Investing For Success Saturday Snapshot

Posted on September 17, 2022 by Joanne

This is your Investing For Success Saturday Snapshot

Boy that’s mouthful, so for now on I’ll just refer to these Saturday messages as the Success Saturday Snapshot. In addition to the Investing For Success Saturday audio messages that I send out to subscribers and clients, I’ll post something here…

Investing For Success

Today I have a snapshot of a property report for a parcel in an upcoming tax sale in Vigo County Indiana. This should give you an idea of the type of properties you can find in tax lien sales in Indiana. But investors beware…Unless you know how to do your due diligence before you even look at these properties, you can still wind up with a dud. What do I mean?

Investing For Success Due Diligence

Before I even identified this property, I filter the tax sale list by property type and area. I filtered out the high crime cities. I filtered the list to show only the best places to invest in for that county. How did I do that?

It’s really very easy, and didn’t take much time at all. I used a couple of resources that make it easy to do. One is a paid data service that I make available to all of my clients. And the other is a free resource that anyone can use.

I use the free resource to find the best places to invest in counties that I’m not familiar with. And I use the resource that I pay for to filter the list, look at the tax sale properties, and get all the information I need to make a decision of whether to bid or not.

Information like:

  • Assessed value of the property
  • Market value of the property
  • Any environmental issues
  • Flood risk
  • Mortgage data

Plus I get to see the parcel on a google map with an outline of the property. And sometimes I even get a street view. If you’re buying property at a tax deed sale, this is just the beginning of proper due diligence. In that case, I recommend you physically look at the property. Or have someone look at it for you. But this is pretty good due diligence for tax lien sales.

Evaluating Tax Sale Properties Masterclass

If you would like to see the resources that I use filter the tax sale list. And the steps that I take to choose the right properties to bid on. Come to the Tax Sale Success Masterclass on Thursday September 22. I’ll be conducting a 90 minute Masterclass on Evaluating Tax Sale Properties from 7pm – 8:30 Eastern Time. It’s only $47 to attend live and have unlimited access to the recording and all materials – including a due diligence checklist.

Space is limited so register now at https://TaxLienLady.com/Investing-for-success-masterclass.

Posted in Tax Lien Investing | Comments Off on Investing For Success Saturday Snapshot

3 Things To Consider When Choosing Where To Invest In Tax Liens

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Joanne
bidding at the tax sale

How do you choose where to invest in tax liens or tax deeds?

Here are 3 things to keep in mind when you are choosing where to invest:

The first is that going to a tax sale is a better strategy than trying to purchase left over liens or deeds that are offered by the county.

I understand that in the past some tax lien investing experts recommended that you buy liens or deeds directly from the county and avoid the competition. And there are some experienced investors who do make money with this strategy today. But as more investors, funds, and banks have jumped into this market over the last 20 years, it has become even more competitive. So competitive that what is left over are the junk properties and in some areas, even those are bid on so that there is nothing left! In today’s market it’s a better strategy to go to the tax sale. And since online tax sales are more competitive than online tax sales, it’s best to attend a live tax sale if you can.

The second thing to keep in mind when deciding where to invest is where you live.

Since it is better if you can go to a live tax sale, what state do you live in and what type of tax sales do that have? Do they sell tax liens or tax deeds, or redeemable deeds? What is the bidding procedure and do they have live or online tax sales. If your state doesn’t have the type of tax sales that you want to bid at, do you live close to another state that does?

I live in Pennsylvania, which is a deed state, but invest mostly in tax liens and redeemable deeds. I also live really close to New Jersey which is a tax lien state. And though many of the sales are online in NJ, there still quite a few live tax sales. So most of the sales I participate in are in New Jersey.

The third thing to consider when choosing the right place to invest is how much money do you have to invest.

You need more money to invest in deeds and redeemable deeds than you do to invest in tax liens. That is because when you purchase a deed or redeemable deed you are bidding for the property and in competitive real estate markets, investors may bid pretty close to market value to get the deed. Even for tax liens there are some states that you will need more money than others. In states that bid premium for tax liens you will need more money than in states that use a different bidding method.

Posted in Tax Deed Investing, Tax Lien Investing | Comments Off on 3 Things To Consider When Choosing Where To Invest In Tax Liens

Want To Invest In Tax Liens – How Much Money Do You Really Need?

