So, I've spent hours both combing over properties for sale in the tax lien list last night and this morning and then going out and viewing a lot of them. The properties that are vacant lots I didn't bother with, I don't need a vacant lot and lots are plentiful in this city, there is no huge demand for them. If I were a construction contractor building homes, then yes.
I was all over this city. I saw home that had been deteriorating for years, roofs caved in and falling apart, homes that were condemned by the city - big orange signs on the sides of the houses and several either workable or even decent homes.
One of which stood out. About a half mile away from where I live, the entire outside of the house looked in great shape. It's on a narrow side street. Not a lot of traffic, nice quiet living. The inside? Well you take a chance and yes you'll probably have to fix stuff, but that's a granted with buying homes at a fraction of the cost they are normally worth. But as long as the roof is in good shape, I'm taking a further look at them. Homes are old in this area. Letting them go and not maintaining them means probably faster than normal deterioration, age coupled with rain/weather all the time.
You have a bad roof and don't fix that right away? I'm not fooling with it. I saw a 2 story house, the startin bid around a ground. but it didn't look good. Just trashy appearance and falling apart facades, the roof questionable I opted against that one.
Remember, I originally started this search as a search for property for an RV park. It expanded after I saw all the houses on the lots from satellite view and the starting bids extremely low. But due diligence required, you buy a condemned house, you are going to have to pay to have it torn down and then what? You have an empty lot, basically worthless. About the only thing I could see is a community garden type of thing. I saw one of those in a little neighborhood, it was pretty cool. They had nice seating in the midle of it and flowers and plants all over. No structures on the property.
But I don't have time for that and that isn't my objective atm. A 3 plot stretch of land available on a semi major street - with a small business still operating on it. I had to look at the maps again to ensure I was looking at the right plots of land. Someone had placed one of those tiny houses on it and started a business. How they are doing that on property that is up for tax lien sale is unknown, perhaps they paid the back due taxes and it's actually nixed off the list.
And then, I drove south of town and out into the country. There I found the 5 acre lot that I was hoping would have nothing but trees on it - and I was not let down. Heavily wooded, but small trees, nothing a rented bulldozer couldn't easily take down, that's how I see them clearing land in these parts. It's a perfect setting for an RV park. Off the beaten trail but roads good enough for trailers and RV's to get in and out of. I dunno about water and sewer tho. There are houses in the vicinity, I didn't see any wells but that doesn't mean they don't have them. Electricity is there at least.
The 22 acre lot - I'll have to go to the county courthouse to find out where that's at, it isn't listed on any of the online documents. Everyone will be interested in that, of course, no real hope of getting a property that big, but the bidding is starting low in the 2 grand range. If the rich people show up like that did the last one I went to, I dunno what I might end up getting if anything besides buying vacant lots that have no real value. Perhaps, if the city allows mobile homes on them, I could do something with them, but cities generally have specific zoning for mobile homes and usually limited to mobile home parks.
The plot of land that is at least promising is outside of the city limits. There are other plots further east I just didn't feel like exploring, I was out there for quite a while, time to come home.
Oh, the 5 year old last night. He obviously knew he was in trouble and was going between crying and bawling fits without anyone saying anything at all to him. He lied to his dad about punching the other one in the face. That was not the best move to make, considering there was an eyewitness that saw him do it. He eventually admitted to doing it after dad kept saying if he didn't tell the truth, punishment would be 10 times worse than what it will be if he just comes clean.
His punishment was no TV, sit in his room for 3 days and yes, that set him off into celestial bouts of crying and insane, hyper sobbing. Mom and dad went outside, I was sitting there eating, he looked at me and said "you're not my friend any more, we aren't friends". I just looked at him, got up out of my seat and moved to the kitchen to finish eating. He can still see and talk to me, was just making the point. He went back into a hysteria after realizing that probably wasn't the best thing to say, either, started choking on his food and then he started throwing up. All over the table. Huge lines of snot coming out of his nose, it was pretty gross. I cleaned him up with paper towels, but he was to sit there until he finished eating per parent's decree and I wasn't going to change that.
So that's been my day. Now I have to try and secure the 1st of December off. I don't want to have spent this time doing all this work and not even go to the auction to have the opportunity to at least try and get a winning bid. Preferably either on the house nearby or the land south of town. Or both lol, that would be an amazing haul. Actually I'd prefer that small house if I had to make a choice, it would be a fast turn around to start getting income from it - after the 180 day wait of course. That's one of the drawbacks - you can't do anything with the property for 180 days, the owners can come along, pay everything up and redeem the property, get it back and - you are paid 20% of what you paid plus what you paid. It's not likely that a property where they couldn't find an heir is going to have anyone showing up to pay the taxes on it.
Well enough of this one.
