sometimes. 

 I've seen people come in with their tax money ten minutes before the opening - damm. 

Always check with the Town before you start your work.

[speedfreeksteve]

I was going to check out the Parry Sound ones. The 3 lots that were adaject to each other. How much do the one you were bidding on go for?

[Frank]

I didn't look at those three lots, although they seemed interesting, nor did I attend the sale so I don't know what they went for.  

The one we bid on was a cottage property on Horshoe Lake (small property but it had a cute cottage on it).  The cottage was a bit run down, and the lot needed some landscaping so I didn't think it was worth the $257,000 assessed value.  We put in a bid of $127,000, but I was told that the high would have been $180,000.  At that value and with the work required, the purchaser would have probably only made a few thousand for their trouble - had the sale gone through.

[jreist]

Yesterday me and my wife packed up the car and headed to Meaford, we were interested in the 50 acre property. The weather was bad with lots of rain, we thought we should leave it, but this was the only day I could take the time.

I call the Meaford and and talked to the women in charge of the sale and found that it had not been cancelled. We decided to look at the land first and then go to the registry office.  After 3 hrs of driving in off and on rain we finally found the property, we went into Meaford to check the office to confirm the location and found shortly after I called in the morning the owner had come in and payed. It could have be worse, we could have gone to the registry office and payed for the title search and writ.