Abandonment occurs when an owner, renter or occupier of real estate effectively leaves his property, surrendering all right to it without legally naming a successor to all his rights and obligations. This most usually happens because of some problem facing the owner, such as impending foreclosure or eviction. Most such abandonments then usually revert to whoever holds prior or superior interest in the property, namely to a mortgage or holding company, who tries to salvage the loss with a resell.

Obviously, abandonment of property radically exasperates whatever problem previously existed with the property and the obligations of ownership or tenancy, especially when there is no clear rightful owner. If no entity comes forth showing rights of reversion, then usually the state takes possession and eventually sells it in auction. Some opportunities do occasionally arise with abandoned properties, but one must exercise care in investing therein, due to the risk of an hitherto unknown owner suddenly appearing after you have purchased the property.

Other problems that may arise with abandoned property is the lack of care that that the property may have received during the tenancy of the previous owner, or the outright neglect it has borne. It is always advisable to have property inspected before purchase, but with an abandoned property, the need is increased to an almost necessity, especially if you have no experience in recognizing serious problems, such as foundation issues, plumbing problems or dangerous electrical shorts.

What do I need to know about Capital Gains?

When one sells a piece of real estate, one must be aware of the capital gains. After the sale, the homeowner or investor has a limited amount of time, varying in different states, in which to reinvest the funds he has realized as a gain from the sale of the real estate without being taxed on the profit.

All of the front-end expenses of procuring a new property can be deducted, such as mortgage closing costs, Realtor fees, title fees etc. Exemptions can be up to $250,000 for single tax payers and $500,000 for married couples.