Messages

1

General / I wish this would happen to my winnings

« on: March 28, 2024, 10:24:22 PM »

https://fortune.com/2024/03/28/hawaii-house-built-on-wrong-lot-500000/

Interesting the new land owner is getting sued by the company that made the mistake

2

General / Re: Interesting bid

« on: May 28, 2022, 10:40:47 AM »

Love to see a winning bid at this level in Markham    Schreiber I can understand it.

3

Member Experiences / Re: Re: Re: Interesting read - Vendor takeback Mortgage Danger

« on: May 17, 2022, 11:35:51 PM »

The recent North Kawartha 73ac has VTB of $550k and the taxsale fetched $450k. Lucky the previous owner might be able to get some back. But I assume the legal will start or continue.

BTW, for those seasoned contributors here like Dave2, what is the common rule, if any, with regard to the term "grandfathered"? - does it apply to buildings/structures on the lot only, or does it apply to (the size of) the lot created (before or after the current zoning requirements take effect)? A few players received contradicting info re the NK waterfront from the town planner.

When I have encountered it on zoning or structure built before the current bylaws were passed it most commonly  is classified as a permitted but as a non conforming use.  The problem comes when you want to make changes to the use or property that are not permitted under the current bylaw.  This freezes your ability to change the use or upgrade the existing structure.  

I have also encountered problems particularly with conservation authorities when am existing permitted zoning use does not conform with THEIR current assessment of what should be permitted.   This usually happens when the current zoning has not been updated in a long time or they felt  one of their predecessors made a mistake.     In general these cases are usually ones that the devil is in the details so sometimes there is is even disagreement between the municipality and the conservation authority.

4

Member Experiences / Re: Interesting read - Vendor takeback Mortgage Danger

« on: May 15, 2022, 03:51:15 PM »

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-man-s-property-sold-by-township-without-any-notice-over-6-700-in-unpaid-taxes-1.6447505 

This article also illustrates one of the often overlooked dangers of taking back a vendor takeback mortgage on sale of a property.
The owner does not pay their property taxes and it goes to tax sale.   The mortgage owner is supposed to be notified but if you
hold a mortgage make sure that you check the tax status if you are the mortgage holder and are facing a default.

5

Member Experiences / Re: Re: Re: Tax sale has no fun no bargain anymore!

« on: May 15, 2022, 12:17:23 PM »

It's interesting why they paid so much for that property.
pos system Phoenix

I think it's because of the location of the property. If the place is accessible to all, that might be the reason.

The market is the market.    You just have to accept and adjust to it.  Hopefully you are in a position to adjust to it  
In markets like this an old stock market saying applies. 'SELL (not buy) in May and go away.'

Now is the time to clean up and sell your mistakes especially in markets like this where you have to often do it yourself
because the real estate community gets lazy and is not interested in low commission, difficult to sell properties.  
Those who say they don't have any, are not being honest.  

Mistakes take time and a lot of effort to sell. Like the one property I sold with 55,000 hits and 1,000 responses including
the drunk ones who called me at 2.00 am in the morning.

In this business you will get surprises both good and bad.  Those who say they understand perfectly how a conservation authority
will rule are dreaming.   If you say you don't have any you are not bidding it right because you are not taking any risks.
To minimize the bad ones takes takes a lot of time and costs money.

Of course if you do it right sometimes you get another type of surprise.   Like this  tax sale for a property whose had a
former owner from  Germany.  https://www.vladi-private-islands.de/en/.   The most exotic private island seller in the world
and I can prove it.  He doesn't touch anything unless it is first class.

We also miss opportunity.   I still wonder if I should have bid the jewelry mine tax sale of a few years ago that got no bids.

In general  with tax sales the the odds of bad news are much higher then good news.   That is why a good purchase
price is so important.  As someone accurately said with tax sales you have to remember
 " There is a problem with the property or the owner".   Bidding close to market price is usually only
 justifiable if if you own an adjacent property.

6

General / Re: Re: Dangers of the game Elizabethtown Kitley / Georgian Bluffs

« on: March 05, 2022, 06:19:37 PM »

Didn't follow the 99 ac in Elizabethtown. Checked OTS results after. I believe there was one time OTS showed it was sold for the minimum (so was the 72 ac. glitch?) ... gee, Dave2 must have been on vacation. 

Jayz:

Dave2 is not smart and rich like you and PFM.   He had the (bad) luck to choose io compete on  a close by bid where they all redeemed  .   Also
my survival on this planet would be questionable after I had to advise my significant other that I had lost a 20% deposit at these prices being bid.

