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

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Monday Motivation

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Joanne

Here is another great message from my friend Arnfried from Be Motivated Today about goal setting. Please read it! It’s so important, and not the typical stuff about success that you read all the time.

When setting goals, we tend to set what I call: “have goals”. All the things we want: like new cars, holidays, plasma screen TV’s and more. We work hard to achieve these goals.

But we sometimes forget that those “things” are not really as valuable to us as the people in our life. I mean seeing our children become successful young adults who have high morals and strong characters is more important than the latest “toy” or item of expensive jewellery.

Our goals should rather reflect these higher values. It is more important for me that I raise my boys to love God and become young men of fine character, than going to Disney World or buying a new car. So I set my goals to reflect my values. I want to be the best father I can possibly be. I make the goals measurable: I would some day like to hear my sons tell me I am one of their best friends. I also spend regular one-on-one times with each boy as part of my “action plan”.

Don’t get me wrong I want the great holidays and “toys” too, but they take second place to my “Be goals”. Goals, such as being the best father to my children, treating my wife like a queen and being a man of integrity.

Set some “Be Goals” for yourself today.

Affirmations:
I am a … (fill in the blanks)
I care for … (fill in the blanks)
I show my love to … (fill in the blanks)
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.

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Free Webinar: How To Safely Invest In Tax Lien Certificates

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Joanne

Wednesday, August 10 at 9pm eastern, Joanne Musa of TaxLienLady.com will host a free webinar on “How To Invest Safely In Tax Lien Certificates.”

This webinar is geared for newbie investors who want to learn how to invest in profitable tax liens. This training is for you if:

  • You want to use tax lien investing as a safe alternative to stock market investing
  • You want to use tax lien investing as a safe alternative to stock market investing
  • You are tired of losing money in your retirement account to the stock market
  • You’re looking for an alternative to investing in real estate

Find out the truth about tax lien investing and separate the hype from the reality of what you can expect with tax liens. Here’s some of what Ms. Musa will be covering in this training:

  • What are the myths that you may believe about tax liens
  • 5 Mistakes that new investors make and how to avoid them
  • 5 Steps you must take to buy profitable tax liens
  • How you can get step-by-step instruction for investing in tax liens.

A replay of the webinar will be provided to everyone who registers for the live call. You can get more information or register at www.TaxLienLady.com/WebinarTraining.Православни икони

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What’s Better, Tax Liens or Tax Deeds?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Joanne

Recently someone left this comment in reply to one of my articles about tax lien investing, “Thank you for opening my eyes to the tax lien business, but don’t you agree that the real money is in the purchase of tax deeds?”

The truth is that there may be more money in tax buying and flipping tax deed properties, but I still like tax lien investing better, especially for the new investor. There are a lot of reasons that I prefer buying tax liens to tax deeds. If you are a real estate investor and you like rehabbing and selling properties than tax deed investing may be more profitable for you than investing in tax liens. But here are a few reasons why I prefer tax liens, and why you may want to start out with tax liens rather than tax deeds.

First of all tax liens are usually cheaper than than tax deeds. You can start out with very little money. For example in a typical tax lien sale you may be able to purchase 2 or 3 liens for under $1000, but to buy a tax deed on a decent property that is not just vacant land you will have to spend?a few thousand dollars. If you have at least $20,000 to spend, than in some states you may be able to purchase a decent deed. But not every investor wants to start out with that much money, or even has that much to start with.

I’ve purchased many of my liens for less than $500 and I’ve been able to add to my investment by paying the subsequent tax payments. I had one lien that I purchased for around $475.00 and then I was able to pay the subsequent for the next 6 years before finally forcing the lien to foreclose (by sending a foreclosure notice to the mortgage company). I made 18% on most of my investment. Where else can you put less than $500 in an account each year and make that much interest?

The second big reason that I like tax liens better than tax deeds is that I don’t have to worry about owning the property and rehabbing and selling houses. I don’t have to negotiate with anyone. The tax collector does all the work. They collect the redemption money, notify me when the lien is going to redeem, and I just send in my tax lien certificate and get my check. Once in a while when the lien doesn’t redeem after the redemption period is over I may have to send out a pre-foreclosure letter just to let the owner and any lien-holders on the property that I’m going to start foreclosure proceedings if the lien is not redeemed. But I have not actually foreclosed on a property yet, because as long as?you do your due diligence and buy good liens, they will always redeem at some point.

What do you think. Which do you like better tax liens or tax deeds and why? Leave your comment below.икони

Posted in Tax Deed Investing, tax deeds, Tax Lien Investing | 5 Comments

Your Monday Motivation

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Joanne

Your True Identity

We are not only wives, husbands, mothers or fathers, managers, teachers, parents, students or teenagers. These are the roles or life-stages that we fulfil in the process of living. What we are at the core of our being, our identity, goes beyond roles and job functions.

Being project managers, admin assistants, or teachers describes what we do when we are at work, at school or at home. Being husbands, wives, friends, parents or children describes our relationships to other people. But at a deeper level we need to understand what we are all the time 24/7. This will also determine what we do, because doing is a result of being.

You are a Winner, an Achiever, a worker, a creator, a lover, a servant, an image bearer of your Creator, and more.

These are not roles, these are what we were created to be, so that we may fulfil our purpose and potential in this lifetime.

You have an incredible identity!

Affirmations:
I am an Achiever
I am a Winner
I am a Worker

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.

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