What is land banking? Simply put, it’s the process of buying and holding unimproved real estate. Land banking is done for a number of reasons. Local governments can engage in it in order to preserve stretches of land or to have the option of changing their use at some time in the future. Individuals also utilize land banking as a potentially very lucrative investment.

Over the years, more than a few fortunes have been realized by way of land banking. Investors who understood the concept of purchasing – at very low prices – raw land that could later be developed became quite wealthy. But it hasn’t ended; that same concept still works today. And with the current real estate bubble continuing to burst all around us and affecting virtually every category of ‘improved’ properties, investing in undeveloped land is proving to be a very sound financial decision.

A cornerstone principle of land banking is the notion of the land’s use, not only now, but in the future as well. Unimproved land can easily be purchase with only a few hundred dollars. But the thing that will truly determine its potential value in the future is what’s known as the land’s highest and best use. In short, would the land be at its most valuable if it were used to build a manufacturing plant, or a shopping mall, or perhaps parceled out for a housing subdivision? Savvy investors use this principle to buy land that lies in the direction and pathway of economic progress. Eventually, as construction and growth move toward the property, its value begins to rise. And depending on how the land is ultimately projected to be used, the profit for the land’s owner can prove to be truly astronomical.

Land banking can be a very effective method for funding retirement. Simply purchase a piece of land that you know is in the path of growth and progress. Then take advantage of its hefty appreciation by selling it when you’re ready to retire. If you don’t want to wait that long, buy a parcel of land that isn’t being used to its highest and best purpose and change its use, or buy for pennies on the dollar.

I always purchase land for pennies on the dollar, so that no matter if I want to sell quickly for fast cash or hold on to for later use, I know that I will make a huge profit when I decided to sell. I have purchased thousands of parcels of land in the few years I have been investing in real estate, the majority I have sold quickly to gain wealth fast, some I sold on terms to create monthly cash flow and some I have chose to hold onto. Whenever you decide to sell or however you decided to sell your land it is up to you, my only advice is to remember that in the real estate world the profit is made when you buy and only realized when you sell. So always buy at a good price.

In the past few years I have transacted over 5000 tax delinquent real estate investment deals. I want to take a few minutes to answer the number one question that most people have when first hearing about tax delinquent real estate investing and that is “What are the risks involved?” This is a valid question and is something that I thought long and hard about before I began building my wealth through tax delinquent real estate.

One of the major potential risks that I hear about frequently from real estate investor “newbie’s” is “What do I do if I get myself locked into a bad deal?” Well for sure there are times when you may realize that after being half-way into a deal, it turns out to be not as good as you expected, or you come across some unforeseen circumstance that has swayed the deal in the wrong direction and you have to back out to avoid loss of profit.

Certainly in my years of experience I have come across my fair share.

What I do to protect myself from these unknown or hidden “landmines”? Well there are couple things that do. 1.) I always structure my purchase contract in a way that it allows me to have no money into the deal until the time of closing. This allows me to make all my final checks on the property within the escrow period without any obligation to pay to any money to back out of the deal. 2.) Make sure you have escape clauses that state that you have the right to back out if it does not pass your inspection.

With no money down and the option to back out, I feel that there is almost zero risk involved in any kind of real estate transaction that is structured this way. This empowers me with the ability to shore up a deal very quickly while still allowing me to sleep easy at night. Whenever I feel that there is something wrong with a deal, I can simply back out. Even though I don’t do this too often, it is still comforting for me to know that I could exercise this right, if needed.

Individual Retirement Accounts are an extremely popular means of investing. Millions of Americans have them. Unfortunately, far too many are unsatisfied with their accounts’ returns. The fact is that most Americans’ IRAs will not usher them into retirement in anything close to the style that they envision. Regardless of whether it’s a Traditional- or Roth IRA, many people’s retirement plans simply aren’t building much of a retirement nestegg. And with the beating that Wall Street and the Dollar have been taking in recent months, it isn’t any wonder.

