3 Fatal Mistakes in Buying Land

http://www.3fatallandbuyingmistakes.com Hi, Mark the LandGeek here. Let's talk about those 3 fatal mistakes that I see the average real estate investor making every single day. First big mistake -- you've got to call the county recorder and confirm that that seller owns the property. So what do you do? First of all, you find out exactly what county that property is located in. Then you quickly go on at naco.org, and it's www.naco.org. That lists all the counties in the country. Do a quick search. You can do with the state, you can do the county -- whatever you want to do, but make sure you go there. Then all you need to do is if you don't want to talk on the phone, you can email the recorder and simply ask who owns this property at this legal description. They will email you back where they'll tell you it's Frontier Equity Properties LLC. When was it recorded? And that gives you a big clue as to how long did that seller own that property. Are they buying it for long-term? Are they flipping it? What's going on with that property? It kind of gives you a little bit more in the story anyways. So now you've got that information. Again, email our seller now and say, "Hey, can you fax me or email me a copy of your recorded deed for that property?" When they do it, we get to go, to take some time, a little sketchy. If they don't do it at all, don't buy the property. What I have seen is people go online and they can just easily copy now whatever ad is online and say, "Hey, that's my property". They can use a fake PayPal account or a fake Escrow account and take people's money. The typical term for this is a 'phishing' scam. That is the number one fatal mistake that I see people make. You've got to confirm that that seller owns that property; otherwise, who knows what you are getting into. Now there are situations where I have actually sold property on an auction and that's a whole other ballgame because I am just controlling that. If that's the case, then you need to have a copy of the auction agreement to see that they are controlling that property. Otherwise, look out - not a good thing at all! All right, second most fatal mistake I see the average real estate investor making online is they get really excited about the property. They are going to build their dream home there or they are going to put their RV on the property. They are just going to camp out and hang out six months out of the year, or they are going to raise sheep, they are going to do something cool on that property. But they don't confirm with the County Planning and Zoning Commission if what their use for that property is allowed. And so they will invest thousands of dollars, ultimately to be disappointed, and 99.9% of the sellers out there, they don't guarantee that property. You are stuck with it and now whatever dream you had to do on that property is wasted, and then you've got to go on and try to resell that property and so whole hassle and just a big bar of disappointment. So, what do you do? Like we did with the first mistake, we've got to contact the County Planning & Zoning Commission. We are going to go back to our website www.naco.org. We are going to find our county and we are going to call or email planning and zoning. We are going to give them the legal description of that property along with the assessor's parcel number and we are just going to ask the questions -- what restrictions are on this property? What can I do on this property? Can I build a house? Can I raise sheep? Can I camp? Can I put my RV? All these things are very important when trying to determine that your use for that property is allowed. So it's very, very important that you do that. The third most common fatal mistake I see buyers making every day and being really, really disappointing with their purchase, is not calling the County Treasurer to confirm that the taxes are paid current. This one is really something that I have seen time and time again, bite people on the tush. So it's really important that again, we are going to go back to our site www.naco.org -- N-A-C-O, we are going to find our County Treasurer, then we are going to shoot them an email -- again, with the legal description and assessor's parcel number and that information you should be able to get from your seller very easily and it should be on the ad. If it's not, you need to email your seller and get that information. And then you are simply going to confirm the taxes are paid current. If they are not paid current, you need to email your seller and ask them, "Who is responsible for these back taxes? I assume you are." If they say, "Oh, you are responsible for those back taxes", then you've got a decision to make. Well, how much are they if their owner is going to pass on that deal? If they are reasonable and you are getting at a good price, well, maybe pay the back taxes -- big deal. http://www.3FatalLandBuyingMistakes.com

Comments

1. Thank you so much for this valuable info.
2. wouldnt the title check confirm and cover if there were any owed taxes or liens on the property? i mean, what else is it for then if not?
3. Mark, Can you find me a property? I am the Dallas area?
4. great advice for a newbie✅
5. I am SO glad i watched this video.
   U would think; " Thats just Common Sense"- Yeah, if u think about doing it BEFORE u make a move- Not AFTER.👍
6. Escrow will find everything out for you
7. Fatal mistakes?  You can buy land, make a mistake, and die from it?You should not use words that you do not know the definition of.
8. There was a case here awhile ago where someone bought a home and assumed the land was include with it, as you would, but it was not. They had to jack up the home and move it away.
9. Begging government for their blessing to do what you want on your own property. What a joke.
10. TKS Mark, I hear the old saying's never smarten up a chump, And never give a sucker an even break. But you have thank you.
11. Wouldn't most of these issues be avoided if you just use and escrow:m/title co for the transaction?
12. Hiiii, Maaark, This legal description thing costs moneeeeyyyyy!. Why not just ask for the tax assessors card information from the seller! Contact the county Tax Assessor on your own and avoid all the scams! NACO, your ass! Have you ever seen a legal description?
13. how much $ does the BLM, NPS, USFS, ETC... pay in property tax?
    can we put a lean on it?
14. if you are required to pay a reoccurring tax on something or you loose it, you don't truly own it.
15. And the zoning issues are a majority government greed issue. Houston does decent. A town near by with no zoning laws does great. If I buy my own land the government should have little say in how it's used unless it's to harm others.
16. Excellent tips. Thank you very much.
17. All good advice. It would wise to become familiar with running title at the county clerk and recorders office if you serious about purchasing properties. If you can trace the property from present to inception (usually when the federal government deeded it to a private owner {depends on location though, think 13 colonies}) then you will know exactly what you are buying. Most landowners don't even know exactly what they own; i.e. if they have mineral rights or if there are encumbrances on the land. Becoming familiar with running title, while it is a lot of work, can save a lot of headache down the road.
18. Geez just ask all this stuff in advance otherwise you're screwed.
19. thank you for video, I am planning to buy long distance buy end of year. very helpful
20. Why call so many places? All this info is freely available online on the county website, the APN gives you the address, owners names, all recorded transfers and images of documents, all building permits applied and issued, all the tax information, property tax payments, and tax bills, and you pay property taxes online on their website too. You can find out everything about the property online. Now, how is it even possible to buy a property that's not the owner's? This is the title company job is to ensure the seller is legit, there are not liens and encumbrances, and if they are any, they get satisfied from the escrow before the seller gets paid from escrow, and you get a title insurance, so I am not sure how someone can get scammed.