Real Estate Foreclosures and Tax Sales

So you want to get into foreclosures and tax sales!!!  Here are a couple of differences between the two that can be of benefit to you. Starting with the tax sales in San Antonio. Homestead laws basically gives the homeowner 2 years to acquire the property back. This was the homeowners primary residence. If it is not the primary residence then its only 6 months. Due to non payment of taxes the home owner loses the home and it goes to an auction at the couthouse front steps 1st tuesday of every month. To aquire the home back they have to pay 25% above the taxes owed during the first year to the person who bought the home at the auction. Once it goes to the 2nd year it is 50% above the taxes owed. To keep it simple, if the taxes owed on the home was $10,000; month 1-12, the previous home owner would have to pay the purchaser of the home $12,500 to aquire the home back. Nice little gain for the first year.Preferably though one wants to keep the house , but it is still a win win situation. Months 13-24 the gains are $5000 for a total of $15 ,000

               You usually can get a home a little cheaper than the foreclosure auction, but in the foreclosure side the home is yours immediately. Hurray! Tax side one can make necessay repairs to a home and recieve payment in addition to the taxes owed and the interest earned. Be careful! Do not do any Improvement work on the home, because that you will lose if the previous home owner pays off what he owes. Make sure the time period has passed before you do improvements. Do not! Do not!  forget about the leans! I have seen alot of people who go to the auctions who do not even get the leans checked out! I personally saw one man bid about $275,000 on a home that was worth about $450,000  Sound like a great deal! Only that it had a $425,000 IRS lean on it. This certainly is not for ameteurs.
               On the foreclosure side, less to worry about, junior leans fall off autmatically, but you still have to worry about IRS and State tax leans. You have to do your homework. Here is where I come in for you. Why do we want foreclosures? Because the homes are cheaper than having to go out to the market and buy one. Why not get a $250,000 home for $165,000? If you know what you are doing, have at it. If you need help, feel free to contact me. Again it wil be a win/win situation. One has to pay for sevices, but the difference is you are getting a foreclosed home, instead of payong a realtor plus the price of a home at market value. If you do not use me, find a professional that can assist you. Remember, None of us are perfect, we just try to elininate the risk involved in going after a foreclosure. I can not say all my information is 100% correct, but I definately do alot of research to try to make sure I am right. The photo at the top is my last foreclosure  Fully remodelled, All tyle floors. 3bedroom, 1.5 bath, central air and heat, surround sound system, dishwasherr, utility room and much much more. 1425 square ft in the Bellaire Subdivision. Going for 97k MLS # 735040 or go to zillow.com and put in 350 langford zipcode 78221 to see interior photos. 

       Well I hope this was of little use for you. If you are an Investor and want to get into the foreclosure market, give me a call. (210) 251-5777 If you have any comments about this information, or if you have any questions, feel free to call or email me at vgsilvas@ yahoo.com.
                 Best Wishes Victor