But all is not lost. After all, land is still available. Yes, land! Raw, undeveloped, pristine land. And although you can’t buy and hold real estate in your regular IRA, you can utilize a Self-Directed IRA to do the job. What’s that, you ask? Put simply, it’s just what its name implies. ‘Self-directed’ means that you have much more control over how the money in your account is invested (you can even have checkbook control over the funds without custodial slowdowns). As a matter of fact, self-directed IRA funds can be used for virtually any of the IRS-permitted investment types, including raw land – only life insurance and collectibles are excluded.

When you think about it, self-directed IRAs and real estate match up very well together. IRA funds are generally expected to be held for a number of years in order to grow. And real estate – especially undeveloped land – is considered to be a rather illiquid investment. So it makes perfect sense to use those funds that are earmarked for long-term growth for an inherently long-term investment. A well-chosen piece of land (one that’s located in a known path of economic growth and progress) can return far more than an 8 to 12% Dow Jones investment. Good undeveloped land can absolutely skyrocket in value; and what’s more, if purchased through a self directed Roth IRA, the distribution of any earnings and appreciated equity realized from the property’s eventual sale is tax-free!

Of course, there are a number of rules to be aware of when setting up and operating a self-directed IRA, so it’s wise to seek the advice of a good financial advisor. Even though there are numerous successful techniques to buying investment acreage for short term profit, don’t forget to look ahead to the future. “It is better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret”.

When you do a title search basically what you are looking for is Marketable Title. Marketable title is really the absence of liens and clouds, the absence of IRS liens, and the absence of missing links in the chain of title.

Missing links in the chain of title could be for example when the original a person owned a property for 40 years and then passed away and his kids started paying the taxes and eventually they want to sell the property. Well if there was no probate or no will or anything like that, then there is no indication of who should receive this property. It might be that the deceased’s will was to give it to his church. It might be that he mentioned to somebody, “You know what, when I die you’ll get this property,” and this person might even have a witness. Nobody can prove anything and the only solution here is to have the heirs go through a probate procedure to clear the title. For that you or they will most likely need to hire an attorney and it will take a few months.

If you invest in such a property through a Tax Lien Sale, or buy the actual property at a Tax Deed Sale you don’t have to worry about that, on the contrary, if you find information prior to the auction that shows such an issue existing it is a Sign indicating to you that is property is more likely to go all the way to tax Lien foreclosure or all the way to the Tax Deed sale. If your investment strategy is to get the actual property, then that is a property you WANT to focus on.

Now just as a side note. Even if you buy Tax Delinquent Properties directly from the long time owners, some of my best deals came from situations like that. I bought a property in Florida where I paid for the Probate procedures having a written, legally binding commitment from the heirs to sell that property to me for around $350.00 after the probate was through. The probate cost me $2500.00 for a total cost of purchase of $2,850.00. Days later I sold the property for just under $30,000.00 CASH.

Probate issues do come up in the Tax Delinquent Property arena, but it’s usually quite easy to fix them. Most sellers were smart enough to buy a piece of land or a property or a house and take title as what is called joint tenants with right of survivorship. It means very simply that if there are two people on the deed and one of them passes away, the other one automatically owns 100% of the property. All that is needed to get the deceased party off title is to record a death certificate. But if a death certificate is not recorded, then the county does not know that that person has passed away, so therefore if the widow now wants to sell this piece of property, then there’s a cloud on title. If you buy it from her, you’re not going to have a clear title to sell until her spouse’s death certificate is recorded.

In the housing world usually most houses have mortgages. A Mortgage or A Deed of Trust with a Note is a lien against that property. However legitimate mortgages are not a problem. They technically are clouds, but they are so common that it’s just expected for them to exist. And they are easy to remove; they just need to be paid off before property ownership transfer.

Actually in many states any other lien except for government liens will be wiped out when buying Tax Liens and later foreclosing on them or when buying Tax Deeds. Make sure you check with the county officials and the statutes for your state. But if your state is one of them, then you can easily go and pretty much disregard mortgages. They just mean that the property is more likely to be redeemed because the entity holding the mortgage will not let the property go for taxes and rather redeem it themselves. But in that case you get your money back PLUS a great interest rate (usually).

