Crazy idea. I got a call from a girl who wants to sell me her house,she owes $11000 in back taxes, i could buy it,clean it up and resell it and make something on it.But what if i give her $2000 and file my deed but do not pay the taxes and let the county foreclose it in july and auction it off.With the supreme court decision last year the county will have to write me a check for whatever the overage is.The last several years these sales have been producing huge sale prices, even higher than a normal private sale.Any thoughts? --74.77.xx.xx

Thoughts? Absolute genius. --24.152.xxx.xx

Is this just for your county in NY or country wide? --76.129.xxx.xx

6x6 nation wide, previously in NY the counties kept the overages,now they will have to give it to the owner who lost the house --74.77.xx.xx

Be sure it doesn’t affect your ability to BUY at auction. Around here, having back taxes will prohibit you from buying a property at tax sale. Are you paying her and recording the new deed? --24.152.xxx.xx

NE brought another question to mind. Are you planning on buying it back at auction? --76.129.xxx.xx

Good question, yes it will keep me from buying at the county auction, but i will just create a new LLC and they wont know the difference, i have bought at county auctions when they said you cant owe taxes on anything, just used a different LLC and nobody said anything. I can prepare the deed myself at no cost, i dont need a title search or title insurance, i dont even care if they move,actually might be better depending on the interior condition if they stay, the county just holds the auction regardless if it is vacant or occupied. I think most people assume it must at least have the water and heat working and they pay stupid amounts at these sales.Might have to sue the county the first time but that doesnt bother me --74.77.xx.xx

6x6 No, i wont buy it back at auction, somebody will pay maybe $30000 or more, there is $11000 owed on taxes so the county would be writing me a $19000 check minus whatever they can call fees etc --74.77.xx.xx

Thank you, Ken. You have a good strategy. --76.129.xxx.xx

Just keep in mind, in most cases they are allowed to keep legal fees in addition to the back taxes. I'm sure they can get pretty creative when generating what to charge for legal fees. I do like the way you think, it might still work. --209.205.xxx.xx

You are one smart guy! --68.229.xxx.xxx

Mike A, around here, their fees are built into the opening bid. --174.249.xx.xxx

Brilliant. Be smart about it. Go for it! --172.59.xxx.xx

Does she want to keep the house? Is it free and clear of other mortgages, municipal liens and judgments? Does New York have some type redemption period on tax sales? --98.237.xxx.xx

Nicole, if the sellers understood this, they would’ve solved the problem ahead of time. A lot of times when they get into this situation or other situations like this, they are so out of their mind that they just want to be done with the house, or won’t lift a finger to save themselves, etc.. --174.249.xx.xxx

Nicole- I buy houses from people all the time that cant think there way out of a wet paper bag,once they are mentally ready to walk away that is ok.Hardly anyone knows about this or even knows what it means, even other landlords and flippers are not aware of it and it is not my job to teach her.Even if she knew she wouldnt be capable of hiring an attorney who could do the paperwork.No mortgages,there are 2 small judgments that would be ahead of me but i very much doubt they will have an attorney do the paperwork to collect,even if they do there will still be a profit in it for me.No redemption,when they take it it is done --74.77.xx.xx

That's a good idea. The only thing that would sway me to sell it myself if I could sell directly for more than they'd get at the auction. --209.122.xx.xxx

Are you saying there is no redemption period by law or that you will not redeem it? If there is a long redemption period by law the new buyer might give you some cash to give them a quit claim so they can move on with doing their improvements. Yet another source of potential income from your plan. --209.205.xxx.xx

In my county you couldn't be a buyer that cycle, but I don't buy every cycle any way. That is an interesting concept. I have used the fact that the previous owner cashed the check from surplus funds to get title insurance. --24.101.xxx.xxx

MIKEA- there is no redemption in NY, before the auction an attorney can usually get it pulled from the auction and the owner can pay the taxes and keep the property but once it sells at the auction there is no redemption --74.77.xx.xx

We have one year to wait. Lots of people count on that. Get the property at auction and wait for the original owner to pay the fees. --107.147.xx.xx

Looks like a no-brainer if you can bid the thing up from a different LLC to protect against a low bid. --198.168.xx.xxx