Transcript:
County Surplus Land
Hey there, it’s Casey Denman here from TaxSaleAcademy.com. Thanks so much for joining me today for our weekly question segment. This week’s question comes to us from Latrice.
Latrice question is: What is County Surplus land? I saw this term but didn’t know if it’s talking about tax deed properties or what?
Latrice, thanks so much for your question. It doesn’t mention what state you’re from, so it can vary from one state to the next. But there are a few reasons we could have county surplus land.
First off, county surplus land is land the county owns by no longer has a need for. This could be property that they had previously used or property they took ownership up one way or another.
Outside of tax sale investing this could includes things like Right of Ways no longer utilized. It might old schools or government offices. It can also include things like sites used for construction staging purposes that are no longer used or needed. There are a variety of reasons that a county might not want a piece of real estate, we have to remember of course the county is in the business of collecting taxes (among other things), so they want properties on the tax rolls.
Now, outside of the basic county surplus properties like we discussed, you have times when they take ownership of real estate, often as required by state statute. The specifics vary from one state to the next, but here are the two typical scenarios:
If a tax lien system is used, a tax lien will be auctioned but no one will buy it at that auction. That lien will then be held in the name of the county. After a set period of time, which is set by state statutes the county will convert that lien into a deed and will become the owner of the property.
In a tax deed state, a similar process happens. The property will be auctioned, but no one will bid on it. The county will then take ownership of it.
Now, these county surplus properties can be sold in a number of different ways. OTC or over the counter is typical, although some will reauction the properties through a standard auction or even a sealed bid process. Other areas might require some sort of approval, while others could put restrictions onto the purchase.
To access these surplus properties, simply contact your county and ask! I’d start with the tax collector, treasurer or whoever handles the tax sales in your area first.
There can certainly be plenty of hidden opportunities if you look frequently and are diligent in your efforts.
So Latrice, hopefully this answered your question. If you have any other questions or anyone else watching this video has any questions, feel free to leave them down below and we’ll certainly answer them and we might just do a video like this one.
And if you’re interested in learning more about over the counter properties, just head to TaxSaleAcademy.com. You can register for our OTC Class by clicking the link on that page, or you can join the academy for all of our trainings including our OTC specific investing course.
Hope this helps!
Take care and make it a successful day!