Transcript:
Demolition lists
Hey there, it’s Casey Denman from TaxSaleAcademy.com and welcome to our weekly question segment. This week’s question comes to us from Rocket.
Alright, his or her question:
I know you say to make sure a property isn’t going to be demolished, how exactly I do that?
Great question. So, I’ve told the story before and I actually write abou tit in Tax Sale Playbook where I bought a house that got demolished by the city. It’s actually quite comical looking back on it and the story about it is as well, but at the time my heart sunk when I drove by to realize the city knocked it down. Not just because my house was gone, but because I was also afraid I’d get stuck with the demolition bill to my already sour investment.
Anyhow, ever since that point I made it a habit to check both the condemnation list and demolition list. Usually a property will have major issues and disrepair which will start out as simple code enforcement type issues. Then it’ll go on the condemnation list if they aren’t timely repaired and are sever enough. If the issues aren’t corrected after that, it’ll get added to a demolition list, then bid out and eventually knocked down by the city. The responsible party for that bill might just be you.
In most cities you can get your hands on a demolition list rather easily. Often times they’ll be available online, although you might have to call in some cities. MY suggestion is to contact the code enforcement office in the city AND county where your property is located to see who has jurisdiction for the demolition of properties in that area. Sometimes they’ll tell you they don’t have an active list. But in other areas, where demolitions are more common, they’ll be able to provide you a copy of that list or, at the very least they’ll be able to tell you where to get one. So, call code enforcement and ask or if your area doesn’t have a dedicated code enforcement office, simply call the building department and ask them who you should call in your area.
But, by all means, be sure to check that demolition list so you don’t end up in the same situation I did many years ago!
Hopefully this answered your question, uh, Rocket. If you have a followup question or anyone else watching has a question feel free to leave it down below under this video or any of our videos here on youtube.
So it’s pretty important that we address that – before we do so if I do want to remind you viewers that you can get a free copy of The Tax Sale Playbook shipped to you if you cover the nominal shipping cost by going to TaxSaleacademy.com.
And as always, check out TaxSaleAcademy.com to grab a copy of your free book or if you’d like to take advantage of the most detailed and step by step training we offer thorugh The Tax Sale academy. See ya next time!