To add insult to injury I was trying to sell some not great quality land at the same time, verbally negotiated the price and found the paperwork price was 1/3
less then what we verbally agreed and the signing deadline allowed me well less then an hour hour to complete the transaction.  Needless to say I did not sign it back.

One legal caution  for every one, remember a verbal sale agreement on land is not enforceable.   

7

General / Re: Chatsworth cancelled....Damn

« on: October 13, 2021, 07:18:34 PM »

Chatsworth cancelled....Damn
I had a new Massey all picked out.....
I could never understand why the people wait to the last minute....they think they are being cute as they are the victim and we are the evil ones ....
I would die of shame and pay it off immediately if it ever happened to me. Instead the entire town knows he is a roach.

I figured this one would go for over a million dollars so  too expensive for me.  Most sadistic tax sale owner I ran into actually showed up at a bid opening and boasted he had redeemed property too all the bidders.

8

General / Re: Ramara - Lakeview Results

« on: September 21, 2021, 03:06:28 PM »

Winning bid $156,000,  59 bids. compared to $51,000 assessed value

Obviously a number of people were not worried about possible conservation authority approval.

Anybody talk to them?

9

General / Re: Bayham Results

« on: September 03, 2021, 11:53:59 PM »

Walnut street was sold.  over 25 bids. winning bid $76,000 compared to $43,500 assessed value

I figure that is full value and I did not like the small 1/2 acre lot size unless it is serviced

10

Announcements / lets get back to business

« on: June 06, 2021, 11:47:39 PM »

We have certainly covered part of the doom and gloom well.    Time to move onto the other half 'taxes'.   Lets cover HST.   Starting off does any one know how you can avoid HST if you were charged it on the property purchase ?

11

Questions and Answers / Re: Re: - true coffin story

« on: June 05, 2021, 12:19:38 AM »

Dave found a coffin with a dead body in. 

This is a true account of an attempted real estate purchase where we did find a coffin.

A real estate deal where the original purchaser walked because they could not get financing.  A possible purchase of a commercial building with a historic farmhouse in the country

Being old fashioned conservative can work for you.  We just get our pound of flesh in a different way.  The advantage is that the real estate community knows you have the horsepower to move when it is necessary.   When you put down a third of your own equity into the property, you can get your financing okay fast and by phone.  This was one of those cases where a quick phone call resulted in a fast yes.

We had to move quickly but a premade deal doesn't come along very often.  So we said yes, signed the paperwork and laid down our deposit and ended up with a conditional purchase. 

For the seller we give a sweetener to seal the deal by removing the financing condition and give an increased large down payment.   

I have a philosophy that money talks in real estate deals.  Thus if I want a property, I often use a large deposit payment as a signal to the seller that we are serious. 

In the overheated market of recent years its things like this that may make all the difference. 

Now all that remained was the inspection.  In buying country property I find sellers are funny when it comes to inspection.  They sometimes seem to take offense to the fact that you want to carefully look at the property.  I have had sellers walk away from a signed and agreed commercial deal because they refused to allow a proper inspection.  They insisted that the property was sold "As is as is".  I walked.  If I want to bet on the gambling table I will go to Las Vegas. 

To inspect country property you often have to use different resources.  In a case like the one the property was on well water and septic so the above ground inspection is performed separately from the below ground. Little did we expect what we would face coming from below the ground in this case? 

For the below ground I often want to do the inspection before I bid.  I find the inspection cost is very modest compared to what you may find particularly if the septic system has to be lifted and replaced.  It often is classified as contaminated waste and we all know what the cost of handling this is.  This leads to the funny request of a seller, that I offer to pump out his septic system for free, even before an offer is on the table. 

I know most purchasers would not be caught dead with a septic pump out truck operator. My advice is swallow your pride.  My paternal grandmother came from a long line of highland Scots.  They have a saying that applies," He who pays the piper, calls the tune". 

In the case at hand we decided to do the building inspection first.  I use a specialist who can inspect both commercial and residential property.  Our problem was the farmhouse.  We were unable to contact the tenants, so in accordance with local law and practice we posted a notice on the door, waited 24 hours, and arrived for the inspection. 

We did the commercial building first.  Normal concerns; some roof work was needed but after 20 years with a tar and pea gravel built up roof, we had expected it and priced it in.  A couple of plate glass windows were fogged but again already budgeted for. 

Finally after a coffee break we went to the farm house.  We knocked on the rear door which opened onto the kitchen.  We got no response, and using the key supplied by the owner we went into the kitchen.  Let us say we were surprised with the paint scheme.

We next proceeded to the main bathroom.  Stranger and stranger.  I have been in a lot of bathrooms over the year but this is the first one I have seen painted "BLACK". Even the bathtub was tiled black. If I ever had to replace the tenants I knew where I would advertise for a new tenant.  A goth would love the place. 

