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Hello Rogue Investors,
This month I want to focus on Texas Tax Deed Sales. Texas is a unique state when it comes to tax sales. Here are some reasons why:
Tax Collection. The state is very aggressive at collecting property taxes. If you are two years or more late on your property taxes in Texas, your property can be sold at the next month's auction. 
Sales Frequency. If enough properties are available, the county has a tax deed auction every month.
Penalty. Texas is something of a hybrid state in that you are buying a deed but the property taxes can still be redeemed in a specified period of time. This is called a right of redemption. In Texas the non-homestead penalty is a flat 25% interest with a redemption period of 6 months; and the homestead penalty is 50% with a redemption period of 2 years.
Property Values. Texas is an oil and gas state and, unlike most of the rest of the United States where real estate values have exploded over the last 10 years, in Texas property values only started to rise recently. In many areas of Texas real estate is very affordable and you can still buy nice homes for less than $100,000.
Population Growth. While property values did not rise very much in Texas over the last 10 years, in contrast the population grew substantially. This means there is a lot of pent up demand for housing in Texas over the next 10 years. Add the problems occurring in New Orleans and you have a strong catalyst for property growth.
Texas is still my favorite tax deed market and I go there to invest about three times per year.
Next month I am going to teach a classroom/field course in Austin, Texas. In this class I will do the following:
Day 1 - November 5, 2006
8 hours of training in the classroom. I will teach you how to screen tax sale lists, avoid risks such as bankruptcy and environmental problems, and find the best properties.
Day 2 - November 6, 2006
8 hours in the field, researching properties for the Williamson County and Travis County tax sales. During this day of field research, I will take you step by step through the entire process of researching properties and preparing you for the sale.
Day 3 - November 7, 2006
You and I will attend the Travis County tax sale together. After the sale we will meet for lunch and go over any other questions you may have.
I call it the best of all worlds: classroom, field course and attending the sale.
Here is the link for more information regarding the Austin, Texas Tax Deed Course:
http://www.rogueinvestor.com/tax_lien_course.html
Since I have been going over how to do research in the last few newsletters, I want to give you an assignment this time to see what you have learned.
Here are the results for several properties included in the Travis County Tax Sale. Research these properties and try to answer the questions that follow.
Control No. 02
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Legal Description: |
58 X 47 OLT 62 DIV B JONES M L |
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Property Location: |
1128 NORTHWESTERN AVE |
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Parcel No: |
02-0610-0215-0000 |
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Billing No. |
76502 |
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Lawsuit Cause No: |
GV504966 |
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2005 Valuation: |
Land: 14,000 Improvements: 0 |
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Additional Taxes Due: |
0 |
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Taxing Jurisdictions: |
A.C.C., AUSTIN I.S.D., CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TRAVIS CO. HOSP DIST |
Approximate minimum acceptable bid: 3,009.57
6 month redemption period
Map of location: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tax_assessor/foreclosure/Nov/cntrl02.gif
Control No. 03
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Legal Description: |
LOT 3062 LAGO VISTA COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES SEC 11 |
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Property Location: |
4605 OUTPOST TRACE |
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Parcel No: |
01-6880-0339-0000 |
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Billing No. |
57758 |
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Lawsuit Cause No: |
9210906 |
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2005 Valuation: |
Land: 9,000 Improvements: 0 |
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Additional Taxes Due: |
0 |
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Taxing Jurisdictions: |
TRAVIS CO., LAGO VISTA I.S.D., TRAVIS CO. E.S.D. #1, CITY OF LAGO VISTA, CO. EDUC. DIST |
Approximate minimum acceptable bid: 5,622.22
6 month redemption period
Map of location: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tax_assessor/foreclosure/Nov/cntrl03.gif
Control No. 10
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Legal Description: |
LOT 2 BLK 6 KINCHEON SUBD SEC 2 |
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Property Location: |
3306 BLUMIE ST |
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Parcel No: |
04-1727-2508-0000 |
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Billing No. |
178499 |
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Lawsuit Cause No: |
GV103326 |
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2005 Valuation: |
Land: 20,000 Improvements: 0 |
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Additional Taxes Due: |
0 |
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Taxing Jurisdictions: |
A.C.C., AUSTIN I.S.D, CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS CO. |
Approximate minimum acceptable bid: 3,776.38
6 month redemption period
Map of location: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tax_assessor/foreclosure/Nov/cntrl10.gif
Three questions to answer:
- Is the property worth bidding on? Check for environmental issues, other liens, etc. Hint: use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website and the grantor/grantee index.
- If so, how much is the property worth? Get the county's assessed value and see how realtors' listings online for the area and property type compare. Hint: use the Assessor's website and look for realtor listings for properties in Travis County, Texas.
- What is the maximum I should bid for this property? Hint: we like to buy below market value.
In about two weeks, I will reveal the results of the Travis County Sale to be held on November 7, 2006.
Happy investing,
Bryan Rundell
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