When buying properties directly from the owner, you will need to find out the pay-off amount so you can determine if this property is worth your efforts. This is easily obtained by having the seller sign a simple form authorizing you or the title company to talk to the lender to get the figure, and then basically as part of the closing process you pay, or the title company pays, it off (and of course that amount is subtracted from what the seller gets for the property).

Here are two scenarios helpful in finding the properties of your choice:

1. The property has a Street address (Situs Address)

If this is the case finding the property is very simple. Go online to www.mapquest.com or maps.yahoo.com and enter the street name and the city/town name. If available, enter the zip code and the approximate property location will appear. You will be able to zoom in or out at your convenience until you can clearly tell where the property is located, relative to its surroundings. Once you identify the approximate location of the property you can then compare the detailed view of the property location (from www.mapquest.com) with the plat map on recorded with the county.

2. If the property is in an area with no street signs

In this case, we recommend obtain a detailed Topographical map available through from www.topozone.com, or you can use a good topographical mapping software such as www.delorme.com. If possible, we also strongly recommend the use of a GPS (Global Positioning System) to help you find the property location. Basic handheld GPS systems can be purchased inexpensively at any major electronic store. Ideally, such a GPS device can be connected to a laptop or handheld device running any of the major mapping software and you will have a fully functioning multi-color interactive GPS system. In such a system, you can now enter the Latitude/Longitude measurements of the property location and by using these devices it should be very easy to find the exact property location. This combination is useful for very large properties that are not located in a subdivision because the plat maps do not really show much of the surroundings and it would be easy to miss the property otherwise.

Understanding the Parcel number system

Most counties in most states have a very explicit numbering system, to identify the individual parcels and its location in the county. Those numbers in many cases also serve as identifiers for property tax collection purposes. In Arizona, the Assessor Parcel Number (also called APN) is the single most important identifier of a property. It consists of three pairs of numbers XXX-XX-XXX and sometimes also XXX-XX-XXXX (in this latter case the last number is usually a letter). The three parts of each parcel number represent the Assessor’s Book, the Page, and the Parcel. For example: parcel number 503-90-664B means that this property is mapped in the Assessor’s Book number 503, on Page 90, and it is parcel 664B on that page. In California, the numbering is similar only that there is a slight difference between the Assessor’s Parcel number and the Assessor’s Tax number (in Arizona the same number is used for both). So in order to find a property on a parcel map, just look for the last set of numbers on the parcel number and find it in the parcel map we have attached to each property listing. For your convenience, on each parcel map, we have identified the parcel to be sold at the auction, we will issue the Warranty deed within 10 business days from the day of the auction.

Looking at a plat map and/or the short legal description, how do I find out where this parcel is in relation to other parts of the County, State, or Country?

Three methods of description are used in the United States
(1) Metes and Bounds
(2) Rectangular survey
(3) Subdivision Lot and Block

Rectangular survey system (Ranges / Townships/ Sections)

The rectangular survey system is based on two sets of intersecting lines: principal meridians and base lines. Principal meridians are north and south lines, and base lines run east and west. Both can be located exactly by reference to degrees of longitude and latitude. Each principal meridian has a name or a number and is crossed by its own base line. Each principal meridian and base line is used to survey a specific area of land.

Ranges: The land on either side of a principal meridian is divided into 6-mile wide strips by lines that run north an south, parallel to the meridian. The north-south strips of land are called ranges. They are designated by consecutive numbers east or west of the principal meridian.

Townships: Lines running east and west of the base line six miles apart are referred to as township lines and form strips of land (or tiers) called townships. These tiers of townships are designated by consecutive numbers north or south of the base line. The township squares formed by the intersecting township and range lines are the basic units of the rectangular survey system. Theoretically, townships are six miles square and contain 36 square miles.

Sections: Each township contains 36 sections. Sections are numbered consecutively, 1 through 36, with section 1 being in the upper right-hand corner of the township. Each section contains 1 square mile, or 640 acres of land, and is commonly divided into half sections (containing 320 acres), quarter section (160 acres), and further divisions of halves and quarters for reference purposes.

For example:

The E 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of Section 17, Township 14 North, Range 4 West of the 6th Principal Meridian.

In the above example, the land described would have an area of 80 acres (the NW1/4 equals 160 acres; of this equals 80 acres). Generally, the smaller a parcel of land is, the longer its legal description will be.