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Joanne
profit from your tax lien

How much money do you really need to invest in tax liens or tax deeds?

One of the most frequent questions I get about tax lien investing is “How much money do I need to invest in tax liens?”

How much money you need to invest in tax liens depends a few factors:

  • Where you live
  • Whether you are investing in tax liens or tax deeds
  • What type of bidding takes place at the tax sales you’ll be bidding at
  • And what your goals are

And it may be more than you think!

I know that some people think you can buy a tax lien for a couple hundred dollars and wind up with a house that is worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars. This is not really how it works, however.

The truth is that tax liens on good properties are going to be more than $200. In fact I don’t bid on tax liens that are less than that. And I make sure that I have enough money in reserve to pay another 2 or 3 years of taxes on the property. That is because in some states the redemption period might be 2 or 3 years and before you can foreclose on the property, you will have to pay the subsequent taxes.

When you buy a tax lien at the tax sale, you are paying previous years delinquent taxes. But there are now current taxes due on the property and there will taxes due during the redemption period. At some point before you can own the property, you will need to pay the subsequent taxes! And then you will either need to hire an attorney to foreclose the right to redeem the lien, or pay a fee to the county to receive the deed to the property.

So how much money do you really need to start investing in tax liens?

I used to recommend that you have at least $2000 to buy a tax lien. But that was 10 years ago when only 4 states had online tax lien sales. Today many tax lien states have their tax sales online, and many of them require deposits. Today, you need a budget of $10,000 for some of these online tax sales.

Also if you are buying deeds and not liens you may need a lot more. At tax deed sales and redeemable deed sales the bidding might start at the back taxes and penalties owed the county. But it is bid up from there. And since investors are bidding for the property, the bidding can go quite high. For these tax sales you will need more money, depending on what state you are bidding in, what the economy is like at the time, and what type of property you are after.

Need help getting started?

Have money to invest but need help getting started? Want to make sure that you bid on the right properties and don’t make mistakes that could cost you? Working with someone who can mentor you could mean the difference making or losing money on your investment. I can help you find the best places to invest, easily get the tax sale information, and find the right properties to bid on. To schedule a complimentary Profit Planning session with me to find out how I can help you. Just fill in the form at https://taxlienlady.com/mentoring-application.

Posted in Tax Deed Investing, Tax Lien Investing, tax sales | Comments Off on Want To Invest In Tax Liens – How Much Money Do You Really Need?

My 3 Favorite Tax Lien Investing Tools

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Joanne

tax lien investing tool

Want to know about the tax lien investing tools and resources that I use the most? If you’ve been following me, you know that there are smart and not so smart ways to invest in tax liens and tax deeds. I’m all about the smart and easy ways to invest.

Tax lien and tax deed investing has gotten a lot easier since I started investing in tax liens in 2002 and tax deeds in 2005. There are online tools and resources that either didn’t exist when I got started or I just wasn’t aware of then. Some of these resources are free online tools that I use all the time to find upcoming tax sales and research tax sale properties. They make tax lien and tax deed investing a lot easier than it used to be. Most of them are free. Although I do use a paid version for the one resource that I use the most.

In this article, I’ll list the top three tools and resources that I use to make tax lien investing easier, and explain how I use them.

My Favorite Tax Lien Investing Tools:

Tax Sale Finders – This is the tax lien investing tool that I use the most. I use a paid version and I provide the paid version to members of the Tax Lien Profits Accelerator™ and my coaching clients. The first thing that I use this resource for is to find out what tax sales are coming up across the country. I can filter the upcoming tax sales to find just the type of tax sales I’m looking for all across the country or in the state of my choice.

Once I find the tax sale that I’m looking for, I can filter the list of properties in the tax sale. I can filter the list down to a manageable number of properties to research. And I don’t have to waist my time researching properties in areas that I don’t want to invest in, or types of properties I’m not interested in.

Then I can get reports on the properties that I want to research further. The reports include a map showing the parcel boundaries and assessment data, market value of the property (according to the county), mortgage data, any environmental concerns and flood risk. I’ve only described part of what is provided by Tax Sale Resources, but these are the features that I use the most.

If you would like to get access to Tax Sale Finders and learn how use TSF along with the other resources listed in this article to find out what tax sales are coming up around the country, filter the tax sale lists and choose the right properties to bid on, check out the new Tax Sale Success Workshop at www.TaxSaleSuccess.com.

