Paying taxes due on a property allows you to obtain, from the Maryland County government in question, a tax lien on the property. This is an obligation for the current owner to pay you back for the taxes you paid, plus extra fees over time.
It also allows you to pursue a foreclosure on the property if the owner does not pay you back in time. This can be an extremely affordable way to acquire property in Maryland. Especially if you work with an experienced tax lien attorney to help guide you through the different costs, procedures, and legal steps required in Maryland’s counties.
An IRS tax lien on the home means that the current or former owners failed to pay their property taxes, and now a debt, sometimes quite significant, is tied to the property. If you buy it, that debt passes to you, so you should proceed with extreme caution (and legal advice).
Buying property with a lien on it is often frowned upon by real estate agents and banks alike; it significantly complicates the process and can end up costing you more than the property is worth. This is because you will then have to repay the lien or end up losing the property to foreclosure.
On the other hand, that lien is also an opportunity. By working with a real estate tax lien attorney, you might be able to buy the Lien instead of the property and foreclose on it yourself. This could allow you to get the property at a far lower cost and not have to worry about the lien.
If a property owner fails to pay their property taxes in Maryland, a tax lien on that property will eventually be put up by the government to try and collect what they can from private investors. The exact amount you must be behind on and the period of time before which the government can put that tax lien up for sale depends on the specific Maryland county.
Generally, however, the government has to give property owners a thirty-day notice before advertising the lien for a Tax Sale auction. Then, they have to publish that lien in one or more local newspapers for four consecutive weeks before it can be put up for auction.
Finally, once it is purchased at the Tax Sale auction, the government has, generally, six months to provide the Tax Lien certificate that allows the purchaser to collect on those unpaid taxes, plus fees, or force a foreclosure on the property within two years, after which the certificate expires.
It is entirely possible, and occasionally quite lucrative, to buy foreclosed homes in Maryland. These are properties that have been (or are being) seized and reclaimed by lenders to pay for debts on the home (often mortgage liens or tax liens).
You can buy the property before the foreclosure occurs (pre-foreclosure purchase), much like you would acquire any home. Alternatively, you can wait until it is put up for auction during the foreclosure process. Finally, for homes that were not purchased at auction, you can buy them directly from the bank or other lenders after the foreclosure.
Each option has its own advantages, constraints, and costs. As a result, working with an experienced local real estate foreclosure attorney is advisable.
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