Tax Lien Property For Sale - How to Find Them For Free

Finding a tax lien property for sale is pretty easy. Finding a property that is worth buying, especially in today's economic climate, is a bit more tricky. My goal with this brief article is to show you 3 different ways to find pending tax lien sales worth buying... and how to find them for free.

But first, the basics...

What are tax lien sales?

A tax lien sale is when a government agency auctions off any tax liens against a property to recoup any delinquent taxes against the property. These sales are usually conducted by the tax collectors office or the sheriff's office.

It is important to note that there are two different ways for the government to collect delinquent taxes. One would be this type of sale (tax lien sales), and the other is known as a tax deed sale.

In a tax lien sale, the investor is buying the lien itself. The winning bidder will receive a certificate at the end of the auction that entitles the investor to collect payments for the delinquent taxes, often at a high interest rate. This certificate also allows the investor to foreclose on the property after a specified redemption period if the taxes remain unpaid.

In a tax deed sale, the real estate itself is put on the auction block. The winning bidder takes possession of the property in the form of a tax deed.

Whether your goal is to invest in tax liens or to bid in tax deed sales, the first step is the same: Identifying properties that have tax liens against them.

Where are tax lien records maintained and recorded?

More times than not, tax liens are filed and maintained at the state level. This means two things for you as an investor:

1. There may be a bit more legwork involved (these databases are seldom on the internet) 2. If there is more legwork, there is a much higher chance that you will find worthwhile properties

Generally speaking, the easier it is to find an investment opportunity, the less valuable it is. As my mentor always told me... "Always look for problem properties... and look where nobody else is looking." The best deals are always the ones not many people know about, or the ones that not many people know what to do with.

With that said, this is...

How to find tax lien properties in your state

1. The county recorders office

This is the most time consuming strategy, but is very accurate. Every county in the U.S. has a place where public record is recorded. This would include things like deeds, wills, notices, mortgages and both federal and state tax liens.

Many times there will be a computer on site where you can search across the records. Doing a search for something like "tax lien" will usually uncover a vast list of properties that you can then pay to print out.

2. Tax collectors office

The tax collector usually maintains a list of properties that are going into tax deed sale as well as properties the state is offering tax lien certificates against. Give them a call to make sure they maintain such a list, and it isn't held at the Sheriff's office. Then ask what the procedure is to get one of these lists. They may give you a bit of a hard time; simply remind them that this information is public record and you should be all set.

3. Local Newspaper

As part of the sale process, the county must give "public notice" of all upcoming tax sales. These are always either before or after the classifieds. Go through this section religiously... it is your new golden goose. Make note of the properties that look interesting, and do your due diligence from there.

4. Subscription based list services

This is the only strategy that will cost you some money... which is why I didn't mention it earlier. Consider it a bonus.

Honestly, these types of services are a dime a dozen. Some are better than others. The biggest benefit is the speed that you get access to the information. Always look for ones that update often; generally speaking, locally based websites are better than national ones. If you do a basic search on Google you'll get a list of plenty to choose from.

And Remember: Always, always, always do your due diligence BEFORE going to any auction. If you do not, you will get burned.
I have a friend that thought he bought a $100,000 house for the $10,000 tax lien against it... before he realized there was an additional $150,000 "hidden" lien. Don´t let this be you.
If you've heard about what a great investment tax liens and tax deeds are, but you just haven't done anything about it because you don't know where to begin, click the following link to hear and let me introduce you to the exciting world of Tax Lien Investing http://bit.ly/14x4th9.

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Tax Lien Investing - Doing Your Tax Sale Research at the County Level

In tax lien certificate investing, there are many different strategies an investor can take. And so many factors come into play. Are you only going to research and invest in local counties,or will you invest in multiple areas and states? Do you plan on traveling to tax sales, or are you looking for counties and municipalities that offer first-run or struck property tax lien certificates online or by mail? How much time per week do you plan on dedicating to tax lien investing? What is your budget or amount of available funds?

Once you answer the questions above, you'll have a better idea of the states and counties you'll want to invest in. Once you target your states and counties, you'll want to address the following questions:

• When are property taxes due, and when do they become delinquent? In most states, property taxes are due once or twice a year. Unpaid property taxes become delinquent a few months later. Once property taxes are delinquent, the property is subject to a tax lien. It is important to know the "delinquent" dates for your state for at least two reasons: first, a tax lien sale usually follows shortly after the delinquent date; second, counties will compile a list of delinquent properties and make these available to the public. Some of these lists are offered for free online. Other counties require investors to submit a written request and charge a small fee for the list. Still other counties only submit their list to a local newspaper for publication three or four weeks before the tax lien sale.
• When are the sale(s)? Most counties hold only one tax lien sale per year and they occur about the same date every year. Some larger counties will hold sales more often. It is also important to know if the county will run the sale for more than one day.
• Are sales in person, or is there an online auction? Most tax lien sales require that the investor attends in person. Several Florida and Arizona counties offer online tax sales, including Maricopa County in the Phoenix area.
• Is assignment purchase (over-the-counter) OTC sales available? In many counties across the U.S., tax lien certificates that don't sell at the initial or subsequent tax sales become available for assignment or over-the-counter purchase.
• Can you buy OTC liens online? Many counties offer investors the opportunity to buy OTC liens online.
• Can you buy OTC liens with credit? Many counties are looking to unload their struck property inventory as soon as possible, and offering a credit option may speed up this process since not every investor has enough capital.
• How long is the redemption period? The redemption period starts the day that the tax lien is first up for sale. From this date, the current property owner has a certain amount of time to redeem the tax lien before the property becomes vulnerable to the foreclosure process.
• Does the current owner of the tax lien certificate have first rights to subsequent property taxes? In most states and counties, the current tax lien certificate holder has first rights to all subsequent property taxes until the property owner redeems the tax lien certificate.
• Does the county want/need to be actively involved in foreclosure process? In most counties, the tax lien certificate holder is responsible for starting the foreclosure process after the redemption period expires, but there are exceptions.
• What do I need to know about the foreclosure process? Things to consider are the length of the process, what kind of deed is awarded after a successful foreclosure, and what are obstructions (if any) between getting a clean title and title insurance.

In summary, first you need to decide your target state(s) and counties. Once this is determined, you need to do thorough research on each state and county, using the questions above as your model. You can find out a lot of this information online. Just input the county, state and "property tax". More often than not, you will be pointed to either the County Treasurer, County Assessor, or Tax Collector section of the county Web site. The more information you have about a county, the more empowered you will feel.

Are you looking for a better way to invest your money in 2009 and beyond? Or maybe you are just looking to make a little (or a lot) of extra money on the side? Then, you owe it to yourself to find out more about tax lien and tax deed investing.
If you've heard about what a great investment tax liens and tax deeds are, but you just haven't done anything about it because you don't know where to begin, click the following link to hear and let me introduce you to the exciting world of Tax Lien Investing http://bit.ly/14x4th9.

