Tax Lien Property For Sale How to find Them For free
Finding a tax lien property for sale is pretty easy. Finding a property that is worth buying, especially in our economic climate, is a bit more tricky. My goal with this brief article is to show you 3 various ways to find pending tax lien sales worth buying… and how to find them for free.
But first, the basics…
What are tax lien sales?
A tax lien sale is when a government agency sales off any tax liens against a property to recoup any over due taxes contrary to the property. These sales are usually conducted by the tax collectors office or the sheriff’s office.
It is important to note that there are two various ways for the government to accumulate over due taxes. One would be this type of sale (tax lien sales), and the other is known as a tax deed sale.
In a tax lien sale, the investor is buying the lien itself. The winning bidder will obtain a certificate at the end of the auction that entitles the investor to accumulate payments for the over due taxes, often at a high rate of interest. This certificate also allows the investor to foreclose on the property following a specified redemption period if the taxes remain past due.
In a tax deed sale, the real est itself is put on the auction block. The winning bidder takes ownership of the property in the form of a tax deed.
Whether your goal is to buy tax liens in order to bid in tax deed sales, the first step is the same: Identifying properties that have tax liens against them.
Where are tax lien records maintained and recorded?
More times than not, tax liens are filed and maintained at the state level. This means two things for you as an investor:
There may be a bit more legwork involved (these listings are hardly ever on the internet) 2. If there is more legwork, there is a more achieable chance that you will find worthwhile properties
Generally speaking, the simpler it is to find an investment opportunity, the less valuable it is. As my mentor always laughed and said… “Always look for problem properties… and look where nobody else is looking. inch The best deals are always the ones not many people know about, or the ones that not many people know what to do with.
That being said, this is…
How to find tax lien properties in your state
The local recorders office
This is the most time consuming strategy, but is very accurate. Every local in the You. S. has a place where public record is recorded. Santa Rosalia This would integrate deeds, wills, realises, mortgages and both federal and state tax liens.
Many times there will be a computer on site where you can search across the records. Doing a search for similar to “tax lien” will often uncover a massive list of properties that you can then pay to print out.
Tax collectors office
The tax collector usually maintains a list of properties that are doing tax deed sale as well as properties nys is providing tax lien certificates against. Give them a call to make sure they maintain such a list, and it isn’t held at the Sheriff’s office. Then ask what the process is to here is another lists. They may give you a bit of a hard time; simply remind them that this information is public record and you should be ready to go.
Local Newspaper
Within the sale process, the local must give “public notice” of all upcoming tax sales. These are always either before or after the magazine. Go through this section religiously… it is your new golden goose. Make note of the properties that look interesting, and do your required research from there.
Ongoing based list services
This is the only strategy that cost some cash… which is why I didn’t mention it earlier. Contemplate it an additional.
Honestly, these types of services are a dime 12. Some are better than others. The biggest benefit is the speed that you get access to the information. Always look for ones that update often; generally speaking, locally based websites are better than national ones. If you do a basic search on Google you’ll get a list of plenty to choose from.
