I am 20 years old and am looking into investing in a tax sale property. I have tried to google specific questions but can't find any information. Is there anybody in Iowa that knows how these work that would be willing to answer some questions? --67.55.xxx.xx

We specialised in VA foreclosures but tax sales is different bird. --99.103.xxx.xxx

I’ve found a 1.5 acre property on the ia river and the tax sale amount is $140. If the owner doesn’t pay the amount due with interest how do i go about acquiring this property. Is this something i would need a lawyer for? If so what am i looking at cost wise for one? If i get the property im fairly certain i can sell it and hopefully make a profit. But worst case it will be a fairly inexpensive lesson on how it all works. --67.55.xxx.xx

This is an unsold property from the june tax sale that is still available --67.55.xxx.xx

(biz + contact) --96.46.xxx.xx

Finding a "Tax Sale" property is only the first of many issues. Then once owned, other liens may show up. You can't buy title insurance so any mechanic liens in the system take time to show up. I have purchased some tax sale properties. But I first purchased a lien on the property from someone who was about to loose their second or third position. Once I had an interest in the property I could buy "Title Insurance". It was a good thing because after the sale, people and liens started to come out of the wood work and file valid claims on the property. Since my "Title" policy covered liens not record or found on file at the time of the sale, I was still covered. It saved me $37,000 in liens. --47.156.xx.xx

I will give an example of a property located where I do farming work - it is the oldest standing structure in the county, made by a friends ancestors starting in 1835, the bricks for this 2300 sq ft s story house were kilned on sight, and was finished in 1837, as farmhouses were pre civil war there was no indoor plumbing, a pump well was fitted with an electric version in the early 1950's and metal water lines ran into the kitchen - modern progress. In the mid 1960's the walls were removed and electricity was added into the bedrooms upstairs, and the new genious of the area convinced the existing owners to dig a crawl space to put a fan forced heating plant underneath for comfortable living (there was no gas but the electric heating option sounded miraculous to the current owners who had never lived in the house in the wintertime because they had bad luck with burning wood in the fireplace, so the indigenous stone was chipped and blasted as needed to run flat metal venting - a deeper area was needed for the heating plant so a partial basement was dug for the heater to sit in. operated for Thanksgiving that year, everyone was thrilled. The winter frost heaved the cement floor cracking much of it where the stones were altered and the ductwork shifted, the next fall the heating plant was ruined from being underwater and the foundation shifted so gaps were now forming below a corner where rodents could enter the living room, the snakes and racoons were following as the owners moved back to the old farmhouse a couple miles away, the house was now useless for all seasons and sat empty when a family member purchased it and began to harvest crops and fill the sides with mortar to hold away the rodents, great plan till the second frost cracked this area way from the stronger section of the floor and the house tilted causing window glass to break out rendering the house useless again, I obtained only 50k in grant money to restore this onetime amazing place and the I put 4 1 1/2 screws thru the house to prevent further damage from the settling as the walls were now bowing out. Long story short it would take another 70k to save the house, the value dropped from 27k to 17k after I put in the rods and the grant was retracted. I have 12 months to remove my fruit trees so the county will take this dangerous nuisance property and demolish the house, I intend to take away enough of the bricks to erect a well at my friends property 4 miles away in memory of his ancestors who settled and farmed successfully for a century. --76.188.xxx.xx

A lot of people are drawn to tax sales because they are so cheap, but it isn't as cut and dry as it seems. --50.32.xxx.xxx

Robert J,once you owned the property anyone filing a claim were not valid claim since it had been sold,title company did not pay out in that scenario --72.231.xxx.xxx

Find a company to offer deed insurance on this parcel, very hard to find. --76.188.xxx.xx

Good luck!! --40.133.xx.xxx

The properties value is $5600 and from what I understand from talking to the county treasurer I can buy this certificate post tax sale over the counter until October 10. It is an empty 1.5 acre river side lot with no Current structure is on it. It used to have a cabin but all that remains now is a concrete pad. It is just outside of city limits and is on a paved road. The neighboring properties are less than an acre but have structures on them and are valued at 60k+. I am going to stop by the courthouse today to ask about any liens present on the property and I am also going to find out if the septic is up to date and if it needs replaced. Worst case if i get stuck with the property i can park a camper there during the summer and fish on the river --67.55.xxx.xx

Then just take your checkbook and buy it. You'll quickly learn all that you need to know. It will be a quick education. Go to your library there are three good books on the topic. --99.203.xx.xx

of course I know nothing about tax sales in Iowa but I do know "life". If there aren't some hidden defects - as others above all mention - this property would have sold at the first sale. There would have been bids running the property up quite a bit ... huge gap between $140 and $5600. --72.70.xxx.x

Josh,I'm only a country boy from northern Ireland, but Ann Landers said once "if it sounds too good to be true,it probably is" . Ann was pretty much on the ball. Maybe a steak dinner at the Texas road house place and have change for $140.00, would be better...............charlie............................................... --32.214.xxx.xx

--173.187.xxx.xx

Upon further investigation of this parcel. It looks like it was sold in the 2017 tax sale. On the beacon website which is a land ownership website. It shows that there is a tax sale certificate # and also a date of june 2017 for this property. None of the other properties on the unsold list show this information. Is it possible that this was sold in the 2017 tax sale and the buyer didnt fill out the right paperwork in time to claim the propery? --67.55.xxx.xx