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Buying Tax Lien Certificates Online (PRO Tip)

                                                      
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Streamline Your Tax Lien Investing Business

If you invest in tax lien certificates, there are certain things that you need to do in order to keep your investment profitable. By automating your business, you won't miss any deadlines that might reduce your profit on your tax lien portfolio. You must keep track of when you bought your tax lien certificate, when subsequent tax payments are due, and when the redemption period ends. You will also need a system for recording liens with the county, sending out 30 day notices at the end of the redemption period, sending out requests to tax collectors for taxes due and tracking the profitability of your liens.

Let's start from the beginning. Before you even purchase a tax lien certificate, you need to contact the tax collector and get a list of the sale properties. Some tax collectors will give you a list with all the information that you need to do your due diligence, but most will not. You need a system for finding the information that you need, doing due diligence on the properties and deciding on which properties you want to bid on and just how much you can pay and still make a decent profit.

I use a software program to help me with all of this and data from LienSource, a provider of tax sale lists for some of the east coast states, including the two most popular tax lien states, New Jersey and Florida. In my software program I have all of the contact information that I need including the phone numbers and addresses of all of the tax collectors in the state. Also with my subscription to LienSource, I get updates on what sale lists are available and I have a calendar of sales for the state so that I know what sales are coming up. If I buy a list from LienSource, I can import all the data directly into the software program. The software program has it's own calendar that will show all the sales that I import as well as relevant dates for any of the liens I own, such as when quarterly taxes are due and when redemptions periods are over.

My software program allows me to print due diligence sheets listing the sale properties. I can take this with me to do due diligence on the properties. The program calculates how much premium, if any, I can pay for the properties on the list. It also allows me to print out a bid sheet listing all the properties, the way that they will be read out loud at the sale, with the maximum that I can pay for each property so that I know when to stop bidding. This way the emotion of the auction does not carry me away and I make sure that I am profitable. This is very important in New Jersey, where interest is frequently bid down to 0% and then premium is bid. You can easily loose any profit buy paying to much premium for a tax lien.

After I have purchased a tax lien certificate I use the software to track my lien. I keep track of all of my expenses, like recording the lien, and any subsequent tax payments made. I can also print out an affidavit with one click of my mouse to send to the tax collector whenever I make a payment. This is very important, because without that affidavit, you could loose any additional payments and the interest accrued on them. I can also use the software to track my current profit to date on any individual lien or my entire portfolio and it will let me know when I need to pay subsequent taxes and when a lien is ready to foreclose. I can even track the progress of the foreclosure.

I hope by now that you realize that investing in tax lien certificates is not just going to tax sales and buying tax liens. You need to do due diligence on the properties, keep up with the tax liens that you have by paying the subsequent taxes when they are due, and start foreclosure procedures when the redemption period is over. All these things take some time and effort on your part, but if you put in the time now, you will reap the benefits later. Find your own system for doing these tasks to help you streamline your tax lien investing business.

Joanne Musa works with investors who want to reap the rewards of tax lien and tax deed investing. To receive Joanne's awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

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States With the Highest Return on Tax Liens

                                                           
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Tax Lien Investing - Secrets of the Wealthy

Most people have not heard of tax lien investing. Yet there are millions of people across the country earning safe, secure, and most importantly, high percentage interest returns by investing in tax lien certificates. To put it simply, investing in tax liens is an easy, high profit way to invest in real estate, without needing large sums of money to do it.

So what are tax lien certificates?

Each year property taxes are due on all properties. The local government uses the money from property taxes to pay for various things in the community. If an owner doesn't pay their property taxes, the government still needs that money to be able to run their county effectively! So what's a government to do? They levy a tax lien against that property and auction it off at a tax lien sale. An investor, YOU, will purchase that tax lien with the understanding that you will earn a certain percentage interest rate. When the owner of the property finally pays off their taxes(plus penalty fees), the county then cuts a check to the investor for the principle amount invested, plus any interest or penalty fees accrued. The county makes out because they get the money they need to run things, the home owner or business makes out because they are given more time to pay off their taxes, and the investor makes out because they just earned a lot of money without really doing much at all!

Why should I invest in tax lien certificates?

Safety

Tax liens are sanctioned and run by the government. Your investment is protected by state law and secured by actual real estate! What other kind of investment option provides that kind of backing? Take a look at it from the other end. People do NOT want to lose their homes. So odds are they'll pay off their taxes, thus paying you off. And if they don't...you just may end up with a free property.

Minimal Competition

The great thing about tax lien investing is that, for the most part, it's a completly unknown investing option. Most people think that stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, money markets, and traditional real estate investing are the only ways to invest their money. So what you have is a very small number of people "in the know" making tons of money in an extremely low risk form of investing.

High Return on Investment

Your return on investment will vary largely depending on what state and county you are in. But to give you a rough idea, interest rates will vary from about 5% to 25%. Now, given how safe and easy this is, these kind of interest rates alone would be worth the investment. But there's more. In most cases you won't have to wait a whole year to earn your 15% interest. If the property owner pays off their taxes in one month, you'll still earn that same 15% interest, but you'll get it one months time. Freeing up your money to invest again. Lets say you take that money, and each month invest in a tax lien certificate and get paid off right away. That's 15% interest, 12 times, giving you a final return of 180% over the period of the whole year. Because interest rates are always calculated over the period of one year, this is what's called your effective return on investment. This is why investors love tax lien investing. In a state like Texas your effective return on investment can be up to 300%!

Examining the alternatives

Here are some alternative investing options that the majority of americans invest in. Included with them is an average interest rate and the degree of safety of the investment.

Savings account - 1% - safe

Money market - 1-2% - safe

CDs - 1-4% - safe(interest rate depends on length of CD

Stock market - average growth 11% - unsafe, percentages vary wildly from year to year

Tax lien certificates - 5%-300% - Safe. Government run. Enforced by state law. Fixed interest rates.

The ultimate win/win situation

So what happens if the owner doesn't pay off their taxes? Well in many states you would initiate a foreclosure on the property. The property gets auctioned off at a tax deed sale, and as the tax lien certificate holder, you get paid off first. But in other states the property is signed over to you free and clear! That's right, your small investment geared to earn 15% just earned you a free house with which you can do as you please. Live in it, rent it out, sell it, whatever you want.

Conclusion

So why should you invest in tax lien certificates? Because it simply doesn't make sense not to. If you'd like to learn more about the ins and outs of tax lien certificates or specifically about tax lien auctions, more detailed information is available.

Gregory Nirshberg owns and operates Tax Lien Investing Resource. A website dedicated to providing free quality information about tax lien certificates and the tax lien investing process.
With analysis of tax lien auctions, tax deed sales, and even tax lien investing tips for the newcomer.

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Where to Buy Tax Liens & Deeds

                                                
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

The 3 Biggest Tax Lien Myths

If you've spent anytime investing in real estate or anytime in front of a television watching late night infomercials you've probably heard the phrase "tax lien investing." Many of the so-called experts advertise high returns, real estate for pennies on the dollar and all sorts of other catchy tag lines to arouse your curiosity and sell you a five thousand dollar plus coaching package.

