Need Help Doing a Title Search and Foreclose (Lee: tax lien, foreclosures)

[bkirrane]

I would like to buy a foreclosure at the Lee County Court house but I am a little nervous about the process. Can anyone point me in the right direction. How do I do a title search? Are there ever any tax foreclosures? Thank you in advance.

[jmfkmb49]

There's a bill being worked on to give people that buy a foreclosure a $7K tax credit. If I were you, I would wait to see if that passes in the next month of so.

I've heard finding out about foreclosures is harder than you'd think (I have no experience). There's a company in Ft. Myers that takes you on a bus and gives you tours of homes in foreclosures...I don't know the name of it but you could probably find it with a google search because it's gotten a lot of media attention. The bonus with this option is you actually get to see the house instead of buying it through auction or sight-unseen.

[bkirrane]

Thanks. I know foreclosures can be tricky.

[bkirrane]

Thank you for your help.

[yachtcare]

Not saying title insurance is unimportant, but it is the least important consideration, AS AN UPFRONT CONCERN. Assuming you will need a new mortgage to purchase the home, you will not be able to close the mortgage, and purchase the house, until a satisfactory title search has been performed, and a policy binder issued. Title insurance is typically a cost incurred by the seller, in this case the bank, as it is they that INSURE that you are purchasing the property free of any liens. To be running title searches on properties your looking at, would be a waste of time, and more importantly, your money.
The more important thing is what shape the house is in, and location, basically, does it meet your requirements.....
Purchasing Tax Lien certificates, to gain home ownership, is a long, convoluted process that takes purchasing tax certificates on the subject property for a minimum period of three years, and having to, by law, sell those certificates, at any time that the current owner comes up with the money to buy them back, with interest added. In these cases, due diligence, like title searches, and toxic waste inspections ARE a very real concern.(People generally stop paying taxes for a reason, and NOT always because they're broke). HTH.

[Donna-50]

Make sure you get owners title insurance as that protects you and not the bank.