@JeepPilot Take money.

@JeepPilot House Car what type of property are you buying .

Interested in the vacant lot next door to my house.

I would just suggest do your research on what its worth and how much taxes are and of course what can be done with lot based on set back rules. The demo guys told me set back for house is 10% of lot size so that could cut into size of building.

Be careful. If you do your research thoroughly things will work out. If not, there could be some surprises along the way. The laws vary from place to place including what is the proper form of payment. I have never bought property at auction but know a couple of people who have. Things worked out because they had done all their research.

BB,
What sort of surprises do you mean? I'm new so guidance could help.My main reason for buying the land is so I can keep my garden lot. I don't plan on building a house or anything like that.

@JeepPilot In one of the cases I know of, some family members of the owners who had not paid taxes, came forth and stalled the proceedings a bit claiming all kinds of things. The sale of the land went through in the end but in the mean time it was a headache. Buying a house in auction can be really interesting-------squatters and adverse possession. It goes on more than people realize. Regarding finances, laws vary all over the place . It is about how much deposit must be made to be able to bid. Some places require cashiers check only. Other places will accept a certified check with other papers from the bank including a signature guarantee medallion. Not everyone that works in a bank can give a signature guarantee medallion.

@JeepPilot Then you just need to figure how much are willing/able to pay and how much will the taxes be. Then like Billy says how do they accept payments that should either be online or a phone call. I would suggest calling you will get way more info from a 5 minute phone call than hours searching online. BTW love the plan your lot wold be tiny otherwise.

Make sure the back taxes are paid in full. Make sure any contract is subject to clear title. You can call the Supervisor of Assessments and they can let you know the tax status.

JnJ, I just called that office and verified that there are no back or current taxes owed. Sweet.I wish this was city and not county owned. I've been taking care of this property (mowing, snow, weeding, clearing downed branches, etc) since I moved here in 1999. The landlord never took care of anything, and when the house was demolished I just decided it was the thing to do. I had heard that the city might handle the property sale differently instead of making me go through the hassle and expense of the auction.

@JeepPilot Is there a starting bid?

650 I think

@Jeep Yes, starting bid is $650 and your first taxes will not be do until next year. The city/county can't tell you if it has a clear title or not, so they recommend you have a title search done. That can cost anywhere from $200 -$500Even though it's a vacant lot, if it is right next to your property, I would recommend having it "joined" to yours. Otherwise the vacant lot will be listed as "non owner occupied" and you'll pay more in taxes.

@kraziebill : If you end up paying $650 or so for the property the taxes will be negligible. The cost of having legal work done to "join" the properties would far surpass any tax benefit, and that is even if they can be joined.

Years ago, in another house, our next door neighbors had some land between their house and ours. They had their own drama and soap opera going nonstop. It appeared that they might be selling part of the land. If so, we were interested in buying and "joining" it to ours. We were told about the hoops we would have to probably jump through etc. to do so In the end, the soap opera and drama stopped and things worked out for them and they did not sell any land. Again, a different location so things do vary on these issues.