I'll be the first to admit that I am often one of the people who watch these infomercials or browse these tax lien sites. The headlines and promises truly intrigue me. Sure, I'd like to earn 50% on my money. Sure, I'd like to buy real estate for pennies on the dollar. But the sad reality is that all the promises you hear about tax liens are often just huge marketing ploys that no one can back up with any substantial evidence to the contrary.

Let's take a look at the three biggest myths that are often used to selling points concerning tax lien investing.

Myth # 1: Your money is guaranteed by the government.

This is an absolute false statement in every sense. When you invest in tax liens your money is never guaranteed by the government. If you invest in a tax lien and the defaulting tax payer fails to repay that lien the government isn't going to stroke you a check. Your recourse then becomes foreclosing on that lien, which is backed by some sort of real estate. In this situation let's hope you did great due diligence and that the lien isn't backed by some worthless swamp land.

The true statement is that the process is guaranteed by the government, not your money. State statues dictate what exactly happens when property owners fail to pay their taxes. None of these statues include that the government is responsible if you make a bad investment.

On a side note, I'm not even sure I'd want to invest in anything guaranteed by the government!

Myth # 2: It's a great way to get properties for pennies on the dollar.

One of the two ways to make money through tax lien investing involves foreclosing a tax lien when the property owner fails to pay the delinquent taxes, which could lead to you becoming owner of the property. This obviously sounds like an ideal situation. You pay for one year's worth of taxes and then you get to foreclose that lien if the owner doesn't pay? I suppose it could technically work like that. But it typically isn't quite that easy.

Statistics have shown that less than 5% of all tax liens even make it to the point where the lien holder is able to foreclose. That means for every 20 liens you invest in, you might have one that could potentially end up as a lien you could foreclose.

Then, once it reaches this point you don't automatically assume ownership of the property. We must remember that you own a lien on the property; nothing more. Your lien is just like a mortgage lien or a mechanic's lien. If an owner fails to pay a mortgage company they don't just take over the property without additional action. They must do it through the court system with a judge's order. Getting that judge's order will require a substantial amount of time and attorney's fees... which I can assure you will be much more than just "pennies."

Myth #3: Earn 50% interest on your money!

Again, this could technically happen, but it is nearly unheard of to receive 50% return on any tax lien investment. If this was the case, don't you think every investment broker in the country would be investing in tax liens?

Many states have maximum interest rates allowable by law for tax liens, which are set by state statue. Sure, these rates are extremely high compared to many investments and most investors would be thrilled to get a 50% return on their money. But that very, very rarely happens.

Let's take a look at the state of Florida for instance. The maximum interest rate allowed by law is 18%. Pretty good, right? Here's the reality: In 2012, the average interest rate on tax liens in the state of Florida was just 2.37%. That's a far cry from 18%. If tax lien investing was your only income source and you had $500,000 to invest every single year, you would be living below the poverty level!

Smart investment? Think again.

What's a better answer?

So, obviously I didn't write this article because I'm a negative person. My goal wasn't to disappoint you and kill your dreams of becoming a millionaire. I wrote this article to inform you about the realities of investing in tax liens.

What most experts fail to tell you is that the true money is made by investing in tax deeds... not tax liens. Many states offer an outright sale of the property if the taxes aren't paid. Other states use a hybrid system that combine tax liens and tax deeds. Regardless, either type of these systems allow you to actually invest in real estate, instead of just liens.

And yes, it is possible to buy a house for very little money sometimes as low as "pennies on the dollar." Head over to http://www.TheTaxSaleAcademy.com to view a few actual examples and to learn more about investing in tax foreclosures.

Casey Denman is a tax sale investor with over a decade worth of unparallelled experience investing in over a thousand properties in numerous states. A very active investor to this day, he is the founder of http://www.TheTaxSaleAcademy.com which teaches proven tax sale investing strategies and methods.

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investing in real estate tax liens

                                                         
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

5 Reasons Why People Fail At Tax Lien Investing

Tax lien investing is a great way to invest safely for high returns without putting your money at risk, as in the stock market, or other speculative investments. I use lien investing as a way to invest my money both for the near future - a few months to 2 years down the road, and for retirement. There are plenty of reasons that I see for investing in liens in today's market like:

• Where else can you get an 8- 36% return on your money without a lot of risk?

• A tax lien is in first position and comes before all other liens except for other government liens

• There are no brokerage fees - you can buy tax lien certificates directly from the government

• Unlike other real estate investments, you don't need a small fortune to invest, you can start with only a few hundred dollars

• You don't need good credit

• You don't even have to live in the US or be a US citizen to invest in most counties tax sales

• You can do it from your computer

• You can do it with money from you self-directed IRA and avoid paying taxes on your profit

• Thanks to our slow economy there are more liens available now than in years past

But still, some people who try it just aren't successful, and I don't want you to be one of them, so here are some reasons why people fail at tax lien investing and how you can avoid these mistakes:

Reason 1: Not investing in the right place

Not all states have laws that are favorable to investors. And even in the same state different counties may have different rules and procedures; one county may not be as good as another. Most liens will redeem so it's very unlikely that you will be able to foreclose on a property from a tax lien, and even if you do get that rare opportunity it could take you years to get the property. So tax lien investing is not a way to get property. If you want to own or flip real estate, than you need to look at the states that have tax deed sales or redeemable deed sales - not tax liens. And you will need more money for this than for tax lien investing.

It's important that you pick the right place to invest, not just the state that has the highest interest rate. Also some states just don't have much available and the competition for few liens they do have is intense. As you'll see it's important to know the rules in the state and county or counties that you're investing in before you purchase a tax lien.

Reason 2: Not researching the tax sale properties

Some people are under the impression that you are guaranteed to get paid on a lien, so you can just go out and buy any old tax lien and get paid. That's not how it works. The interest rate on your lien is "government guaranteed," but you're not guaranteed to get paid. You're guarantee is the property, so you better make sure that the property is valuable before you purchase a lien on it. Otherwise you might be able to foreclose on the property, but if you can't do anything with it and you can't sell it how will you profit?

Reason 3: Not knowing the rules

The terms of the tax sale are very important. They indicate how and when you need to register for the tax sale, what the bidding procedure is, and how and when you need to pay for any successful bids. If you don't have the proper information, you won't be allowed to register for the tax sale. And if you don't register by the deadline you won't be allowed to bid. You also need the correct method of payment. Many tax collectors will only accept a bank check (or ACH debit if it's an online tax sale) and payment usually has to made immediately after the tax sale. If you don't pay on time with the correct form of payment you could be fined, lose any successful bids, and be barred from participating in any future tax sales.

