Want Proof, go to this page and click on the proof link. You can see the actual county recorded documents for a property we purchased for $1700 and sold 4 months later for $15,000. Florida-TaxDeed Proof

One of the easiest counties in which to research a Florida-TaxDeed is Nassau County. All the information for tax deeds in this county are available on the internet.

Information via the web for this Florida county includes:

• Tax Deed File Viewing,
• Clerk of Courts Official Records Research,
• Interactive Mapping,
• Tax Deed Auction Listings.

For all of the information to be viewed, you will need Flash 7 or greater installed on your pc, you can download software from the Adobe Flash player website, the link to this can be found at the bottom of the Clerk's homepage.

Access to the Nassau County, Florida tax deed auction list is found here:
Find Auctions at Clerk's Homepage
If this link is not working Google "Nassau County Florida Clerk of Courts"

To access the tax deed auction listings follow the link from the home page, Tax Deed Sales-found under Public Records.

In the middle of this page you will find a link titled "Tribute Tax Deed Sales" which will lead you to the tax deed auction lists for this county.

For the purpose of this page we will run a search by sale date of: February, 3, 2009. Once the record is retrieved, click on the certificate number. What you are now seeing is the tax deed file, links to the Property Appraiser's Office and Tax Collector's Office.

Note:For a Florida-TaxDeed to be sold, it is required by statute that a title search "owners and encumbrance report" be conducted and certified by the tax collector prior to the advertisement of sale, the results of this can be found in the title report. The title report can be found in the tax deed file.

Scanning through pages 1-25 of this title report you will find: mortgage information, parcel map, tax info, a county lien which will need paying as the winning bidder (small amount of money), the property is homestead exempt(HX) so the opening bid includes 1/2 of the assessed value, deed and lien copies. I don't typically purchase tax deeds on mobile homes because I don't want the headache associated with insurance, storms and theft. But for the sake of education, lets press on.

Florida-TaxDeed Step 2

Property Appraiser's Data

If you use the link on the tax deed file page it will take you direct. There you will find the most current data about the property. If you use the link I provided above you will need to seek out the specific record.

Always, always make sure the legal description on the tax deed file matches that on the Appraiser's record you are looking at and the tax deed auction listing. You don't want to create a winning bid for the wrong property.

Click the "Show Parcel Map" link, once you are on the Property Appraiser's record for the property. Make sure, again, that the parcel ID/legal description matches in both locations, in case you are directed to the wrong map. I do not rely on street addresses for matching purposes due to one road may have multiple names. It is indeed a match, now check the aerial button and change the map size to large. We have improved adjoining parcels, which is a good thing.

Florida-TaxDeed Tip:If I were the winning bidder of this property at the tax deed sale, a nice tool and easy way to sell the property is to contact the adjoining property owners. This works very well with vacant land when an adjoining property is developed. Use the "Get Info" button, left click and move curser over desired property, then left click and yahoo you have the contact information for the adjoining property owner.

Back at the Property Appraisers record click the "recent sales in this area" link on the bottom of the page. Returned will be those sales closest in distance to your target, listed by date of sale. By clicking on the property id number you can access information about the specific comp.

Florida-TaxDeed Comp Data Comparison

On 2/2008 there was a property sold which resembles the target we are interested in. The comp has additional rooms, but less land and the home is a few years newer. I always map out my comps on a program such as Streets and Trips, so as to know exactly where they are when I visit my target property. In visiting the target take a quick trip around the comps to see how they stack up. Also, call numbers on for sale signs to gather information.

Prior to taking the tour, I always run a search on realtor.com to find out what properties are listed for in the immediate area.

As the winning bidder of the tax deed you will be responsible for the current years taxes. So, it's off to the Tax Collector's Office.

Florida-TaxDeed Step 3

Using the link from the tax deed file page, you will need to copy/paste the parcel id number from the tax deed file page into the Account Number box on the Tax Collector's site. A few hundred dollars in current year taxes owed. The prior years taxes which went unpaid had tax certificates issued against them will be redeemed by the party applying for the tax deed to be auctioned. This amount will have been added to the opening bid at the tax deed sale.

Florida-TaxDeed Note: If you don't conduct a search of The Official County Records as described below you may get busted up later. If you place the winning auction bid and did not conduct a lien/judgment search you may inherit these encumbrances as owner of the property. Always conduct this search for every property you intend to bid on, this a must do for all Florida-TaxDeed investors.

Locate Recorded Documents

Florida-TaxDeed Step 4

To proceed you will need the names of owners and the legal description for the property from the tax deed file. Under Public Records find, "Official Record Search". Once the search page is loaded, query the first owner.

I see liens, and releases, click on the Party name to view the documents. Which ones have been released and which ones are still unresolved.? This can be determined by comparing the book and page numbers noted within the documents. Write down the book/page numbers and amounts of liens still unresolved. These are county liens, if you win the bid at the tax deed sale for this property, you will be responsible to pay them unless there is auction overage for them to claim. (In Florida, county liens are superior) The mortgage holders are less of a concern because their interest in the property can be removed and nullified via quiet title action. (In Florida, mortgages are inferior liens as they pertain to tax deeds). For the purpose of learning, write down the book/page numbers and amounts for those as well. Jot down all the book and page numbers that were returned upon your query of owner one.