Subdivision Lot and Block

The third method of land description is by lot and block number in a subdivision plat. When land is subdivided by its owner, the first step is the preparation of a plat map survey by a licensed surveyor or engineer. On this plat, the land is divided into lots and blocks, and streets or access roads for public use are indicated. The lots and blocks are assigned numbers or letters.

#1. Source: Real Estate Fundamentals, 6th Edition, 2003. Gaddy Jr., Wade E., Hart, Robert E.

Imagine the mere possibility of buying tax delinquent real estate for peanuts and then reselling them for 50 times the price you paid for it all in the same month. Now think of how you can profit from real estate without ever leaving your job, or having to invest your life’s savings in it.

This is Not Get –Rich- Quick Scheme

Unlike the so-called get-rich-quick schemes out there that are created by the ever-increasing real estate hype, my “Land For Pennies Intensive Workshop” gives you the practical knowledge for becoming successful in the tax delinquent real estate investing arena. If you have tried many methods and read countless books explaining the theory of successful real estate business to no avail, you must hear me out…

What is “Land For Pennies” all about?

Walk in to my office in Phoenix, Arizona for one of my workshops and my team and I will introduce you to the world of making millions. We will give you all the knowledge and practical know-how to create your own tax delinquent real estate kingdom. When you’ve implemented the system we teach you, you’ll make massive profits, clear the way to a constant source of monthly income and you’ll collect a retirement portfolio of real estate owned by you; legally and free of any title claims or mortgages.

You only need the desire to learn how to do it. We give you all the tools you need to become a tax delinquent real estate champion in no time at all. As part of the three-day workshop, you get the knowledge, tools, software, contracts and access to my personal list of buyers.

How It Works?

How do we help you with all of this? By showing you, hands on. We give you in-depth knowledge about how the system works and walk you through our operation from the ground up.

Here is your Opportunity…

If you have thought about investing in real estate, the only reasons you’ve held back all this time would be because of the lack of information and or the fear of losing your hard-earned money. With our three days to success workshops, I will guide you through a proven and guaranteed successful system to realize your financial dreams. I myself was a struggling immigrant from Germany only a few years ago. I came to America with only 2 suitcases to my name and from there I grew my real estate business and realized the American dream. Over 5,000 transactions later I have decided to share my proven techniques so that you too can obtain your goals and find success through real estate.

If you learn the techniques that I write about, then you will make loads of money! One of the biggest benefits of investing in tax delinquent LAND is that there is little to no competition, especially if the buy the property before it goes to auction, or even better, before it is schedule for auction. Metropolitan areas have a little more competition then rural areas do, so I focus on the later. I have discovered a way to find out who is not paying their taxes years before anyone else knows. I filter down this valuable data into a subset of records and use creative techniques to contact the record’s owner. Then I wait for the phone to ring. My phone rings all the time and this is good because every time it rings it usually means that I have a deal.

Doubters

Many people shy away from tax delinquent investing because they figure that any properties that are tax delinquent must be just junk properties. The reality though, after doing over 5,000 transactions, is that the majority of the time, this way of thinking proves to be just not true and the occasional junk property that does come my way doesn’t make it pass my signing desk. The way I buy and sell real-estate is very low risk and will make you huge profits. What huge profits and little to no risk? …what more can you ask for? I can’t think of anything either, so ok let’s move on…

Land is the ticket

I like I said earlier I mainly focus on land rather than houses. There is plenty of forgotten land out there to find and buy. These perfectly great neglected gems you can pick up for literally pennies on the dollar. And the other great thing about land is that you do not have to worry about termite checks, things of that sort and all the other baggage that comes with houses. Also as I mentioned earlier there is virtually no competition. I am usually the only investor around who is interested in land opposed to houses, let alone Tax delinquent land.

Now I must mention that you do need to do a little research to make sure you are buying exactly what you think you are. Make sure you have a free and clear title and do some research on the location of the property. Other then that you do not have too much to worry about.