Reason 4: Not understanding the bidding process

I have seen this work both ways - people losing out on bids because they bid 2 high an interest rate or would not bid a high enough premium - and people not making any profit because they bid too high a premium or to low an interest rate. There are so many different bidding procedures that you really need to know what you are bidding at any particular tax sale. You need to know what is being bid, is it the interest rate, ownership interest in the property, or premium. And what happens to the premium if premium is bid at the sale. Do you get interest on your premium? Do you even get your premium back if the lien redeems? This could make a big difference in your profit.

Reason 5: Not having someone to help you avoid the traps

I made quite a few mistakes when I started tax lien investing back in 2002, fortunately they were small ones and I didn't lose a lot of money. There was not much available back then for me to learn from and nobody was talking about tax liens back then. So I learned by going to tax sales and purchasing liens, and yes, making mistakes. I wish I had a mentor to take me under his or her wing and show me the ropes. It would have saved me a lot of time and money!

Joanne Musa works with people who want to build an extremely profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds FAST. She is the author of Tax Lien Investing Secrets II, a complete system for learning how to invest in tax lien certificates and tax deeds for maximum profit, and founder of Tax Lien Consulting LLC, a consulting company specializing in tax lien investing coaching and education. To find out more about the steps involved in building your profitable tax lien or tax deed portfolio, go to.http://www.taxlienlady.com

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Tax Lien Investing in Your Self Directed IRA or 401K

                                                         
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Tax Lien Investing - Getting Guaranteed Return Rates With Little Risk

You may or may not have heard of tax liens before. In this article, I will just give you a little introduction to tax liens and how they may be a good investing strategy for you.

Property tax must be paid by individuals and businesses on every parcel of land in America. Depending on the state and county, property tax is generally required to be paid once or twice a year. The amount of tax on a property is generally determined by the value of the land. Since the revenue of property taxes is used by counties to fund essential municipal services like police departments, fire departments, and public schools, they must receive property taxes from everybody in a timely fashion. The problem is that for whatever reason (money problems, divorce, negligence), homeowners and business owners don't always pay their property taxes on time. That is where the tax lien investor comes into play.

After a homeowner/landowner fails to pay their property taxes for a certain period of time, a tax lien is created and placed on the property. The amount of time that must elapse before a tax lien is placed on a property varies from county to county across the country. Once a property tax lien is placed on a property, any investor can pay the back taxes and then earn incredible interest rates on that money, anywhere from 8 to 50 percent (or more depending on when the property taxes are finally paid by the property owner).

Let me give you a summary of how this works...

1. Property owner doesn't pay their taxes on time and is usually hit with a late payment penalty.
2. The county sends the property owner one or more notices about being late and informs property owner that a property tax lien may be placed on this property if the property taxes are not paid by a certain date.
3. If the "certain date" passes, and the property owner has still not paid the property taxes, the county places a property tax lien on the property.
4. The property now has a tax lien on it, and that tax lien is added to the inventory of tax liens to be sold.
5. The tax lien is sold to the highest/best bidder at a public or online sale or auction. The occurrence and frequency of public tax lien sales vary by state and by county.
6. By buying a tax lien, the real estate investor is essentially paying the property taxes for the property owner. The investor pays this money directly to the county office and has no interaction with the property owner. From the date of the tax lien purchase, the investor earns an incredible, guaranteed interest rate on the tax lien "certificate".
7. After a few weeks or several months, the property owner finally pays their back taxes plus penalties.
8. After receiving the money from the property owner, the county then mails a check to the investor. The check covers the initial investment plus all interest earned on the tax lien certificate.

There is also a chance that you'll get the property when you purchase a tax lien certificate. Each state has a redemption period, which is usually two or three years in length. A redemption period is essentially the period of time between the property taxes due date and when the county or tax lien holder can start the home foreclosure process on the property owner.

A property tax lien takes precedence over all mortgages on the property, which means that it is possible to acquire the property "free and clear", meaning the mortgage(s) are erased! The bottom line... you are either going to make a nice profit, or you are going to get a property for pennies on the dollar.

Are you looking for a better way to invest your money in 2009 and beyond? Or maybe you are just looking to make a little (or a lot) of extra money on the side? Then, you owe it to yourself to find out more about tax lien and tax deed investing.
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Hall

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An Introduction to Tax Lien Investing

                                                     
To receive your awesome Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Tax Lien Investing That Is Done for You

Is there such a thing as tax lien investing that is done for you, where you just give your money to someone else and let them do all the work for you?

Can you purchase profitable tax certificates without doing the due diligence and going to the tax sale yourself?

There are 2 ways that I know of where you can not only have someone do all the work of buying profitable tax liens or tax deeds for you; they manage your portfolio and take care of any redemptions or foreclosures for you as well. You can use a tax lien investing agent or you can invest in a tax lien fund. With either of these tax investment methods, someone else does the work of getting the tax sale list, doing the due diligence, bidding at the tax sale, managing the portfolio, and foreclosing on properties. You just sit back and collect the profit.

So how does it work and what's the difference between investing with a lien agent and investing in a tax lien fund?

With a lien investing agent you have a little more control over your portfolio, you can actually stipulate what type of properties or liens you want, control whether or not you pay the subsequent taxes, or start foreclosure on a property. You also have control over whether any profit that is realized gets re-invested. Lien certificates and tax deeds are held in your name, so they are your assets. The agent will set up an account for you and assign to you liens and/or deeds that they purchase at the tax sale. There is usually a onetime set up fee to set up your account with them and quarterly or yearly management fees.

When you invest in a tax lien investing fund you don't have as much control over which liens or deeds you purchase and how or if the profit is re-invested, this is all dictated by the fund. The plus side is that since you are buying shares in a fund, not investing through your own private account, there are usually no upfront fees. There is a management fee but for smaller funds these fees are typically low.

If you've wanted to invest in tax certificates or tax deeds, but you just don't have the time to do the necessary due diligence or to bid at the tax sale, you may want to consider using a lien agent or investing in a lien fund. If you live in a tax deed state, but you want to invest in tax certificates (or visa verse) it would be a lot less expensive to use a lien agent or invest in a lien fund then it would be to travel to another state to invest in tax liens.

Investing with an agent or in a fund is a great way for foreigners to invest in US tax liens or deeds. The process is easier because you have a U.S. entity bidding for you. You still would need to have a U.S. tax ID number, but you may not need to have a U.S. bank account, which is a requirement for all of the online tax sales, and there is no need to go to through the trouble and expense of setting up a U.S. entity just to bid at the tax sale, although you still may want to have an entity to hold any properties that you acquire through tax sales.

Agents and fund managers have a lot of experience purchasing tax certificates and tax deeds at the sale. They know the buying strategies that make the most sense and they are able to get the highest returns for their clients. They can usually do better than you can at the tax sale, getting more successful bids at more profitable rates. They have teams set up to do due diligence on tax sale properties, along with access to resources that you might not have access to. This helps them to be better able to get more properties or more liens at better returns than you could on your own. They are professionals after all. This is their job, it's what they do for a living, and they're good at it. It would cost you more to have access to the services and resources that they have access to than the small management fees that you pay to have them do the work for you.

