The trend of today has changed with the times. Things are constantly taking a new direction and this applies to tax sales also. True that the concept is the same. People don’t pay their taxes and their property goes up for tax sale. This can be the outcome of various reasons but for whatever reason it is people lose their property or pay back the taxes at a much higher interest rate than any bank would give you. With all of this being said, there is a trend that has started to take place in the United States. The trend is that of online auctions for tax liens or tax deeds. Many counties are turning to the online tax sales. These are the auctions that would normally take place on the county steps of the courthouse or in a courthouse room. Now, you can have the convenience and comfort of the sale happening right in your living room, or your study, or perhaps your kitchen. This is great for people who want to invest somewhere other than their home town. There are a few drawbacks that come along with this new convenience however. One of them is the fact that the easy new accessibility is so easy that the competition is high and it is truly a race to the finish line. If you are willing to take a little less in interest then you can get some great properties and have the entire inventory available to you with online tax liens. Once you have participated in the auction then there is the online over the counter tax liens and possibly tax deeds that are a first come first serve race. Timing is key for all of these types of investments in tax sales. One must watch for the auction and also for the over the counter properties which become available around 2-3 weeks after the initial auction. There are even what they call clean up sales which is a one more time go around prior to the over the counter possibilities. This is happening more and more with more states getting involved with this online process. Two of the more popular states that have adopted this process are Arizona and Florida. Although not every county participates this way many do in these two states. Take some time to find out when the tax sales are happening in your area and how they are happening. It might be easier than you think to make a buck with a good interest rate!

Ever wonder why people love to retire in Arizona. Is it because the low in January is 62 degrees instead of -2? Is it because those world-class golf resorts and spas beckon you? I heard you could get some good Mexican food there! Or maybe, and this is just a maybe, maybe it’s because it has some of the best OTC Tax Sales in the business. The OTC Tax Lien experience in Arizona is a good one and there are a lot of reasons why. First off most counties make the Tax Lien list available online at no charge. You simply go through the quick registration process and you are good to go to look at all the available Tax Lien Certificates and bid on the auction. Second, their interest rate is 16%, which is an annual percentage rate, and it’s one of the better rates in the country. Their bid method is a bid down interest rate and on average the certificates will be won with about a 12% bid. Not too shabby. Try and find another investment with that kind of return on your money. Here’s another reason I like Arizona. They assess their properties at 20 cents on the dollar. Why is that so important you might ask? It’s because you pay the taxes ON THE ASSESSED VALUE. Here’s a quick example. Let’s say a homes retail value or what it is sold for is $100,00, it’s market value, and the taxes are equal to 1% of the homes value or $1000. Arizona comes in and assesses the value at 20 cents on the dollar or $20,000. When you calculate the 1% for property taxes, which comes out to $200, that’s what you would pay instead of the $1000 on the market value of the property. That becomes really significant when you are strategizing to get the property instead of the interest. So remember, when you hear the words, “assessed value”, in the context of Arizona Tax Sales, you should pay attention. One last thing is that right now as you read this, if you didn’t already know, there are several OTC’s going on in Arizona right now, so if you haven’t ever tried Arizona before, now is a great time to start. As always make sure you are doing your due diligence and also remember to stick to your goals and I promise you a better experience no matter where you decide to invest. Happy Tax Sale Hunting!

County tax sale and you are a duo that can be dynamite! The two together can bring music to the ears and money to the pocket. What a great way to spend your time. Investing in properties can be the savvy investor’s dream but it can also be the first time investor’s dream. How does one go about participating in the county tax sale? There are many different options but the main two that we will talk about today are the online auctions and the live auctions telling all about the county tax sale and you!   First we will start with the online auctions. There are more and more online auctions every day as the world and modern technology are evolving. When a county has decided to have an online auction you will go to the online auction site where you can find a place to register and access the listings of what is going to be available. The time of the auction and any pertinent information will be available to you online as well. One of the things that is required from the county tax sale and you with the online action is an ACH or (automated clearing house) access of funding. The money gets taken directly from the account that you set up with the auction hosting website. If you are the winning bidder then you are expected to pay the difference, if any, directly after the auction is over. If you are purchasing a tax deed then the money will be considerably more than a tax lien, however both can be very lucrative. The convenience of the online ability makes the county tax sale and you great companions.   Next we have the live auctions. This is where you will go to the county courthouse where an auctioneer hosts the auction. Next you register and then get a bidder number. You will then be seated amongst other bidders and then one by one each parcel is read aloud and the highest bidder wins the parcel, which is another word for property. This can either be a tax lien or a tax deed depending on the type of auction you are attending. The winner takes all and it can be fun and rewarding at the same time. Make sure that you have done your research and are prepared and know what price you want to offer or what percentage of interest you would be willing to accept. The county tax sale and you can go hand in hand to any auction be it online or live!