Risks

Remember never put money down on a property. Make sure your offer and purchase contracts are worded such that cash is only transferred at the time of closing and it is important to have an expiration date. If I decide that I do not want a property, then I simply back out and my contract allows me to do so. Find yourself a good attorney to custom create a purchase contract and offer letter that will keep you safe. These legal documents are well worth the cost and can pay for themselves many times over.

I wish you much success in your real estate investing future!

If I told you about the secrets of becoming a rich real estate tycoon by working less than 10 hours a week, would you believe me? Probably not, because if someone told me that same thing a few years ago, I would have just laughed at the very thought of it. Nevertheless, over the years, trial-and-error has taught me that it is possible, and with this revelation, I am going to show you how you can do it too.

Who I am?

My name is Jack Bosch and I came to America from Germany in 1997 with nothing but two suitcases, a decent education and a mountain load of student loans back in Germany. It took me two years to “discover” the amazing secrets of buying and selling real estate without losing a penny or spending more than a few hundred dollars for each property. While researching on how to do these incredible investments, I still had to keep my day job until my Green Card came through. Thanks to a process that took more than two years to crack, I not only learned how to be successful in the usually highly completive real estate investment arena, but I also discovered a little known technique that would allow me to obtain the American dream in only a few years by working primarily part time in the beginning only spending around 10 hours a week on investing. Luckily I have documented every step, store and trick of my startup experience; each mistake and each success. This I pass gladly pass on to all who have a desire to learn.

Take Advantage from my Experiences

Armed with this information and backed by over 10 years of practical experience, I show people how to invest their dollars in simple amounts and make incredible profits. Over the past 10 years, I have closed more than 5000 real estate transactions and made a profitable income of over $ 25 million. To this day I still actively invest in real estate using the very same techniques that I teach.

So, what exactly am I talking about? Low-cost, tax delinquent real estate investments– you buy real estate that are delinquent in taxes for an amount between $100 and $2000 and sell them for tens of thousands of dollars; you will not have much, if any, competition and you can do it in your spare time. You can make 10 to 50 times the amount promised by traditional Money Markets, mutual funds and stock trading.

If I can achieve it, so can you!

Getting to this point where I am my own boss and free from financial worries was not an easy task. I made every mistake you can possibly think of and then some. When I finally figured the system, my business became a gold mine. I have made millions out of this system, and I promise you it is not a get-rich-quick scheme. I am the living proof of a successful property buying and selling system that I have taught many of my students.

If I, an immigrant starting out with no money and no knowledge about real estate whatsoever can make it, so can you!

When you set out to invest in Tax Delinquent property you will have to do a little research on the properties you are investing in before buying them. That is only common sense.

However, whether it be through a Tax Lien, Tax Deed and even through my Direct Investment method, where you buy Tax Delinquent properties directly from the owners circumventing the auctions and for pennies on the dollar, you don’t know in advance which of the properties you are actually going to be able to buy.

And therefore you want to as little time and money in advance on doing research on properties you might not own. Just enough to make sure you know what you get into and you can make sure the properties you are looking after are quality properties and not some strip of land 5 feet wide but 5,000 feet long.

So here is what you do.

1. Go to the county and find the Tax Collector / Treasurer. From him, get a list of the properties coming up for Tax auction or the list of the properties left over from the last Tax Lien Sale.
2. At the Tax Collector identify a list of properties you are interested in based on their APN (assessor Parcel number which if you know how to read it tells you where approx. the property is located in the county)
3. Write down all APNs for the properties you are looking for and then go over to the Assessor’s office.
4. At the Assessor’s office, look at each map for each property to make sure their shape and form is fine with you. Again sometimes 1 Acre can be a property that is perfectly square and sometimes it is a property that is 10 feet wide and 4356 feet long. That adds up to 43560 Square feet which equals 1 acre. Obviously you would not want such a property.
5. Once you now reduced the list of properties you are interested in, go to the Recorder’s office (also called sometimes the Clerk’s office) and do a Quick Grantor Grantee search (also called a preliminary title search) to check if there are any alarming documents recorded against hat property.
6. Now you have your final list of properties and you spent perhaps at the most ½ day doing this. Now take your final list get a map of the county/city and pinpoint each property there.
7. Then go and create a route plan and inspect the properties