To receive your FREE Tax Lien Investing Kit, that has helped thousands of investors, just like you learn how to build their own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds go to http://taxlieninvestingkit.com/.

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What is Tax Lien - Learn all about Tax Lien Investing

                                                    
 Get your tax lien kit now at  http://tiny.cc/lady

Tax Sale List Information Guide.

If you plan to attend and purchase properties from tax deed and tax lien sales, you need to acquire a list of tax sale properties. It is one of the most important things that you need before doing anything.

These lists are mostly available 3 - 4 weeks before the scheduled auction date which will also be posted in the local newspaper. You can get them from the municipality or county office for free or with charge. They are also available on the county's official website, either from the treasurer's or tax collector's department. The necessary information such as how to register for the tax sale, date and time, venue, and most importantly the terms of sale which you need to learn, to be able to understand the tax sale processes.

You must be aware though that some counties do not provide much information on the tax sale list, like the address of the properties. However, some information is usually provided such as the annual taxes, amount owed, recorded owner and tax map or parcel number. You can make use of these by doing a search on the county GIS site or Real Property Parcel Search which provides additional details on each property. To broaden the information search on properties, you could make use of other online sources such as Zillow.com, Trulia.com for updated assessment of the property and Google Earth to check the real time image of the property if you don't have the time to visit the property personally. This will definitely help doing due diligence prior to the sale.

Another way to acquire needed information on each property is to purchase a tax sale list from a list provider. This would help when it is too late to do proper due diligence for the sale. A good option but it would be another cost. They are important also in your goals for they can provide the property classification, mortgage data, and other pertinent information that you can make use of. It also helps to acquire their services because they can assist you in your property investment plans.

However, if you have the luxury of time to do your own research, then it would be much better since you will also be learning along the way. As well as understanding all the processes that is involved in it.

Learn more about tax deed and tax lien investing at http://bit.ly/14x4th9, this might help you learn more about property investments.

About the Author

Dan Gillespie is a real estate professional who invests nationally in everything from single family homes to land to commercial properties. An owner of Dan Real Estate Depot http://www.danrealestatedepot.com

Understanding Tax Lien and Tax Deed Investing

                                                            
 Ge your tax lien kit now at  http://tiny.cc/lady

Primer to Tax Lien Investing

Plenty of time is needed to learn the beginning steps of tax lien investing, let alone real estate investing. But, if you take your time to learn then you will be granted the riches you need through one of the most safe, prevalent, and gratifying investment opportunities out there: tax lien investing. If you master one area of real estate investing (tax lien investing), then know that there are still many more avenues that you can employ in your trip to create multiple streams of income.

But before you explain how to start using tax liens and/or tax deeds as a path for real estate investing, let's find out exactly what tax liens are. Several forms of government (local, county, or state) use taxation as a way to receive revenue used to finance their operations. One of these forms of taxations is called property tax. In short, the government charges a fee to the owner of a property. The fee is based on an amount determined by the local government.

This taxes, are used to finance the local government (typically the county). But what if the property owner cannot pay the tax, for any reason? The government puts a lien on the property for the amount of defaulted tax amount, hence the term 'tax lien'. In other words, the property will not be sold until the government is paid what it is owed, and this amount is recorded by using the tax lien certificate.

However, a tax lien certificate is not a source of revenue, and therefore no money goes to the government after placing the tax lien. So how does the government get the money that it requires to give to all of it's voters the superb service we have come to associate with government workers? The local government sells the tax lien or tax deed.

In case you weren't paying attention, this happens to be where we take our first step into tax lien investing: obtaining the tax lien. When you invest in the tax lien, the government gets paid instantly Financial budgets are met and the government is ecstatic. However, we have traded your hard earned money for a document in hopes that investing in the tax lien will earn you a handsome return. Before we learn why you would want to buy one of these documents, let's talk little more about how you would get one.

Several people don't even learn that tax lien investing exists, let alone how to locate a tax lien certificate or even buy one. So think of all the other would be tax lien investing advocates out there as rough competition. Regardless of what most 'gurus' will teach you, these tax liens are very desired and sought, so keep your tax lien investing methods to yourself!

What is it the tax lien investors know? These investors recognize that there are many counties that use tax liens or tax deeds. Every one of these counties have their own government, and each of these governments does things a a little differently than the others. Begin by examining the different counties in the country using naco.org

I recommend you begin with tax lien investing if you have a small amount of funding and, like me, would like a stable ROI for your money. Doing this will also limit the locations in which you can buy, and thus let you focus your research.

But, if you would like to purchase real estate property cheaply, then tax deeds are a stronger pursuit. In any case, as you familiarity with one you can and will begin learning about the other and eventually do both.

Let's return to buying the first part of tax lien investing, the tax lien itself. To begin, we're going to need to create a plan of action. Here is one that I recommend:

Contact the local tax collector (or treasurer) and find out when the next tax sale will be. After you find this out, you will need to find out where the sale will take place and plan to be there. Then, create a list of tax liens that are going to be sold by getting a list from the office (if available) or searching the local newspaper that lists government announcements and sales.

We should now have a list of future tax liens, where and when they will be sold. However, you're only part way there. We need to find the rules of the sale for the tax liens. This can, again, be located by talking to the local tax collector (treasurer).

Now you will need to find out what the interest rate for the tax lien will be and how it was determined.

Once you have obtained all of this information, you can then get the answer to the juiciest question of them all. Are there any unsold tax liens? If the answer is yes, then start there!!

Typically you will get a 'yes' to the last question and you will then get a list of the unsold tax liens and look it over eagerly. Some say that there are counties with many more certificates than available investor reserves. How simple would this be for you if you're wanting to begin tax lien investing?

What if the list is not existent? Typically other departments maintain the list and you can be pointed in that direction instead. Regardless, if a list exists at all, find it. It will be the simplest cash you will get from most real estate investing strategies.

Try contacting several counties and obtaining the answers to all of these questions. A lot of them will be similar and several of them will be different. Yet you will start to learn this side of the real estate investing industry, namely: tax lien investing.

You will probably find several counties with zero unsold tax lien certificates before you find one that has a list. But when you do locate this gold mine, hold on to it and watch your money grow.

 Get a free report on Tax liens at  http://tiny.cc/lady

Author is a writer for Beginner Investing and Stock Market For Beginners, a joint blog about personal investing and development of passive income.

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What Everybody Should Know about Tax Lien Investing - Part 1

                                                           

You can begin creating your lucrative tax lien portfolio today and start saving for your future. If you'd like to learn more about Tax Lien Certificates & Tax Deed buying and investing strategies I have a free video course available at,
http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Profit from Selling Your Tax Lien Certificates

Recently did my first tax lien assignment. I "assigned" or sold one of my tax lien certificates to another investor. This was a tax lien that I though I was going to lose money on. Why was I especially the investors that see repeatedly at tax sales and have more experience than I doworried about losing money on this tax lien? Let's just say that I purchased this tax lien certificate early in my tax lien investing career and did not do the proper due diligence. I had made three critical mistakes when I purchased this lien and afterward. My first error was in purchasing a tax lien certificate on a property that I did not look at myself. I relied on the word of another tax lien investor, someone who was bidding for a large company and is actually my competition. My second mistake, since this was a vacant lot, was not checking the zoning. The lot turned out to be undersized thus unbuildable. My third mistake was in paying the subsequent taxes for almost 2 years before I checked the zoning.

