More county real estate tax auction strategies

I discussed several effective strategies in my book, “Learning to play the real estate tax auction game” (now available on Amazon.com). One thing to remember is that on the day of the auction, in the heat of the battle, you may not remember all the details of every property you drove by. If you’re following my strategies from my book, you probably drove by a hundred or more houses, and after a while, they all just blend together.

That’s why as you are reviewing the properties, you do two things: You take notes, and you take digital photographs of each one from the outside. Remember of course, you can’t go in these houses, but you can drive by, and if they’re vacant, at least try to peek in the window.

What I do is park in front of the property, take some notes as I observe it, and then roll down the car window and take a digital photograph. The photo isn’t meant to be extremely detailed, but just to give me a reminder of what I’m bidding on later when I go to the auction.

As you take notes and pictures, you may get curious neighbors and passers-by wondering what you’re doing. If you just try to look like a professional, carry a clipboard or notebook with you, and don’t act suspicious, everybody will just assume you’re taking care of some real estate business and won’t bother you.

At the auction, I’ll have a list in front of me, with each property address, its key number, and a digital photograph. This is important, because the auction tends to move very quickly, and you have only a few seconds to remind yourself of the details on the property before the bidding starts.