Tax Liens Sales

Tax liens sales are the newest amazing discovery in the world of real estate.  Although they have been around for a very long time there has never been a time in which there was such an abundance of options in the tax liens sales market.  With so many people having financial hardships throughout the current economy there are many more homes having tax liens put on them.  Owners are going through the ordeal of tax foreclosures right and left.  While this is a sad situation often the houses are being foreclosed on are second homes or homes that were inherited.  This leaves a great opportunity for anyone in the market for a new home or a new career in real estate.

A tax lien is placed on a home when the owners continue to ignore the repeated requests and demands that they make their property tax payments.  When they continue to ignore the taxes the home is sent to tax liens sales, where people are able to purchase either a tax lien certificate or a tax deed.  The tax lien certificate is basically the investor paying off the back taxes and gaining the interest earned through payments of those taxes.  If the owners continuously refuse to pay the taxes the investor then becomes the owner with a free and clear title having already paid off the taxes).  When the investors buy and absolute deed they are purchasing the home free and clear as well.

Most homes with liens on them have no mortgages attached.  If a mortgage were attached to the home of someone who wasn't paying taxes the mortgage company would be informed and would then pay the taxes and charge the owners through an escrow account.  This is because when a tax lien is put on a home that a bank has loan money on the bank is now at high risk of losing that investment.  Tax liens override mortgage liens every time; this is why you'll rarely be faced with the option of purchasing a home at tax liens sales that has a mortgage attached.

With that said purchasing a home through tax sales can be kind of faulty if you are not purchasing an absolute deed.  This is because the homeowner still has the right throughout their redemption period (often 1 to 5 years) to sell the property themselves.  Because of this it is a good idea for people in the market for tax liens sales to track down and contact the homeowners themselves and make an offer that can't be beat.

Join in the newest phase of real estate; tax liens sales.  There is money to be made and fun to be had.  Tax liens sales are not difficult to find.  Often you must weed through a mess of properties you aren't interested in until you find a gem, but there are many more gems waiting to be found than ever before.  Head over to your local county office or do a quick internet search to find the perfect investment opportunities for you through tax sales.