Tax Deed Sales Georgia: What Does a Redeemable Deed Mean?

Georgia Tax Deed Sales are an unusual hybrid that can make you returns of 20% or more, or you could end up with real property for mere cents on the dollar. 

Ted Thomas, America’s authority on tax liens and tax-defaulted property investing, will show you:

  • What are tax deed sales in Georgia
  • How waiting can make a big difference in your rate of return
  • Top mistakes to avoid when doing Georgia Tax Deed Sales

Georgia Tax Sales Are an Unusual Hybrid

Today, I’m going to answer your questions about Georgia tax deed sales. I’m Ted Thomas, and I’ve been involved in the tax lien and tax defaulted property business for the last 25 to 30 years. I started out as an investor, and then I became a coach and a guide.

Georgia is a good place to buy tax defaulted property, which they call redeemable tax deeds.

This is going to be unusual; it’s a little bit different. We’ve talked about tax liens a lot, now we have an unusual kind of a hybrid that combines some aspects of a tax lien certificate with a tax deed.

The hybrid is a tax deed, however, they call it a redeemable deed. What does that mean?

I’m definitely going to explain that to you, and I want you to stay with me because I’ll talk about redeemable tax deeds and also give you some hints on how to avoid the major mistakes people commonly make at tax sales.

How Do Georgia Tax Deed Sales Work?

Let’s talk about Georgia tax deed sales. There are 159 counties in the state of Georgia, and all of the counties are authorized to do a tax defaulted auction, which simply means the property owner did not pay property tax.

When the owner has unpaid property taxes, the treasurer or the ex-officio sheriff, one or the other, will take action and start the process of confiscating that property. They will ultimately confiscate the property if the back property taxes remain unpaid and hold a sheriff’s tax deed sale. In Georgia, usually upcoming tax sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month.

At the tax sale they will sell a deed to the property with the opening bid beginning around the amount of the back taxes. A deed is a transfer of a property from owner to owner. In this case, they’re selling the deed to that property, but the deed is redeemable.

State Law in Georgia Requires the Deed to be Redeemable

Georgia law, and the law in four other states, require that they sell a redeemable deed, and that means the property owner can come back. Let me explain that.

You go to auction, and you bid. The highest bidder gets it. What does the tax deed purchaser get? They get a redeemable deed. The tax deed purchaser does not get possession of the property.

You do not get possession. You get a redeemable deed.

the rules of Georgia tax deed sales

The Rate of Return on Redeemable Deeds in Georgia

Anytime during the year, a one year period from the time of purchase, the property owner who has the right of redemption can return, come forward, and pay the redemption price which is whatever the tax sale purchaser paid at the auction plus a penalty. That means the tax sale purchaser receives back all of their money, plus what’s called a penalty return of 20%.

If you buy a redeemable deed at an auction in Georgia and they come in the next day and pay you, you’ll get back all your money plus 20%. If they come in on day 180, six months later, and pay, you’re going to get all your money back plus 20%. All the way up to day 365, you will make 20%.

Any time during the 365 days, the property owner can step forward and pay you whatever you paid on your winning bid at an auction. Whatever you paid, you get back 100% of your money, plus a 20% return.

After day 365, you can do a lot of things. You could actually take over the property.

This has been in place for over 200 years. If you don’t understand the rules, well, be patient. Don’t jump the gun, learn what this is. Get the auction rules.

How to Get an Even Bigger Return on Georgia Tax Deeds

Though you can actually take the property from the owner after the first year, I tell my clients do not try to take the property.

Let it roll into the second year because on day 366, the property owner no longer owes you all your money back plus 20%. They now owe you all your money back plus 30%.

Then if it goes one more year, it’s all your money back plus 40%.  It goes from 20% to 30% to 40% to 50% each consecutive year.

Think about what I just said. It’s a powerful way to make money. These are outrageous returns.

Acquiring Real Property From Georgia Tax Sales

Some people don’t want to get these returns. They want to get real property.

We can teach you in a classroom environment that certain properties always seem to go to auction. We can’t guarantee it, but they always seem to go to auction and the property owners don’t redeem. Other properties are going to redeem.

If it’s a nice property in a country club, you can be assured those people are going to redeem. If you bid and you purchased that redeemable deed, just be very patient and you’re going to make at least 20% on your money.

getting property at Georgia tax deed sales

Learning How to Invest in Georgia Redeemable Deeds

Georgia holds sales in all of their counties. Note that when I say that, if they don’t have enough properties, they don’t auction them.

The point is, the first year you’re going to make a 20% return; the second year, you’ll make a 30% return. If you don’t get paid, you are going to get the property. Something to think about.

This process is straightforward once you understand it. However, you’re going to have to spend a little time looking at the county’s public records, or get involved like you’re doing now and we’ll explain it as we go.

I have some people that have purchased as many as 100 redeemable tax deeds at Georgia tax deed sales. Think about that.

I have someone who did nearly 200 deals. Well, guess what? Lucky me, he came to work for me and now he’s a coach providing professional advice based on years of experience.

Imagine learning from Bob Schumacher, a coach who’s done nearly 200 deals at Georgia tax deed sales. That would be the place that you’d want to be.

Earn Big Profits From Georgia Tax Deed Sales

Here’s a perfect example. Bob, bought a property at a Georgia tax sale, and he got the redeemable deed for $6,000.

Now he does nothing but sit on his rusty dusty. He just waits. It’s a passive investment.

He invested $6,000, and the property owner did not step forward and pay back the $6,000. That means Bob ended up with the property. Now he can do anything he wants with the property because he owns it, so he did just that.

