Taking the right measures at the time of the sale can prevent headaches.  Improper tax deed vesting (the legal assignment of title and ownership of a property) is a common mistake. Scenarios can include everything from invalid LLC’s to misspelled names. Take a few minutes to save yourself thousands of dollars in legal fees and months of time by getting this right from the start. First, if the clerk issues a wrongly assigned deed due to their error, then you can likely amend this with a Corrective Deed.  A mistake by the clerk on a recorded tax deed is referred to as a scrivener’s error. Some examples include: Errors in the Legal Description of the property. Misspelling or incomplete name of the Tax Deed purchaser. If your company name is misspelled on your tax deed, it can be a major problem. It means the Tax Deed is invalid, as the LLC on the document does not exist as a registered business entity. The fastest way to correct the error is to make a…

After 6 years working in the Florida tax deed industry, we can say with confidence it is a sub-sector of the real estate world with a unique set of both challenges and opportunities. One of our investors recently described it is both “complicated and legally convoluted” but acknowledged it can prove to be “tremendously profitable”. Due to the tax deed market’s complex nature, it is vital for prudent investors to know the laws pertaining to tax deeds to protect themselves from improper claims of liability, such as those made by a Homeowners Association for unpaid assessment liens accrued prior to the property being sold at auction. One of our clients recently bought a condo at a tax deed sale. He stopped by the HOA office to update contact information and was handed a claim of lien for unpaid HOA assessments for the past 3 years and asked to pay it in full. He was surprised by this claim of lien survival and contacted our team of attorneys, who recognized the un…

Buying at tax deed auction can be a cheap and effective way of acquiring rental properties. Rental income provides steady returns, while still allowing you to hold the asset for future sale.  With the passage of the recent tax bill, taxes on pass-through income have dropped significantly – in some cases to almost half. Whether you own the property under your own name, an LLC, or a trust, rental property income qualifies for this low tax rate, providing that the property is separate from your primary residence. These tax changes further benefit landlords by increasing the individual standard deduction. This allows renters to achieve a higher tax return, which could reduce the allure of home ownership tax benefits versus renting. Less incentive to purchase a home means that rental properties will see a larger pool of potential tenants. Of course, this doesn’t mean bad news for the sale of the property. The housing market is currently seeing home prices rise as availability beco…

If you’re buying properties at auction, you run the risk of inviting costly lawsuits for each and every property you purchase, from something as simple as a dispute over property lines to potentially attaching liens. Even if these lawsuits are frivolous and without foundation, the cost involved in defending yourself is prohibitive and damaging. The benefits to having a trust or LLC in which to own your tax deed properties are multiple: Discourage potential lawsuits and risks by concealing the identities of the equity principles (you and/or other controlling members) involved. Both a trust and LLC allow anonymity and leverage during negotiations. Wealthy individuals often close transactions through trusts in order to mask their identity. If you’re buying/selling multiple properties in a given area, doing so through separate trusts can allow you to retain leverage by not tipping off potential buyers/sellers (Walt Disney bought up land for Disney World this way). Both Tr…