Free Webinar: “How You Can Profit From The Illinois Tax Sales”

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Joanne

September marks the end of summer and the start of the Illinois tax sales. Illinois is the most profitable tax lien state, with a default interest rate of 36% per year. And once again I’ll be hosting a webinar with Platinum Investment Properties – West. The agents at PIP-West are the experts at investing in Illinois.

On Wednesday August 31st I hosted a webinar with Charles Sell and Don Fullman of Platinum Investment Properties. You can listen to the replay at http://taxlienlady.com/PIPWest-Aug2011/PIPWest-Aug2011.html

The title of this webinar training is ?How You Can Profit From The Illinois Tax Sales. Last year I hosted a similar webinar where Don talked about how PIP-West has been able to get their clients an average return of over 30% by investing in Illinois tax liens. Continue reading →

Posted in Tax Lien Investing, Webinar | Comments Off on Free Webinar: “How You Can Profit From The Illinois Tax Sales”

Financial Forecast From An Expert

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Joanne

I am not a finacial expert. I don’t know much about the economy or the stock market. So I rely on a experts that really know about these things. They might not agree on everything, but they do agree that the ecomomy and the stock market are in for another major downfall.

Harry Dent is one of the experts that I pay attention to. Financial professionals and investors have trusted the research and recommendations from his company, H.S. Dent for the last 2 decades. So you might want to listen to what they he has to say. He has just announced a new book “The Great Crash Ahead,” that will hit the shelves on September 20th. His book can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

To find out more Mr. Dents predictions for the market and the economy, you can have a look at his latest youtube video below.

If you’re a baby boomer like me, with 10 years or less until retirement, you’re not going to want to rely on the stock market in these uncertain times. I’d like to suggest that now might be a good time to invest in tax lien certificates. Did you know that you can use the money in a self-directed IRA to buy tax liens? I can’t think of a safer way to invest your retirement money right now. Need help getting started, or just want to find out more about tax lien investing. Get my free Tax Lien Investing Kit at www.TaxLienInvestingKit.com.

Posted in Self-Directed IRA, Tax Lien Investing, Wealth Building | 2 Comments

What Is A Tax Lien Certificate?

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Joanne

A tax lien certificate is a document -?a certificate of sale, issued by a taxing district (County or municipality) to an individual or an entity that purchases a tax lien.

It is proof that a certain person or entity purchased a tax lien on a property in a specific taxing district. Since the local government can levy heavy penalties and interest to delinquent tax payers, these interest rates and penalties are passed on the purchaser of the tax lien. So if you purchase a tax lien on a property you receive the interest rate from the property owner that would normally go to the taxing district. Since these interest rates can be anywhere from 8 – 36% a year depending on the state the certificate is purchased in – this is a great investment!

Here is how it works:

Counties and municipalities in the United States need to collect property taxes to meet their budget – to fix roads, pay policemen, firemen, and teachers, build schools, etc. If a property owner doesn’t pay their taxes, the taxing district has 2 alternatives. They can either sell the property to satisfy the back taxes, or they can sell the taxes to an investor and give the property owner more time to pay up.

States that use the first method, and sell the property to get payment of the tax bill are known as tax deed states. States that sell the tax bill to an investor are known as tax lien states. The counties in states that sell tax liens will have a tax lien auction once a year where they will auction the tax liens available to investors. The procedures at these tax sales vary greatly. In some states the interest rate on the lien is bid down and in other states the amount of the lien is bid up. And states also vary in how much time they give the property owner to pay the lien – this is known as the redemption period.

When a lien is purchased at one of these auctions, the successful bidder is issued a tax lien certificate. The tax lien certificate is then recorded with the county clerk as a lien against the property. The investor gets paid on a tax lien certificate when the property owner decides to pay the lien. If the property owner doesn’t pay off the lien within the redemption period (which is a different time period for each state) then the lien holder may either apply for a deed to the property or foreclose on the property in order to satisfy the lien.

When the property owner decides to redeem the lien, they contact the tax collector to get the payoff amount and pay the taxing district. The taxing district will then contact the investor and get the tax lien certificate, signed and authorized from the investor, and send a check to the investor for the amount of the lien plus any interest or penalties earned. Each state is different in the amount of interest and penalties earned by a tax lien.

Since the lien is guaranteed by real property and the interest rate is set by state law and is not tied to the economy, tax lien certificates are becoming a popular investment today. Find out more about how to obtain tax lien certificates at www.TaxLienInvestingBasics.com.

Posted in Tax Lien Investing | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What Is A Tax Lien Certificate?

Monday Motivation: Your Purpose And Potential

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Joanne

Another inspirational message from my friend Arnfried from Be Motivated Today:

Everything exists with a purpose e.g. the sun, flowers and even the hair in your nose.
You too have a purpose. Your personal purpose is the original intent or reason for your existence. Part of your purpose may be being in relationship with a lifetime partner, being an awesome parent, or involved in the community in some way. But you also have a specific service to provide humanity, one that no one else can the way you do.