What happens to the excess proceeds? This is a question that is often asked by those who have just lost their property to an individual who has purchased it at a tax deed auction or tax sale. There are many different types of excess proceeds and one that we will discuss is the amount of money above and beyond the opening bid that an investor will offer. So what happens to the excess proceeds? In California when a property gets sold it becomes known as a tax deed. The person who has purchased the property walks away with the title. The opening bid price will be the amount of the back taxes for five years plus any fees, penalties and interest that may have accrued along the way. A common amount that properties usually go for is half of the assessed value give or take. This sounds like a great price and a good way to gain properties. I can have my cake and eat it too!   Since the property goes to the highest bidder there is always an overage of excess proceeds. For example, let’s say that a property goes for 100K dollars and that is the winning bid price. Now, let’s say that the opening bid price was 23K dollars. That would make the excess proceeds come to 77K dollars. Since the previous owner of the home is losing their home they are allowed to file for and keep the excess proceeds. There is one year after the sale to do this in. This is what happens to the excess proceeds if the previous property owner files a petition to receive them. It will give that person recourse for any outstanding mortgage they might have to deal with or finding a new place to live in. What happens to the excess proceeds if no one claims them is they go to the county or the state and are used in the revenue needed there. It is not a widely known factor and can be huge for the previous owner and greatly appreciated when given the opportunity to collect the difference. This particular strategy applies only to the tax deed states and not to every one. It is always best to check with the county to find out what happens to the excess proceeds before you participate in the tax sale auction. Knowing that you are helping the previous owner rather than hurting them can make a big difference in the way that you become an investor. We can move forward knowing that even though a person is losing their home they can gain some kind of compensation for the loss. This is what happens to the excess proceeds.

How to invest in tax liens and tax deeds with the world of today's economy is a very easy and fun way to make money.  You might even end up with a property or two before you know it.  There are many things that you can do to invest your money but you can not get a government guaranteed percentage of interest backed up by a property unless you learn how to invest in tax liens and tax deeds.  Every year property taxes come around and every year there are those that do not pay them.  What happens to those that do not pay their taxes?  Well, the Government is helpful in allowing a property owner to hold onto their home for a period of time referred to as a redemption period.  This allows a homeowner to keep their home a little longer while finding the means to pay off their taxes thus keeping their home. Knowing how to invest in tax liens and tax deeds will allow an investor to make a decent amount of interest on his income.   A person can invest in these property taxes, called tax liens or redeemable deeds and make anywhere from 16-50% in interest on the money he invests.  When the homeowner pays off his taxes he must pay off the initial investment plus the percentage of interest required by state mandate in order to redeem his home.   There are some states, however, that do not sell the back taxes to investors.  These are the states that have much longer than a year or the allotted redemption period to come up with the back taxes.  These states sell tax deeds.  The tax deeds are 5 years delinquent when a home is on the parcel and 3-5 years if it is agricultural or platted land. The state feels that the owner has had enough time to come up with the delinquent money.  Now the land, home or both are going to be sold as is to the highest bidder.  You can see that the knowledge of how to invest in tax liens and tax deeds can become very profitable for investors, or any person that wants to get ahead. The important thing to watch for when investing in these types of properties is the auctions.   The auctions will come around every year at specific times and that is when you will have your chance to learn how to invest in tax liens and tax deeds.  The first time you go to an auction should be a dry run, or just for learning purposes.  You can, however, if you feel comfortable enough, participate.  There are many different types of auctions but all delinquent properties are sold at one.  You can follow the auctions through out the year and find different states to work in every month.  This is a great way to get ahead in this economy's downfall we have been experiencing.  When you know how to invest in tax liens and tax deeds you will be able to deter and offset some of the cost of rising inflation and we can all use a little of that.  You know how the saying goes, "work smarter not harder."