Bob advertised not only on Craigslist and eBay, but he put up signs on the property. He ended up selling the property for $30,000.

Let’s think about this. A $6,000 investment, and now you’ve got $30,000 in return. That’s a 500% return.

It doesn’t matter whether it took him one year or five years; he made a bundle of dough. You can do the same thing.

Investing in Property at Georgia Tax Deed Sales With an IRA

Can you do that in an IRA? Yes, you can do that in an IRA, which would mean that there are going to be no taxes due if it was a Roth IRA. That’s something to give a lot of thought to.

Tax Deeds Vs. Redeemable Deeds

With tax deeds you’re buying the actual property. However, if it’s redeemable, you have to give the property owner time to come in and redeem the property.

If they don’t redeem the property, you get it via fee simple title. Conversely, if they do redeem the property, then you’re going to get a minimum of a 20% return. I would say that’s a pretty darn good investment either way.

What States Sell Redeemable Deeds?

What are the other States that have redeemable deeds?

Texas is a populous state where they pay 25% minimum. They have redeemable deeds.

Rhode Island has redeemable deeds. Indiana has redeemable deeds, and also Delaware.

Georgia Tax Deed Sales in Big Cities Vs. Small Cities

Which is better? A big city or a small city? What really makes a difference is the county population.

If the county population is large, that means there’s either going to be a lot of tax liens or a lot of tax defaulted property. If the county population is small, then you’re going to have a smaller auction. Both are going to have auctions.

You might find dozens of properties in a place like Havasupai in Arizona, but if you went to Fort Lauderdale or Miami, you might find hundreds of properties.

Mistakes to Avoid at Georgia Tax Deed Sales

I promised you I’d tell you about two mistakes, so here they are. This is important.

Mistake #1: Not Viewing the Real Property

When people are at an auction, they can get very excited. If you’re excited, you’re going to do things that you normally wouldn’t do.

One of the things that you don’t want to do is raise your hand or your bidder card and buy a property if you haven’t taken a look at the property.

You wouldn’t marry a woman you hadn’t seen. So don’t even think about buying a property you haven’t seen. If you haven’t had your boots on the ground and your eyes on the property, then you don’t want to buy it.

Just let that go by because you don’t know what could have happened to it. There could have been a hurricane or a fire. It might even be next to a chicken farm, and you don’t want to be next to a chicken farm, I know that.

Mistake #2: Not Basing Bid Amount on Exit Strategy

Mistake number two is similar. You get to the auction, you’re excited, and the bidding’s going back and forth. You miss the one you wanted, so you get bidding on the next one.

Well, wait a minute, how can you bid on the next one unless you have an exit strategy? What’s an exit strategy? It means you know what you’re going to sell it for.

You don’t want to buy that property if you don’t know what you’re going to sell it for. Otherwise, you’ll bid, bid, bid, and you might win the auction with a bid amount that’s too high. Winning the auction is not important; what’s important is to get a great deal on the property.

However, if you don’t know what you’re going to sell it for, you shouldn’t be buying it. That’s what an exit strategy is.

Takeaway

In “Georgia Tax Deed Sales: What Does a Redeemable Deed Mean?” Ted Thomas explains that Georgia tax deed sales are an unusual hybrid and how they work.

At Georgia tax deed sales you either get at least a 20% return on your investment, or you get real property.

During the first year, whether the homeowner pays on day 1 or day 365, you get all your money back plus 20%. If you wait until day 366, you could get 30%. Or if you wait for another year after that to foreclose, you could get 40%.

If the property owner doesn’t pay, then you get the property.

Georgia tax deed sales are different from regular tax deed sales because the homeowner’s legal rights include the right of redemption. Therefore, the property owner is given a redemption period, so you don’t get possession of the property immediately.

If you’re interested in learning more about Georgia tax deed sales, Ted Thomas and his team of coaches and facilitators can help you. Ted’s team has a lot of experience with Georgia tax deed sales and can even teach you how to tell if a property is likely to be redeemed or not.

For over 25 years, Ted Thomas has been teaching students how to safely and successfully invest in tax lien certificates and tax defaulted property. Ted’s team helps students every weekday with research and auction preparation. Expert coaches dispense advice in weekly Q&A sessions about tax liens and deeds, and that includes any question a student may have about Georgia tax deed sales.

Nobody offers more support than Ted, who is the only one with a complete support system.

Watch more videos on Ted’s channel where you can learn a lot, and be sure to give yourself a big head start by getting this Free Gift from Ted which enables you to start your education now, and it costs you nothing.

Ted Thomas

Ted Thomas is America’s Leading Authority on Tax Lien Certificates and Tax Deed Auctions, as well as a publisher and author of more than 30 books. His guidebooks on Real Estate have sold in four corners of the world. He has been teaching people just like you for over 30 years how to buy houses in good neighborhoods for pennies on the dollar. He teaches how to create wealth with minimum risk and easy-to-learn methods.

The Ted Thomas Difference:

  • Ted is recognized as America’s Tax Lien Certificate & Tax Deed Authority and has been helping people with investing in tax defaulted properties for over 30 years.
  • Ted has built a team of certified coaches that have 70 combined years of auction experience and are available to his students by phone to guide and mentor you to avoid getting overwhelmed or worse, losing money
  • Ted has ironclad PROOF that what he is teaching you does work. With hundreds of successful students providing testimonials and a 4.9 Google rating which is unheard of in this industry.
  • Ted and his staff don’t hide behind a website; they can be reached during office hours at 321-449-9940.

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