Niche.com – I like to use this free resource to find the best places to invest when I’m going to a tax sale in a state or county where I don’t know the area. I use it to find the best counties in a given state. And to find the best cities or towns to invest in inside any given county. While many of the resources that show real estate values that used to show crime ratings no longer do this, Niche.com does. So I also use Niche.com to check crime ratings in areas that I’m considering investing in.

Zillow.com – Tax Sale Resources gives the market value of tax sale properties according to the county, but that does not always keep up with the market. So I use Zillow to find a better estimate of what the market value really is. Zillow doesn’t always keep up with the market either. In a lagging market, it is usually a little higher than what the property would sell for. And in a rising market it’s a little lower. But it is still more up to date than the county records.

Posted in Tax Lien Investing | Comments Off on My 3 Favorite Tax Lien Investing Tools

Summertime Tax Sales

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Debby

Looking for summertime tax sales? Here are tax sales that you can look forward to this summer….

Summertime Tax Lien Sales

Maryland tax sales are wrapping up and there are only a couple of Maryland tax sales that will have their tax sales by the end of this month. New Jersey, and Louisiana, have tax sales going on this month and throughout the summer and many of those are online.

Kentucky counties also have tax sales coming. up throughout the summer, but they are all live tax sales. Wyoming counties have live tax sales in July and August as well.

Mississippi and Missouri have their tax sales in August. In the past, there were a few Mississippi counties that had online tax sales but this year most of them are online. 3 of the Missouri county tax sales were held online last year but they may have all reverted back to live tax sales this year. Both of these states have all their tax sales on the same day. For Missouri, it is August 22, and for Mississippi, tax sales are on August 29.

The big news is that Washington DC hasn’t had a tax sale for the last 3 years due to COVID and they are holding their tax sale in July. This is a live tax lien auction.

Summertime Tax Deed Sales

Tax sales have dried up for the summertime on the west coast. But there are plenty of tax deed sales coming up in other parts of the country and some of those are online.

Florida counties have tax deed sales coming up in July and August and many of them are online. Some of these counties may have tax sales as often as once a week! New York counties have tax deed sales from now through September and a few of them are online. The state of Wisconsin also has a handful of counties that have sealed bid or online tax sales this month and next. But they typically do not have many properties in their tax sales. Sometimes there are only 1 or 2 properties in these Wisconsin tax sales.

Some Louisiana parishes have tax deed sales in July, and many of which are online. There are Ohio county tax deed sales from now until the beginning of September and a handful of those tax sales are online, although most of them are live. And there are quite a few Virginia tax sales through June and July and many of them are now online.

There are plenty of live tax deed sales coming in Arkansas from July through September. The state of Idaho has 3 counties with tax sales scheduled this summer. But each of these tax sales has only 1 or 2 properties in the auction. And they are all live. Indiana is a tax lien state, but Polasky County has a live tax deed sale scheduled for July.

My favorite state for online tax deed auctions is Michigan and this is the season for Michigan tax sales. Almost all of their tax sales are in August. There are also a lot of tax deed sales going on all summer in the state of Kansas. All of these sales are live.

There are quite a few North Carolina counties with tax sales from now through September. But only counties that have larger cities have more than a handful of properties in their tax sales. There are also a few counties in my state – Pennsylvania, that have deed sales coming up. And thanks to the COVID pandemic, some of them are now online. Some of the PA counties have combined their tax sales with the Sheriff sales and they are held on Bid4Assets.com.

Redeemable Deed Sales

Delaware has only 3 counties and they all have a tax sale in July. There are a few counties in Tennessee that have tax sales this summer, and now some of them are online. Some counties in Georgia and Texas have tax sales every month, on the first Tuesday of the month. Only one GA county and a handful of TX counties have their redeemable deed auctions online. Some Connecticut municipalities have redeemable deed sales coming up this summer. All of these sales are live. The city of Philadelphia has an online redeemable deed sale in July.

Where are you spending your vacation this summer? If you’re going to be in one of these states, why not look into the tax sales?

Need help getting ready for a tax deed sale? Check out the Online Tax Deed Sales home study course at www.OnlineTaxDeeds.com!

Posted in tax deeds | Tagged | Comments Off on Summertime Tax Sales