By the time I had realized my errors, the redemption period was almost over and it was time to foreclose on the property. I did not want to start foreclosure because I didn't think that there was anything I could do with the property, and did not know if I would be able to sell it. I tried to sell this lien to other investors packaged with a couple of good liens, but no one was interested. So how did I find a buyer for this tax lien and make over 40% on my investment?

 

When I attend tax sales I like to meet other investors and get to know them, . I happened to find out that one of the investors who I often saw at these sales used to be a builder and he specialized in undersized lots. He knew how to apply and obtain variances on undersized building lots. I told him about the lien that I was looking to assign. I sent him all of the information about my tax lien certificate with a report of what I had paid in subsequent taxes and what the lien would redeem for. He took a look at the lot and determined that it was a good lot that he could do something with. He paid me the redemption amount of the lien and I assigned my tax lien certificate over to him. I gave him the certificate and signed an assignment contract. Since the tax lien certificate and subsequent taxes paid were at 18% per annum interest, and I had held the lien for more than two years, I received over 40% profit on my investment. I was happy to sell him the lien and get the interest and he was happy to have a tax lien certificate that was ready to foreclose on a property that he thought he would eventually be able to get a variance on and build on.

If you have tax lien certificates that are ready to foreclose, and you don't want to go through the trouble of foreclosing on them, you may want to consider assigning them to another investor. Tax liens are hot right now; there is a lot of interest in them and it is usually easy to find a buyer for your lien. Not all states allow the assignment of a tax lien from one investor to another, however, so check with the laws in your state first. Assigning your tax lien certificates to another investor is one way that you can reap the rewards of tax lien investing without ever having to foreclose on a lien or own and manage the property. As always, make sure to do your due diligence and you'll have no problem finding a buyer for your tax lien.

Joanne Musa is a Tax Lien Investing Coach and Consultant who works with investors who want to learn how to buy profitable tax lien certificates and tax deeds. She is the president of Tax Lien Consulting LLC, a consulting firm for tax lien and tax deed investors and the creator of Tax Lien Investing Secrets II: The Complete Course to Investing In Tax Lien Certificates and Tax Deeds available at www.taxlienlady.com

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. Matt Larson reveals his secrets.

                                                 

You can begin creating your lucrative tax lien portfolio today and start saving for your future. If you'd like to learn more about Tax Lien Certificates & Tax Deed buying and investing strategies I have a free video course available at,
http://bit.ly/14x4th9

What is Premium for Tax Lien Certificates?

Premium is an amount over and above the tax lien certificate amount that the investor will pay to the municipality to acquire the lien. When premium is paid for a lien, it is not the lowest interest rate that is bid that wins the lien, but rather the highest premium. Premium is not bid in all states that sell liens. In some states the interest rate is bid down and the lien is sold to the investor who bids the lowest percent interest. In other states the interest rate is kept constant while premium is bid for the lien, thus lowering your return on the lien (since in most states no interest is paid on premium).

Every state has its own rules regarding bidding and whether or not premium is bid. New Jersey is unusual in that the interest rate is bid down and once the interest is bid down to 0%, premium is then bid. This means that the investor is getting no interest on the certificate amount or the premium, significantly lowering the returns on this investment. The only interest made in this case is the interest paid on the subsequent taxes, which in New Jersey is 18% for lien amounts over $1500.00.

In New Jersey the municipality holds premiums and if the lien is not redeemed within a 5-year period, that money is not returned to the investor. Of course the investor can start foreclosure proceedings after 2 years, but if the property is foreclosed on, the investor does not get his premium back. He can get the property, but the premium will be forfeited and considered part of the cost of the property. Rules about when and if premium is paid back to the investor and whether or not interest is paid on premium bid is different for every state.

Why does this happen?
At almost every tax lien sale that I attend, there is a local investor, new to tax lien investing, who is confused and wants to know what is going on. Why would anyone want to buy a lien, pay more than the lien amount and not get any interest on their initial investment? They assume that investors do this in hope of being able to foreclose on the property.

 

The real reason that tax lien investors pay premium is that once you are the lien holder, you then have the ability to pay the subsequent taxes. In New Jersey you can earn from 8-18% on the subsequent taxes depending on how much is owed. For amounts owed over $1500.00 the interest rate is 18%, for anything under $1500.00, the interest rate is 8%. Also as long as the lien is redeemed after the certificate is issued, even though you didn't get the certificate amount at an interest rate, there is an additional redemption penalty that is paid to the lien holder. The redemption penalty in New Jersey is 2% for certificate amounts from $200.00 - $4,999.99, 4% for certificate amounts from $5,000.00 - 9,999.99, and 6% for certificate amounts of $10,000.00 or more. The homeowner must pay this penalty when he/she redeems the lien and it is only calculated on the certificate amount, not on any subsequent taxes that the lien-holder has paid. Each state also has different penalties that may be applied in addition to the interest amount on the lien.

In addition to all of this, some municipalities in New Jersey have an additional year-end penalty for overdue taxes in excess of $10,000. A penalty of 6% is added for amounts due over $10,000.00 at the end of the year. This penalty only applies to the subsequent taxes. So, if you are a lien holder and you've paid over 10,000.00 in subsequent taxes, at the end of the year the homeowner will have to pay you back at 24%, should he redeem the lien, plus you will get the redemption penalty on the certificate amount of your lien.

A Simplified Example
Let's look at a somewhat simplified example: Let's say you go to a sale and purchase and a $5,000 lien on a property with annual taxes of $10,000.00 (not unusual in some municipalities in New Jersey) and you bid $10,000 premium. You pay the municipality $15,000.00 (lien amount + premium) on the day of the sale. The sale happens to be held in December 1st and last year's delinquent taxes are being sold. On December 11th you pay the current year's taxes of $10,000.00. And let's assume that the lien is redeemed December 11th of the following year and that you didn't pay any more of the subsequent taxes.

In order to redeem the lien, the property owner must pay the certificate amount plus the redemption penalty and the subsequent tax amount at 24%. That's $5,000(lien amount) + $200(4% redemption penalty) + $10,000.00(subsequent taxes) + $2400.00(24% of subs) = $17,600. The municipality has to give you back your premium of $10,000.00. You collect $27,600.00. Your initial investment was 25,000.00. You have a total profit of $2,600.00 for a yield of 10.4%. This is a simplified example. Your actual yield will be a little higher if you continue to pay the subsequent taxes until the lien is redeemed.