Don?t feel intimidated when you are told that you have a purpose, because you also have the potential to fulfill that purpose. It’s all inside and only needs to be developed and worked out.

Affirmations:
I am awesome.
I have an incredible purpose
I have unique talents and strengths

Be all you can be.

With Fond Regards

Arnfried Klein-Werner
Motivator & CEO – Be Motivated Today

Want to receive these encouraging and inspiring emails?
Register for a 14-day FR’EE Trial of the Daily PEP-Talk at http://www.BeMotivatedToday.com/71058. Watch a short video and download an e-book on releasing your potential and a report on a unique way to help you create a passive income that actually works. Visit http://www.BeMotivatedToday.com/71058.

Posted in motivation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Monday Motivation: Your Purpose And Potential

Tax Lien Investing – A Safe Alternative To The Stock Market

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Joanne

The stock market recently took another tumble, but it doesn’t concern me at all. I have very little invested in the market. Most of my investments are in tax lien certificates and the interest I make on my tax liens does not fluctuate with the market. In fact it’s guaranteed by the county or municipal government that issues the lien. Tax lien investing is a safe alternative to the stock market.

A Better Investment For Today

There is a better way to invest your money – you can get double digit returns without putting your money at the risk of the market. Tax lien investing is a great alternative to investing in stocks and now is a great time to invest in tax liens. But let’s start out with some basic information about tax lien investing. What is a tax lien anyway?

What is a Tax Lien?

Municipalities and counties need money in order to pay city and county workers – school teachers, policemen, firemen, and public officials. They also need money to fix the roads and maintain public properties. That money comes largely from property owners who pay property taxes. Local governments need to collect property taxes in order to meet their budget. When property taxes go unpaid some states will allow the unpaid tax bills to be sold to investors. Investors bid for the right to pay the delinquent taxes and get the interest on their money that the county or municipality would normally charge the delinquent tax payer (anywhere from 8 – 36% per year depending on the state).

Why Would You Want To Invest In Tax Lien Certificates?

Investors buy tax lien certificates because of the interest they receive on their investment. Where else can you get 8, 12, 18, 25 or even 36% on your money without a high degree of risk? And if the delinquent tax payer does not pay off the lien within the required amount of time, the lien-holder can foreclose on the property. So the tax lien is secured by the property or the real estate that it’s held against. In most states?a tax lien takes priority over other types of liens, like a mortgage for instance, so the tax lien investor gets paid first before a mortgage holder or other lien-holders. Anyone with a tax ID number can purchase a tax lien, so you don’t have to pay money to a broker to invest in tax liens. And unlike other high earning investments, you can start with very little money.

More Reasons Why Now Is A Good Time To Buy Tax Liens

You don’t need good credit to buy a tax lien. You don’t even need to be a U.S. citizen or live in the U.S. to purchase U.S. tax liens. Some states allow investors to purchase tax liens online from their computer, so you don’t even have to leave home. You can also purchase tax liens with money from your retirement account if you have a self-directed IRA or 401(k). And because of the week economy throughout the country right now and the in-ability to get financing there are more tax liens available now then there have been in recent years.

Things To Watch Out For

Beware though of people that make it sound too easy, after all if it were that easy everyone would already be doing it. Tax lien investing is a great way to grow your wealth, but it’s not a way to get rich quick. Beware of gurus that tell you that you can make a lot of money by only investing a couple of hundred dollars in tax liens. Even if you make 36% on your money, unless you have a considerable amount to invest you’re just not going to make an income on the returns. Also, investing in tax lien certificates is not a way to get the property, most tax liens redeem, and very, very seldom will you get the chance to foreclose on a property. Plus even if you did get to foreclose on a property, you would have to pay the taxes on the property while you waited out the redemption period, which is as long as 3 years in some states.

Other Things To Consider

Although some tax lien investing “gurus” make it sound like your guaranteed to get paid on a tax lien, this is simply not true. The only thing guaranteeing that you’ll get paid on your lien is the property. So you do have to do your due diligence before buying a tax lien. You also have to make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of the tax sale and the bidding procedures. Each state handles these tax sales differently and you have to make sure that you know the rules of the game before you play!

How To Have A Profitable Tax Lien Portfolio

Buying profitable tax liens is really quite simple. You only really need to do 2 things. The first is to buy liens on good properties and the second is to be able to get the money out of your lien. There are 3 ways that you can cash out of your lien. Either the lien will be redeemed by the property owner, or if the lien does not redeem you can foreclose on the property. Or if you don’t want to wait for redemption or for the opportunity to foreclose, you can sell your lien to another investor.

To learn more about the 5 things that you need to do to buy profitable tax liens and how to get step-by-step instruction on tax lien investing you can watch this recording of the webinar training ?How To Invest Safely In Tax Lien Certificates? from TaxLienLady.com. Watch the video at http://taxlienlady.com/SafelyInTaxLiens/SafelyInTaxLiens.html

Posted in Tax Lien Investing, Wealth Building, Webinar Replay | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Tax Lien Investing – A Safe Alternative To The Stock Market