Once you have decided that you are going to purchase a tax lien, then the next thing you want to do is select a list from the county and state that you would like to work in.  One of the things that make a good county to work in is compatibility with the county workers.  You will know that they are a friendly county to work with once you have talked with them and they are willing to help you out with information that you request about particular tax lien properties.  Information that you may want to ask about would be a total price on the investment, including the investor's fee, the certificate name transfer, and the property type backing the tax lien certificate. Once you have established that the county will be good county to work in, then you will want to find out information on the tax lien auction including the auction time and when the over the counter list is released.  The over the counter list usually comes out within two to three weeks after the auction is over.   Keep your eye on the tax lien listings for the county that you have selected and be ready to purchase directly after the auction if OTC's are what you want. When you have downloaded the tax lien list there will be some that don't have the property addresses on them.  In order to find out where the location of the property is and what it is, you will need to do some "due diligence."  One of the ways to find out what and where a property is located, is to pull up that county website under the assessor's webpage.  If you are in Texas then it will be the appraisal district's website.  If you are in Florida then it will be the property appraiser's website.  Once you are on this website then you will find a place to enter the parcel or pin number and it will then bring up the information on the property that you are seeking.  It may also pull up a map showing the property.  You can also get information from the county workers, but using the county website tends to be easier by avoiding spending time on the telephone or  potentially trying to negotiate the information from a county worker that may not want to help.  Once you're ready with a list of tax lien properties to purchase, call the county to check their availability, then make the purchase.

Many of you are going to use your IRA or other retirement accounts to fund your tax lien or tax deed investing efforts.  This is a great way to get money to start investing.  Many of those accounts are losing money anyway.  Once you have established which retirement account to use, then you are going to roll it over into a self-directed retirement account.  If you take money out of and put it back into an account then you will pay a penalty for this action.  Therefore, we use the term "roll-over" to make the transition.  You may have to pay a fee to roll over the funds, but you won't be penalized.  There are many companies that will help you set up a self-directed IRA, which is the most common account for investing in tax liens and tax deeds.  You want to be sure that when you set up your self-directed account, that the company will allow you to invest in tax liens and tax deeds through the account. This is a specific type of investment and not all of the custodians for the self directed IRA will allow this type of investment.  Some of the companies that allow this investment type are: Entrust, Equity Trust, Lincoln Trust, Pensco, and Sterling Trust (which allows tax deeds only).  Once you have set up the self directed account, one of the things that you may want to do is set up an LLC or a corporation.  Setting up the account through a corporation may give you checkbook controlled capabilities, meaning you can simply right a check, which draws directly from your retirement account.  Of course, you can't write a check for anything, but you can write checks to counties for tax lien and tax deed investing.  This is important also for time purposes.  Having the ability to simply write a check and send it to the county saves a lot of time and ensures you're the winning bidder for tax liens and deeds.  This is also a way to cut down on expenditure from your self-directed IRA due to the cost of cutting a check every time each time you want to purchase a tax certificate or a tax deed.  Once you have set up your corporation then you will be able to make your self-directed IRA checkbook controlled.  This will help you in being able to grow your IRA for a secure future. No Risk Investor specializes in helping its students effectively invest in tax liens and deeds.  Having helped over 6,000 new investors to date, No Risk Investor is well-regarded in the industry and the best source for information, training, and tax lien investing tools.