Get a free report on Tax liens at  http://tiny.cc/blog4u

Joanne Musa is a Tax Lien Investing Coach and Consultant who works with investors who want to learn how to buy profitable tax lien certificates and tax deeds. She is the president of Tax Lien Consulting LLC, a consulting firm for tax lien investors.

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Tax Sales Secrets How to Buy Tax Liens and Tax Deeds

Beyond The Basics For Tax Lien Investors: What You Need To Know And When You Need It

We all suffer from "paralysis of analysis" at one time or another, where we are reluctant to go forward with something until we know all there is to know about it. The problem is, with most things that are worth pursuing, we'll never know all there is to know about it. And the best way to learn what we need to know is to get started doing it. Tax Lien Investing is no different. Many would be investors never get started. Oh, they buy all the programs and ask a lot of questions, but they never feel they know enough about it to start. They get paralyzed by the fear of the unknown.
But tax lien investing is not rocket science and you don't need a college degree, or even a high school diploma to make money at tax lien investing. So how do you know that you know enough to get started? Or, if you've already started to invest in tax lien certificates, how do you learn what it is you need to know to protect your investment? From what I've seen in the industry, and from the questions that I've gotten from subscribers to my web site, I believe that there are three different stages of knowledge or learning about tax lien investing that the investor needs. But you don't have to go through each of these learning stages before you know enough to get started.
Stage 1: Tax Lien Investing Basics
This is the initial stage for the new investor, where you'll gain the information about what a tax lien is, and how the process works. You don't need a lot of specific information at this stage, but you do need to know if this is something that you can do, so you need general knowledge and an overview of how you make money with tax lien investing. You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars at this point for coaching or on a detailed course, when all you need to know are the basics, so that you can determine if this is something for you.
At this stage, here are the things that you'll want to find out:
* What a tax lien is and why it's good investment
* How tax lien investing can help you meet your financial goals
* The difference between a tax lien, a tax deed, and a redeemable tax deed
* Where is the best place for you to invest
* How to get the tax sale information
Once you get through stage one, you should know what your goals are, where you want to invest, and how to get the tax sale information. Now you're ready to get started, but you will need a little more education to make sure that you're successful. Now it's time to go on to the next stage of learning before you actually buy your first lien or deed. You've done the preparation and now it's time to get serious.

 
Stage 2: Specific Information on Your State
At this stage you'll need to learn the specifics about how things work in the state or states where you're going to invest. You'll also need to know how to do your due diligence so that you buy profitable liens. Here's where you can use some expert help or education. You don't necessarily need a mentor or a coach, but you may need a course that covers how things work in your state. Or you may want to do an online tutorial, or class. At the very least you'll want to talk to the county treasurer or tax collector and find out about the rules of the tax sale.
Here is a list of the things that you need to know before you actually start purchasing liens or deeds:
* The rules of the tax sale
* Bidding procedures
* Finding the assessment data on the tax sale properties
* How to determine what to bid
* How to register for the tax sale
* Where to find tools to help you do due diligence on tax sale properties
* When and how you need to pay for successful bids
* What you need to do immediately after the tax sale to protect your investment
Once you know these things, you're ready to purchase tax liens or deeds. You don't have to know how to foreclose on a lien or how to track your liens to start purchasing them. That comes in the next stage.
Stage 3: Making and Keeping Your Profit
OK, by this stage you've purchased your first liens or deeds and you've done your homework to make sure that you've avoided any problems. Now it's time for you to learn the fine points of investing in tax liens or tax deeds. Now you'll need to know things like:
* How to clear the title on your deed
* What is the foreclosure process if the lien does not redeem
* What is the redemption process
* How do you pay the subsequent taxes
* When do you need to furnish affidavits for expenses
* How to track your liens
There may also be other things that you need to learn or do that are specific to the state or county that you are investing in. It's up to you to find out how to protect your investment, maximize your return and track your profit. At this point, depending on the size of your portfolio, you will want to devote more time to managing your tax lien portfolio. You may also want to look into getting a software program to help you manage your liens, hiring someone to do the work for you, or having a mentor that you can go to when you have questions or need to know what to do next.
As you can see, there are things you need to know to be successful at tax investing, but you don't need to know it all it to take action and get started. The trick is in knowing what you need to know when you need it, and having someone that you can go to for answers when you need help. You don't need to know how to foreclose on a tax lien before you purchase one, but you do need to know how to get the tax sale information and how to do your due diligence so that you purchase a profitable lien. And you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a comprehensive course on tax lien investing before you even know how the process works and what it is. Save your money and get the education or help that you need at the right time - when or just before you need it!

Joanne Musa works with people who want to build an extremely profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds FAST. She is the author of Tax Lien Investing Secrets II, a complete system for learning how to invest in tax lien certificates and tax deeds for maximum profit, and founder of Tax Lien Consulting LLC, a consulting company specializing in tax lien investing coaching and education.To find out more about the steps involved in building your profitable tax lien or tax deed portfolio, go to http://www.taxlienlady.com/ProfitablePortfolio.html.http://tiny.cc/lady

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Tax Lien & Deed Property Research

                                                  

 You can begin creating your lucrative tax lien portfolio today and start saving for your future. If you'd like to learn more about Tax Lien Certificates & Tax Deed buying and investing strategies I have a free video course available at,
http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Tax Lien Investing: Investing Online and by Mail

One of the questions that I frequently get from visitors to my web site, is "Can I invest in tax lien certificates online or through the mail?" Many people want to invest in tax lien certificates but don't have the time freedom to physically attend the tax sales, so they want to do it online or by mail. A couple of tax lien states do hold online tax sales, and a few will allow you to mail in your bid. I don't, however, recommend investing in tax lien certificates by mail or online unless you can look at the properties or have someone else look at them for you.

First let's talk about online tax sales. As tax lien investing has become more popular with the average person (it's not just the secret of the wealthy anymore), it's also become more competitive. Over the last three or four years, in states where the interest rate is bid down, the bidding has been going lower and lower - as low at .25% in some sates. And in states where the amount of the lien is bid up prices have been bid higher and higher. Online auctions increase the competition even more. Now instead of bidding against every interested party who can come to the sale, you're competing with every interested party with a computer.

Three things happen at these online tax sales. First of all a lot more bidders show up because all they have to do is get to their computer to register for the sale. Secondly, more money - or lower interest rates are bid for tax lien certificates because there are an increased amount of bidders. And thirdly more properties are sold at these sales. You see, at most tax sales there are "left-over" liens that no one bids on that go to the county.

 A lot of these properties are junk properties. They are really not worth anything and that's why the owner stopped paying the taxes. Any bidders that have done their due diligence will know this and will not bid on these properties. But when sales are held online these properties will typically be sold. Don't you be one of those online bidders who buys a tax lien on a worthless piece of property!

