Tax Sales

Every year AZ has tax sales Jan - Feb
some counties have them online at the websites
www.grantstreet.com & www.realauction.com
AZ is a 16% state with a 3 year redemption.
If anyone is interested in investing in the AZ lien auctions coming up, feel free to ask questions here.

Tax liens are a great way for an investor with little money to get in to the real estate market. I often encourage a new student to buy a few liens so that they can start putting dollars to work quickly. The returns are very good, usually between 12% to 18%, and the redemption periods are often two years or less.

Where do I start? First of all, you need to find out if the state you are interested in sells tax liens. Some states only sell deeds. (That discussion is for another day.) You then contact the county that you are interested in buing a lien. The office you want to contact is often called the Tax Collector. Find out where a list can be found in order to look at available liens. You will usually make your purchase through this office.

all you have to do is ask a question and I will try my best to get you an answer right away.

Currently I am in PA caring for an ill child and happened to stumble into tax sale auctions in the area. Here in the area where my daughter lives, they have two(2) auctions and one of those is coming up in mid-December. The minimum bid on a property is $750, though there are some properties that are subject to being started out at a higher bid. My question is this: how do I take advantage of purchasing a property at one of these sales WITHOUT using my own money?

What is a Tax Lien?

When a property owner is late on paying real property taxes, the taxing entity (county or municipality) issues a tax lien on that property, while assessing an interest accrual penalty. The government could wait for the lien to be paid by the property owner, but in order to meet budget needs, would rather get the money now. In 32 states, a tax lien becomes a first lien on the property, and a certificate representing this can be sold at auction. Investors can then buy the lien (cash only) and receives the following in order:

1. Guaranteed yield from the lien, which the delinquent property owner must pay in order the release the lien

2. Title to the property after an amount of time set by the local jurisdiction if the
property owner fails to pay.

Colorado every year has their tax lien sales Oct-Jan for the most part.
Colorado's annual interest is 10%
These sales are on a county level, most counties in CO will have auctions where you have to be there in person, though some will be online at these websites.
www.realauction.com & www.sri-onlineauctions.com
Also when the auctions are over across the state, they will sell them first come first serve (over the counter)
The Auctions in CO are premium bid auctions which means highest bidder wins.
The premiums do not get redeemed or build interest.
so example
if the value of the lien is 1000$ & I win it for 1200$
That premium amount of 200$ will not get redeemed back or build interest, the lien will redeem 1000$ + interest. Thus I'm probably going to lose money.

Tax liens are a great way for an investor with little money to get in to the real estate market. I often encourage a new student to buy a few liens so that they can start putting dollars to work quickly. The returns are very good, usually between 12% to 18%, and the redemption periods are often two years or less.

Where do I start? First of all, you need to find out if the state you are interested in sells tax liens. Some states only sell deeds. (That discussion is for another day.) You then contact the county that you are interested in buing a lien. The office you want to contact is often called the Tax Collector. Find out where a list can be found in order to look at available liens. You will usually make your purchase through this office.

Upcoming sales for Cali and washington.
go to bid4assets.com then click on county tax sales. on the right it will show you an auction calendar. find out what auctions are coming up then read all the rules first.
majority of these will be tax deed sale which means you will actually get the property.

Tax sales are going on right now for Colorado.
they generally have them online and Colorado is a great state for liens. Not because they have high interest (which this year is 10%) but because they have a very high redemption rate.
When you buy a lien in Colorado you are about 98% chance that the owner will redeem the lien within a year! that is awesome for someone that is just looking for a good safe return on money.
The auctions will be online at realauction.com
properties that are not sold will be able to be purchased through the mail after the auction is over.

let me know if you have questions

Hi there,

I was curious to know if investors are having any difficulties making contact with either foreclosed on property owners or people owed monies from tax lien sale overages?

I know there are a lot of free sites out there that provide basic information, such as next of kin and of course public records being available throughout the country in many states. Are basic cheap 'click here, pay here' sites providing up to date, good contact info?

Thanks to all, interested to hear some responses.