Due diligence – do it and do it well. For unsuspecting tax lien investors who have not done their research, they might be surprised to learn that while property tax liens have very high priority, in certain circumstances, a bankruptcy can wreak havoc on their investment. It should be noted that bankruptcy courts often respect … [Read more…]
RealtyTrac estimates that 1 in every 171 United States households were in the process of losing their home – up 121% on last year. To give some perspective on that number, RealtyTrac estimates that almost 740,000 United States homes entered the foreclosure process in the second quarter of 2008. That number includes receiving a default … [Read more…]
Looks like Freddie and Fannie needs Daddy’s credit card. With $5.3 TRILLION in combined mortgage debt (about 1/2 of the total mortgage debt in the United States), when Wall Street and the Feds begin to worry about Freddie and Fannie’s financial health, there is good reason to be concerned. Freddie and Fannie are the MAJOR … [Read more…]
A recent Reader’s Digest article highlighted Clint Medford, referred to by some as "Mr. Foreclosure." While the foreclosure epidemic certainly has hit many homeowners and would-be investors hard, it has created a host of interesting opportunities for savvy investors and thieves alike. Often a foreclosed home will sit empty for a time, which has invited … [Read more…]
A common question in the tax lien investing arena is what happens to a tax lien if a property is foreclosed on? In a tax lien state like Arizona, counties do not sell property; rather they sell a tax lien in the form of a certificate of purchase for unpaid property taxes. This tax lien … [Read more…]
Simply speaking, a short sale is when a bank or mortgage lender agrees to allow a homeowner to sell their home for less than the outstanding balance on the home. Lenders often only consider this option if it makes if the cost of a foreclosure is greater than the loss it will suffer as a … [Read more…]
If you own a home and dutifully pay your mortgage each month, chances are, you do not worry much about whether your property taxes are being paid. Hopefully, if your mortgage servicer is doing its job correctly, you have an impound or escrow account set up from which your servicer pays your property taxes and … [Read more…]
Whether you believe in global warming or not, there is ample evidence that ocean levels are rising, which has created some very interesting legal issues, namely what happens when a public beach moves onto private property? This is precisely the issue in Surfside, Texas – a small beach town south of Houston. To read an … [Read more…]
Clearly, the foreclosure crisis is real and is affecting a broad spectrum of people. In other words, the epidemic is not just hitting homeowners with subprime mortgages with adjusting rates. Indeed, it seems those at the upper echelons are being hit as well. Indeed, Ed McMahon‘s six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house is on the verge of … [Read more…]
A recent article in the Arizona Daily Star discussed and highlighted an increasingly controversial land use issue: what happens when the suburbs run into rural land uses, namely small horse ranches. Interestingly, I represent one of the landowners in the article that is facing the opposite situation – what happens when a horse owner alters … [Read more…]