Would you purchase real estate that you didn't look at first? Even though you are not purchasing the property when you buy a tax lien (you are only paying the past due taxes and penalties and putting a lien on the property), you still need to make sure that the property is valuable. There is always the chance that the lien will not be redeemed and that you will wind up with the property. And if you do have to foreclose on the property, you want it to be worth much more than you have invested in it. Your investment isn't only the amount that you paid at the sale, but all of the subsequent taxes that you paid, any legal fees and foreclosure costs, and any costs that you incur to fix up the property before you sell it.

Here is something else to consider if you decide to go ahead and tax lien certificates online anyway. You will pay more money for tax lien certificates online than you would at a regular tax sale. First of all you will have to have a hefty deposit just to register for the sale. If you do not purchase any liens your deposit will be refunded. If you do make a purchase it money will be deducted from your deposit. Even if you make a purchase by mistake, the money will be deducted and it will not be returned. If you do not complete the transaction you could be banned from any future sales. In addition to that you will have to pay the online auction company a commission, which could be as high as 10% of the purchase price of the lien(s) that you buy.

What about purchasing tax lien certificates through the mail? Many states do allow for purchasing of tax lien certificates through the mail. Most states allow this for their "left-over" liens and a couple of states will even allow mailed in bids for their tax sales. Buying tax lien certificates through the mail does not have all the problems that I described for online tax sales, especially if you are able to do your due diligence on the properties before placing your bid. You are, however, at a disadvantage when you mail in your bid for a tax sale. I suggest that you find out what the procedure is at the sale. If your bid is read out loud at the sale and those present at the sale have the opportunity to out bid you, than you are at a disadvantage. It is the investors who are present at the sale that have the advantage over you.

There are opportunities in some states that sell leftover liens (sometimes these are referred to as "over-the-counter" liens or "assignment" liens) that are available for purchase through the mail. Be very careful though to do your due diligence on these properties before you placing a bid. Very often, as I mentioned earlier, there is a reason that these liens were not purchased by other investors. If no-body else wanted it maybe there is something wrong with it! Check the property out before you buy. With tax lien investing, there are no refunds!

 You can begin creating your lucrative tax lien portfolio today and start saving for
your future. If you'd like to learn more about Tax Lien Certificates & Tax Deed buying and
investing strategies I have a free video course available at,
http://bit.ly/14x4th9

Joanne Musa is a Tax Lien Investing Coach and Consultant who works with investors who want to learn how to buy profitable tax lien certificates and tax deeds. She is the president of Tax Lien Consulting LLC, a consulting firm for tax lien investors. She is the author of the e-books: Tax Lien Investing Secrets and Tax Lien Lady's State Guide to Tax Lien and Tax Deed Investing, available at http://www.taxlienconsulting.com

For more tips on investing in tax lien certificates send an e-mail to MoreTips@taxlienconsulting.com

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Making Money in Real Estate - Tax Lien Investing Tips and Risks

In my last article I gave a brief introduction to what tax liens are and talked about how you can earn huge returns by investing tax lien certificates and tax deed sales. But it's one thing to know that investing in tax liens can make you money, and it's a completely other thing to actually invest in them. To help get you started I've put together a general guideline of tips to follow and risks to be aware of. Hopefully these help you on your road to becoming immensely wealthy through real estate investing.

Tax Lien Investing Tips

Buy liens at smaller counties. There will be less competition as most institutional bidders will not attend these. Institutional bidders are individuals who are bidding for large companies which invest their money in tax lien certificates. It is not worth it for them to attend tax lien sales at smaller counties as there will be less liens to go around, and the liens themselves will also most likely be smaller.

Buy smaller liens. You will probably get a higher interest rate due to less competition.

Stay during the off times of a sale. Lunch breaks, end of the day, and the last day of a sale are prime examples. Catch people asleep and snag the good liens right out from under their noses. Also, at the end of the day it is important to go up to the clerk and ask if there are any more liens for sale. It happens that investors will buy too many liens and not be able to afford to purchase all of them at the end of the day. The county will not re-auction these and 9 times out of 10 will sell them to you over the counter at the maximum percentage interest.

Set max bid amounts. Be loud and assertive. Don't hesitate. Wait till the bidding has settled and bidders have dropped out, then jump in with a decent sized increase. Know your limits.
Buy from obvious commercial properties, using recognizable company names. These liens will almost definitely redeem.
 

Tax Lien Investing Risks

There are also some negatives associated with tax lien investing. As with everything in life, tax lien investing is not without its dangers. It's extremely important to come to a tax lien auction well prepared and aware of the pitfalls that many people succumb to.

Inaccessible Funds Your money is NOT liquid. This isn't like a savings account or even stocks or mutual funds that you can sell at will. Your money is tied up until the tax lien is paid off. This can be a week, a month, a year, or possibly never if the owner doesn't redeem. Do NOT use money you need to pay bills to invest in tax liens!

When a property owner doesn't pay off their lien, this doesn't mean you are SOL, you just may have to do a little more legwork to recoup your investment. As the lien holder it may now be your responsibility to foreclose on the lien. Or in certain states you may be lucky enough to be the new property owner!

Time and Travel Depending on where you are attending lien auctions you may have to take into account travel time, lodging, food, gas, etc...It may not seem like a lot, but it adds up. An easy way to avoid this is to only buy liens in your county or the immediate area. This will save on expenses, but will also limit the amount of liens you can purchase each year.

Losing Your Investment There are instances that can occur that may result in you losing your investment. Some can be avoided easily, and others aren't so easy to avoid. For instance, what if the IRS has a lien on the property? What if the property owner goes bankrupt? These are both real possibilities and risks, but in all honesty, are extremely unlikely. A bigger risk in my opinion is investing in a worthless property. The property may be an odd size and can't be built on. Or it might be a drainage ditch. Or it might be completely run down. If you invest in a property that doesn't redeem, and then subsequently cannot be sold, you're now stuck with a worthless property and have lost your investment.

These last examples can be avoided in two ways:

Buy more expensive liens. Expensive liens are usually nicer homes and businesses which are more likely to be redeemed.

Prepare for the auction. These scenarios can easily be avoided through due diligence. Which is basically a way of saying, "Do your homework."

Conclusion

Investing in tax liens can be a great way to earn extremely high percentage yields from real estate investing, but you must come prepared. Do research on the properties being auctioned before the day of the sale. Become familiar with the auction process and your county's specific bidding systems used. The more prepared you are coming in to the auction, the better able you'll be to bid efficiently and effectively.

For more information on tax lien investing visit .Tax Lien Investing

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Basics Of Investing In Tax Lien Certificates

                                                    
If you are interested and want to learn more about tax liens, then follow this link and you will find all the answers. 7 Steps to building your profitable Tax Lien Portfolio.

Take the first step! This is the best resource to learn the secrets of tax lien  investing.
http://tiny.cc/lady

The Truth About Tax Lien Investing

                                                      
If you are interested and want to learn more about tax liens, then follow this link and you will find all the answers. 7 Steps to building your profitable Tax Lien Portfolio.

Take the first step! This is the best resource to learn the secrets of tax lien  investing.
http://tiny.cc/lady