At this point my inspector wanted to go to the basement.  He had some concerns about the wiring and wanted to look at the electrical panel.  He was right; knob and tube wiring which is a major concern as most insurers will not insure it.  This was one factor we had not allowed for in our pricing as it is only possible to see during an inspection. Replacing the wiring in a house is expensive.  I had a contingency fund for unexpected expenses but this would exhaust it.   

While in the basement we decided to inspect the rest of the basement for leaks.  The basement was old and musty.  Everything was covered with cobwebs. While my inspector concentrated on the furnace, I looked over the rest of the basement.  Over in a corner I saw it.  Like all things you do not expect at first I did not believe my own eyes.

I called my inspector over.  In thirty years in the inspection business he had never seen anything like it.  "A coffin!!!!"   It being daylight of course as was to be expected, it was closed. 

In recounting the incident to my lawyer later, I asked him for a professional legal opinion.  "Was the coffin a chattel or a fixture?"  He replied that he did not consider it a fixture because it was unbolted to the floor, but that he understood that the rules may be different in Transylvania. 

Normally we do the property management for our own buildings. In talking to the real estate agent who was enquiring how the inspection went, I asked if he knew of a building management company that worked after dark.

We never did buy that property.  In a later inspection of the septic bed the nice row of cedars turned out to be growing right over the septic system.  There were a couple of other issues that we decided were too expensive to fix for the price.  The owner unfortunately would not budge. 

Was the coffin occupied? Only two people know for sure; myself and the inspector.  Was it part of the act of the two so called ?musicians' who were the supposed tenants? Or was there a more sinister secret.

Come to think of it though not long afterwards, my wife of 30 years started to complain, that she was having difficulty sleeping during the times when the moon was full. 

 

12

Questions and Answers / Re: Re: What's the best item you have found in a tax sale property?

« on: May 21, 2021, 10:43:42 AM »

Dave found a coffin with a dead body in. 

Jayz:

Actually I thought you did the best in the tax sale you won in Havelock.  I thought you said you made out like a bandit.
There maybe some basis in fact.  https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/5843865-bank-robbery-mystery-still-captures-the-imagination/

13

Announcements / Re: Re: Every One was asleep at White River

« on: April 30, 2021, 04:43:23 PM »

So free firewood at one and free crystal meth at the other ...The bonuses just keep coming.

The real bonus maybe coming soon  next in the Town of White River.  10 out of 13 properties did not receive a bid so now they maybe will go for surplus sale with no minimum.  
Think of the potential 10 properties X 1 dollar = 10 bucks to become the land baron of White River.

Worried about global warming "The Coldest Spot in Canada 72 below Zero"

14

Announcements / Quinte West Dwellings -Make sure you make a careful visit before you bid

« on: April 21, 2021, 04:40:47 PM »

One of the dwellings had a Maple tree fall on it

Another was the scene of heavy chemical drug use and I am not sure if chemical drugs were manufactured there.

15

General / Re: Re: Ramara in progress ... LOSING THE PLOT

« on: December 10, 2020, 07:15:46 PM »

I have always considered one of the key points of this site is to warn people of land mines.  By telling people of serious issues  we eliminate overpayers and hopefully someone warns us of other landmines.

Over the years we have all lost bids to people who overpaid as they didnt know of serious issues.  

We obviously do not disclose gold mines to each other but we should warn of the landmines only on the hope that someone will do the same in the future.

I didn't bid on this as I had no interest but  if people knew about the retaining wall it should have been posted.

Just my two cents.....

PFM:  

I did warn the wining people only 3 hours after the bids had closed.  They have/had almost 14 and 28 days to decide if they wish to proceed and if not we will all know of their decision if it tenders again next year.  
 The only thing I did not do was warn people in advance but I did warn them in time to cut their possible losses.  I know of other ways but that is not in the public domain.    

Tax sales are a high risk investment and if you cannot afford to lose 20% of your bid you should not be bidding.   As someone I know from another arena
arena once said "If I ain't losing some I ain't bidding it right. (because  I am overpaying.) Yes I have walked away from my deposit also.

I personally have given a lot of warnings and received a lot of flak for them because people have in effect accused me of spreading false news.

Bee:  The Municipality usually will not tell.  Obviously some people knew (I know of at least one other). The big question is how,
 but I am not telling because it is part of my art.

Too often we forget the first rule of tax sales.  'Properties appear on tax sales because there is a Problem with the property or the owner'

Second rule:  'Reread rule one'

Unfortunately I think shortly we will have to add a third rule soon,

 "Buying tax sales is like buying stocks. Any fool can buy them. The key is what you can sell them for"