Many students ask "what is the fastest way to get my money working for me where I can see results quicker?'  This is a question that we all want to have the answer to.  Let me first say that working with tax deeds will yield more money; however, there is a bigger risk and typically requires larger capital investment.  Let me explain what I mean.  When you are working with a tax deed you are actually buying the property.  Let's say you are the highest bidder and have won the property.  Now you are a property owner.  It didn't take very long, just a few hours at the auction to own this property.  Now you want to go to the recorder's office and put the title into your name so that you have completed the process.  This is a great way to get going in the fast zone.  Once you own a property then you can do with it whatever you want.  You can sell it making a profit, remodel and then sell making an even greater profit, or you can rent it out guaranteeing a cash flow every month, or you can live it in yourself and be mortgage free and rent free.  With your tax deed investment, you are able to open the door to make money sooner than later, but in order to buy a tax deed you generally have to spend more money. Tax liens are typically sold through the auction for only the amount owed to the county by the property owner.  But because you are buying the actual property, and not just a tax lien certificate, when buying a tax deed, you typically end up paying more.  The bidding starts where the county is owed, but through the auction process bidders will generally bid up the price closer to fair market value.  Therefore, you tend to spend more on tax deeds. There are many variables that come in to play when you own a property.  Tax deed investing is a great way to get a jump start into the real estate world.  The risk with ownership is that now you are responsible for the taxes.  If you are borrowing money to get started then you want to make sure that you have an exit strategy so that you make money from your investment.  This could include finding a buyer, renter, or perhaps you want to donate it to charity and use it for a tax deduction.  There are many things that you can do with property once you become the property owner.  Just to make sure that you have things in place, you can line up a buyer and use a real estate agent if you want to get the ball rolling faster.  Working with tax deeds can be an accelerated way to make money faster.

Many students ask how we research and read tax lien lists and what all the numbers mean?  Also many students wonder why there are tax lien lists available from a year that has already past.  The one thing that you want to understand is that it takes a year for a tax lien to be delinquent.  So if you are looking at a list from 2009 or 2010 and it is now 2011 and you are wondering why the list isn't a current list, then let us explain the process a little bit more.  First of all, if you are in the year 2011 then you will be working from a list of 2010 or 2009 depending on the state.  Arizona is a state that waits for the taxes to be delinquent for two years before they sell a tax lien at an auction.  Therefore, if you have a tax lien from the year 2009 it will be sold at an auction in 2011. Let's take Florida for an example.  If you have a tax lien from the year 2010 then it won't be sold until the first week of June in 2011.  So the most current listings in Florida are currently from the year 2009.  The next listings coming up will be in June of 2011 and the over the counter listings won't be until a couple of weeks later or the end of June 2011. Next, when considering a list and you look at a parcel number and it doesn't have an address with it, then you will want to go to that county's assessor's website, the county's property appraiser's website, or the county's appraisal district, depending on what state you are in, to do further research on the property.  Oftentimes, the list will only show basic appraisal, owner, and lien/deed information, but may or may not list all property information.  Most of the time, this information is easily accessible through the county websites.  Once you go to that county's website for the property appraisal then you will be able to plug the parcel number in and get the information you're looking for.  This information will include the property address and usually it will break down the difference of land value and improvement value, helping you to make a good decision on your tax lien purchasing. As for the lists on our website, we typically just leave the lists from past years on the site.  Don't be offended.

One of the things that have to take place when purchasing a tax lien is making sure that you have everything in order that is required by the county.  If you are purchasing at an online tax lien auction, then you will already have these things in place. First you want to make sure that you have a bidder registration number.  Many of the counties have what is called a bidder registration form.  You can obtain this from the website or call the county and have them fax one to you.  This will give you a bidder number. If you do not fill out a bidder registration form, then you would need to send a letter along with your investment checks to the tax collector of that county or the collection department. Make sure that all of your contact information is on the letter.  Even the tax liens that are purchased over the counter or after the auction will be assigned a bidder number to them.   You will be known as that bidder when purchasing any tax liens, during an auction, or after the auction. One more thing that is necessary when you purchase any tax liens, is a W9 form.  This can be found on the irs.gov website under forms.  This is assurance for the county that you will be responsible for the taxes on the interest that you earn.  When you get a check from the county for the interest that you have earned then you will report the interest on your taxes.  For people from other countries that want to purchase in the United States, they will need to obtain an ITIN number or an EIN number to fill out the W9 form with.  This will allow them the opportunity to purchase tax liens from another country. Once these steps are in place then you will be secure in your purchases.  You may only receive a certificate by email regarding your recent purchase depending on what county you are working with, so if you would like a paper receipt then make sure that you request it from the county.   One more thing to remember is that when you send out checks to the county, make sure that you send separate checks for each parcel being purchased.  This will stop your money from being tied up in case one of the parcels that you want has already been purchased.