| Potential Pitfalls of IRS Liens | | | | yourself, you may not need title insurance. |
| IRS liens are incurred when a property owner does | | | | The Land Profit Generator will teach you everything |
| not pay their federal income taxes. Although they are | | | | you need to know to do your own title searches. It is |
| rare, it is important to be knowledgeable about IRS | | | | pretty easy once you know what to look for. Given |
| liens because they do not go away. They are | | | | that most counties now maintain online property |
| attached, like glue, to the property of the delinquent tax | | | | records, you can even do this from home. If online |
| payer. The lien follows the property whether you are | | | | access is not available, you will have to visit the county |
| aware of its existence or not. That is why it is critically | | | | courthouse or clerk's office in order to do your |
| important to do a thorough title search on any property | | | | research. |
| you are considering. Never purchase a property | | | | One final note: In some cases, it still makes sense to |
| without completing this step. | | | | purchase a property with an IRS lien. For example, if |
| Consider the following scenario: when you buy a | | | | you locate a property that is worth $50,000 with a |
| $10,000 property that has a $50,000 IRS lien, proceeds | | | | $5,000 IRS lien, and you obtain the property for |
| from the sale will go to satisfy the debt to the IRS. | | | | $10,000, you will still make money. You can pay $15,000 |
| You will end up with nothing which is obviously a | | | | to purchase the property and clear the lien, or |
| situation you want to avoid. | | | | negotiate the selling price down to $5,000 to |
| Keep in mind that title searches are essential, but title | | | | compensate for the lien. Either way, you are still only |
| insurance is not. Title companies charge a fee for | | | | paying a fraction of what the land is actually worth. |
| issuing title insurance after completing their title search. | | | | IRS liens are uncommon, but they can be devastating |
| In the event an issue surfaces down the road, the title | | | | when you don't find out until after purchasing the |
| company is responsible for any expenses associated | | | | property. |
| with resolving the issue. But if you do a thorough job | | | | |