Figure out if Buying Tax Liens Are For You
Even before you choose to tax on tax lien investing, you should learn about the pros and cons
You need to know some typical terms and methods like bidding down the interest, bidding on the premium, bidding on the ownership and redemption periods. When you get to the point where you have a good understanding of tax lien investing you should then determine if this suits your personality.
If you feel that being a tax lien investor is in your future, keep reading!
Select an online resource for Buying Tax liens
Locating a website to buy tax liens is actually easy to do. Tax liens are sold by county so you should pick a county you want to invest in, then locate the website for that county.
Another option, use the famous google search engine and enter the county that you are interested in, followed by "tax collector". For example, if I wanted to invest in a county in Florida I would type in "Florida Tax Collector" in the Google search engine.
Using google will turn up a lot of results for tax lien investing and allow you to even sign up for a few auctions from the comfort of your couch.
Register With Online Tax Lien Directories
Note: You will only be able to register in certain counties as not all counties have online tax lien sales.
You should be prepared to provide personal information about yourself such as your social security number, name, address, etc. You might need to set up an account and or provide a deposit which will be required if you want to be a bidder. There could be a minimum requirement to register as a bidder. Don't worry it is refundable.
Understand how the Tax Lien Bidding process works
There are quite a few ways to bid during tax lien sales auctions. One of several bidding methods will be used if more than one investor bids on the same property.
Depending on the laws of the county, the bid winner will be determined by one of the five methods below. Bid Down the Interest.with this bid method, the investor willing to accept the lowest interest rate wins. In some cases the interest rate can go as low as 0%, but this is rare.
Premium.With this method investors are fighting to see who will pay the most for the lien. In some counties the additional premium does not earn any interest and may not be refundable. Colorado is one state that does this.
Random Selection.With this method, a bidder will be selected randomly from all the bidders. It is common for a computer to do the random selection, however in smaller counties other methods may be used. Nevada uses the random selection method.
Rotational Selection. Using this method the liens are offered to the bidders in sequential order. If this bidder refuses the lien, bid ticket number two may then bid. The first bidder cannot bid again until all other bidders have had an opportunity to bid or pass on a lien. The bidding process continues in this sequential way until all the liens have been presented.
Bid Down the Ownership. The winning bid goes to the tax lien investor willing to accept the least percentage of ownership on the lien. For example, an investor may decide to take a lien on only 85% of the property. If the lien is not redeemed, the bid winner only receives 85% ownership of the property with the remaining 15% owned by the original owner. In actuality, very few investors will bid on liens for less than full ownership to the property.
So in the even there are multiple bidders on the same tax lien, the random selection method will be used. Liens not sold at auction are considered "struck" (or sold) to the entity (usually the county) conducting the auction. Liens not sold at auction will then be available for "over the counter" purchasing.
Even before you choose to tax on tax lien investing, you should learn about the pros and cons
You need to know some typical terms and methods like bidding down the interest, bidding on the premium, bidding on the ownership and redemption periods. When you get to the point where you have a good understanding of tax lien investing you should then determine if this suits your personality.
If you feel that being a tax lien investor is in your future, keep reading!
Select an online resource for Buying Tax liens
Locating a website to buy tax liens is actually easy to do. Tax liens are sold by county so you should pick a county you want to invest in, then locate the website for that county.
Another option, use the famous google search engine and enter the county that you are interested in, followed by "tax collector". For example, if I wanted to invest in a county in Florida I would type in "Florida Tax Collector" in the Google search engine.
Using google will turn up a lot of results for tax lien investing and allow you to even sign up for a few auctions from the comfort of your couch.
Register With Online Tax Lien Directories
Note: You will only be able to register in certain counties as not all counties have online tax lien sales.
You should be prepared to provide personal information about yourself such as your social security number, name, address, etc. You might need to set up an account and or provide a deposit which will be required if you want to be a bidder. There could be a minimum requirement to register as a bidder. Don't worry it is refundable.
Understand how the Tax Lien Bidding process works
There are quite a few ways to bid during tax lien sales auctions. One of several bidding methods will be used if more than one investor bids on the same property.
Depending on the laws of the county, the bid winner will be determined by one of the five methods below. Bid Down the Interest.with this bid method, the investor willing to accept the lowest interest rate wins. In some cases the interest rate can go as low as 0%, but this is rare.
Premium.With this method investors are fighting to see who will pay the most for the lien. In some counties the additional premium does not earn any interest and may not be refundable. Colorado is one state that does this.
Random Selection.With this method, a bidder will be selected randomly from all the bidders. It is common for a computer to do the random selection, however in smaller counties other methods may be used. Nevada uses the random selection method.
Rotational Selection. Using this method the liens are offered to the bidders in sequential order. If this bidder refuses the lien, bid ticket number two may then bid. The first bidder cannot bid again until all other bidders have had an opportunity to bid or pass on a lien. The bidding process continues in this sequential way until all the liens have been presented.
Bid Down the Ownership. The winning bid goes to the tax lien investor willing to accept the least percentage of ownership on the lien. For example, an investor may decide to take a lien on only 85% of the property. If the lien is not redeemed, the bid winner only receives 85% ownership of the property with the remaining 15% owned by the original owner. In actuality, very few investors will bid on liens for less than full ownership to the property.
So in the even there are multiple bidders on the same tax lien, the random selection method will be used. Liens not sold at auction are considered "struck" (or sold) to the entity (usually the county) conducting the auction. Liens not sold at auction will then be available for "over the counter" purchasing.
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