Many of you know you can earn 18% interest in Florida Tax Liens AND these investments are NOT 100% safe as some of the guru’s would make you believe.  That time of year has come around again and I realized I spend a lot of my time researching properties for various reasons.  Researching liens on existing properties is a critical part when determine which lien to invest in, but it also got me to realize all of the other reasons I find myself spending HOURS scouring County web-sites.

If you remember on one of the recent support calls, “What Happens to Properties Acquired During Fraud?“, I was presented with a long list of affordable properties.  In researching the titles and liens, I uncovered some discrepancies that only resulted in more questions.  The person sending me the list was someone I trust, yet there were odd issues involved that I couldn’t understand.  It was a great call and I recommend you listen to it.

Then, just the other day I had the opportunity to purchase a “Contract for Deed” for very affordable price.  So again I began my research on the property in question.  In this particular deal, 2 people were on the original deed, yet the contract for deed was between only one of the original deed holders.  This set off a big red flag – needless to say I would have to get both of those on the original deed to be a part of the contract for deed AND give transfer the deed to me.

I realized that I spend countless hours looking at properties and liens so I thought it important enough for you to know how to do your own preliminary title search.

1. Issue a Google search for “xxx County public records”.  There will be a choice of county departments and links to get you where you want to go.  Some will show “Online Services”, or “Clerk Records”.
2. Enter the address as prompted, and a date range you think is feasible.
3. The results will be all records having to do with that address.  You are looking for the most recent warranty deed.  You may see some Quit Claim Deeds, but you will want to follow the trail to ensure that the owners of the warranty deed show a path to the party presenting the property to you.

In my case, I realized the original deed, and the deed of trust was in 2 names.  Yet the contract for deed was with only one of the deed holders.  Therefore, and I’m not an attorney, the “contract for deed” was not a valid contract because one of the interested parties was not included in the contract.

Would you like me to do a video on this?