Query the second owner of the property. Cross reference the first set of book/page numbers against the second set returned under the second owner's name. Does anything new appear?

Florida-TaxDeed Tip: Certain recorded documents will not be available for online viewing such as judgments and probate records. You will have to get access for those in the tax deed file or if the file is unavailable online it will require a trip to the County Clerk of Courts Office. When viewing records at the Clerk's office, be sure to have the book and page number for the document in hand. The assistance available in the Clerks office will be limited to showing you how to retrieve the document but they will not answer questions pertaining to anything of legal nature.

Florida-TaxDeed Note:Over lunch with Clerk Office employee, I was informed that the Clerk's offices in Florida spend more time telling people they can't answer their questions than spent assisting. It is for this reason it is frequently difficult to get a return call from this office. They are constantly bombarded by callers wanting them to answer legal questions and it is a drain of resources and time. So the point is-the best way to get a return call-your number needs to be local, leave a very specific message of what you are seeking.

Florida-TaxDeed Tip: Don't call the Taylor County Clerk's Office. I have found they are the rudest in the state. Bone head Clerk over there, did in fact call me back to inform me that the county didn't have the resources or time to call me. I had called and left message in regards to property on the List of Lands Available For Taxes and left two phone numbers, business and cell. He was unhappy that he had dialed the wrong number and while I assured him that the number was operational as it is my business phone, he persisted. So I informed him that I wouldn't want to further hinder the counties ability to poorly manage their affairs and bid him farewell.

Now its time to measure your research success by returning to the tax deed file and viewing pages 1-25 again. Does your title research match that of the owners and encumbrance report? If so, Great!

I purposely selected this property to research due to its simplicity. In many cases you will be required to search out derivatives of a name i.e. Fred instead of Fredrick or search by last name only. Because the most recent conveyance had been by warranty deed, there wasn't a long list of prior owners to search for. Had the most recent conveyance been by a different instrument, i.e. quit claim deed, I would then seek out information on those prior owners as well. Thus, continuing backwards in time until I found a warranty deed. All along the way, taking note of any judgments or liens to find those which would survive tax deed issuance. To find out what survives see my prior pages.

I would also highly recommend conducting a search by legal description in the Official Records. This is best achieved if the property lies within a subdivision. This can also act as a measure against what was found in your name query and against the report found in the tax deed file.

I am searching the records as of 1/5/2009 so if you are searching the records after the date of auction you are likely to find a conveyance from the Clerk of Courts to the winning bidder. If that winning bidder has initiated a quiet title action you will also find a Lis Pendens recorded in the official records. Likewise, you will also find the owner of record on the Property Appraiser's data to be different. The property will be assessed to the winning bidder at the tax deed sale. If this is the case the names queried for your title research should be those 2 owners found on the title report in the tax deed file.

If the websites directed in this page are obsolete, the information will still be accessible at the Clerk of Courts Office and other offices listed here.

Florida-TaxDeed Step 5

With all your recent sales data, listing prices, comps, map from the Property Appraiser's Office, title research, you are ready to set sail.

Florida-TaxDeed Note: There is one additional thing to consider. Quiet title actions, which have been discussed on prior pages will be discussed more thoroughly at the end of my page progression for tax deed information. For now, I will tell you that a typical attorney represented quiet title action( all defendants are in US with 6 or fewer parties of interest) can be concluded in under 3 months and the total cost should be between $2-3 thousand dollars. If you are combining multiple properties on a single quiet title action the price should reduce substantially. In my prior pages you can find additional details about quiet title actions and what to watch out for.

The information found here is my opinion and should not be interpreted or construed as legal or professional advice. No legal or professional advice is being given and the use of this information is at the readers own risk and peril. It is advised that those considering this investment should seek qualified legal and professional services.

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What is & Why buy Tax-Foreclosure Properties
Tax-Foreclosure Investing Tips.

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TaxForeclosure Property over-the-counter "OTC"
TaxForeclosure Investing over-the-counter. Buying without the auction.

Buy Escheated "Surplus" Government Property
Locate surplus auctions for government property. Federal/State/Local government surplus auctions happening in your state, get free info.

Florida-TaxDeed Tips
Bidder Tips and Strategy, what you don't know can hurt you. Details on liens/judgments/encumbrances that survive tax deed issuance.

Tax-Deed Information
PreAuction Checklist, Official Records, Tax-Deed Files.

Florida Tax-Deed Info
Step By Step Tax-Deed Research

Tax-Deed Tutor
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Tax Deed Strategy
Sometimes the best strategy is to buy direct.

Public Records Research For Tax Deeds
Locate vital information for success.

Florida Quiet Title Action
What you need to know.

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