Tax Lien Investing In Real Estate

As seen in Chapter 15 of Real Estate Principles by Charles J. Jacobus, property tax is a large source of income for local governments. When property taxes are not paid, a lien is placed on the property. If property taxes are not paid, this gives the government the right to seize the property. This is currently happening to Bill Davies, a developer from Chicago, Illinois.

For many years, the idea that ones’ home being the largest investment was said as a complete sentence when in fact, it was only an incomplete sentence. Any duly licensed financial planner would finish that sentence by saying all investments are subject to market conditions, the value that investment could increase or decrease and other similar cautionary statements that their attorneys wrote to protect them. The American public only heard that their home was the largest investment and had never experienced, nor had their parents seen the value of their personal homes drop like they did in the past few years. They had never experienced the financial pain and although only a few years have passed, many have forgotten and are ready to jump right back into homeownership.

Don't jump into real estate investment while you're still wet behind the ears. Get to know others who are in the business and learn from their experience. Join real estate clubs. Read books and visit websites that offer tips and information on real estate investing. Don't invest until you really know what you are doing.

According to Investopedia, owner financing is when a property buyer finances the property?s purchase directly through the person or entity, such as the bank, selling it. This happens when the prospective property buyer cannot receive funding or a loan from a conventional mortgage lender, is unwilling to pay the market interest rates, or if the seller is having difficulty selling the property. Also known as ?creative financing? or ?seller financing?, owner financing may only cover a portion of the property?s purchase price, with a smaller bank loan making up the difference.

In conclusion, homeownership in the United States have decline over the past years even being the lowest it has ever been, but has had an improving and strong market beginning in 2012 after a 27% decline from the 2006 peak, and the increasing homeownership rate is a worthwhile policy to allow the United State economy to

The housing tax credit worked. Based on the sales data, a number of buyers took advantage of the credit. When real estate assets are in the hands of new buyers, it should be viewed

     The real estate industry is thriving with approximately sixty-eight percent of all Americans being homeowners. With low interest rates, 1st time home buyer down payment assistance programs, and government funded educational opportunities (i.e. the Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati), the real estate and mortgage lending industries will continue to flourish. However, there are some unethical lending practices that are threatening the housing industry as a whole.

In 2008 the real estate market crashed because of the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act and Commodities Futures Modernization Act, which led to shady mortgage lending or “liar loans” (Hartman). The loans primarily approved for lower income and middle class borrowers with little income or no job income verification, which lead to many buyers purchasing homes they could not afford because everyone wants a piece of the American dream; homeownership. Because of “reckless lending to lower- and middle-income borrowers who could not afford to repay their loans many of the home buyers lost everything when the market collapsed” (Tankersley 3). Homeowners often continued to live in their houses for months or years without paying any

The real estate industry is thriving with approximately sixty-eight percent of all Americans being homeowners. With low interest rates, 1st time home buyer down payment assistance programs, and government funded educational opportunities (i.e. the Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati), the real estate and mortgage lending industries will continue to flourish. However, there are some unethical lending practices that are threatening the housing industry as a whole.

Real Estate Property Taxes – this includes whether or not the taxes for the current year have been paid or not, if there are any delinquent taxes on the property from previous years, and if there are any tax deeds on the property.

When you decide to buy a home the lender will require a title search. A title search confirms that there is no lien against the property that needs paid. If someone is owes money for services, taxes etc. they can place a lien on the property. If there is a lien on the property the property cannot be sold or transferred until the debt is paid.

A lot of sharks prey on homeowners in foreclosure. If something sounds too good to be true it usually is. Remember that fraud depends on trust. The folks that are the best at it always appear to be someone you can trust. They are really, really nice folks. You will really, really like them. They have to be so nice to gain your confidence. Be wary. Sharks can smell your desperation. They know what words you need to hear. Use common sense and don't be afraid to talk to a lawyer, your realtor, your lender, or others about any offers you receive. In Arizona the Attorney General announced a settlement with Harvest Properties, Inc in a foreclosure rescue fraud and mortgage fraud by the company and its owners. You may have heard about this company which did business under the name HomeVestors. HomeVestors is widely known by its billboards reading "We Buy Ugly Homes.com" and "Ug Buys Ugly

Well, that depends on a number of factors, including the cost of the house and the type of mortgage you get. In general, you need to come up with enough money to cover three costs: earnest money - the deposit you make on the home when you submit your offer, to prove to the seller that you are serious about wanting to buy the house; the down payment, a percentage of the cost of the home that you must pay when you go to settlement; and closing costs, the costs associated with processing the paperwork to buy a house. When you make an offer on a home, your real estate broker will put your earnest money into an escrow account. If the offer is accepted, your earnest money will be applied to the down payment or closing costs. If your offer is not accepted, your money will be returned to you. The amount of your earnest money varies. If you buy a HUD home, for example, your deposit generally will range from $500 - $2,000. The more money you can put into your down payment, the lower your mortgage payments will be. Generally most banks will want a 10% to 20% payment to put down towards your loan. The more money you can put into your down payment, the lower your mortgage payments will be.

For the past several years, the housing market has been mutually beneficial for both buyer and seller. The cost of real estate has risen but has maintained or gained value. People who have owned their home for quite awhile are seeing astronomical amounts of money to be made off the sale of their home, and so the market has been inundated with housing for sale. It leads us to wonder whether this boom is heading for the crash. Is now still a good time to buy? If so, what type of property will continue to gain value? Will new buyers end up stuck in their home as the value drops? As a homeowner, I am nervous about the state of the real estate market. This is not the house my family wants to call its home forever, but could we get stuck here? Yes, we could. If the housing market drops, then so will the amount of money we could potentially make off the sale of this house. If it drops enough then it would be possible to end up owing money upon the sale. Unless you are independently wealthy, you hope to make money off the sale of the home to help finance the purchase of the next home. Real estate agents will tell you that now is still a good time to buy. While it is speculated that the market will drop within the next year or two, if you are willing to sit on your new purchase for several years, an upswing will occur again. There is never any guarantee that you will recoup the money paid for and put into a home. If you intend to purchase a home soon, it would be a good idea to

The current real estate crisis that America finds itself in is one of the greatest challenges America has ever faced. America’s troubles are further compounded by increasing unemployment of American citizens and environmental problems like global warming. Solving any one of these problems would be a Herculean task, yet they must each be addressed in order to protect American families from disaster. However, it is possible to find a solution to the problems of the real estate crisis that can also be used to improve the problems of the unemployment and environmental destruction. The first part of the solution involves the United States government purchasing the homes that have been foreclosed and using them to offer temporary housing to