Buying Tax Certificate

[Tiffany Wells]

Good evening I’m a complete novice and need the opinions of the experts. I’m looking to purchase a certificate on a multi unit condo building and need to know if it is worth purhasing. The certificate cost is 166.69, valuation is $5,500. The last documents on file states: 6/22/18 a sale of certificate of title @ $66,800 2/21/96 a warranty deed @260,000 Thank you for any advice you all can give me. I’m willing to learn so lay it on me.

[Wayne Brooks]

@Tiffany Wells Okay, I know FL cert’s. 

This sounds you’re looking on one of these “secondary market repeddlers of tax certificates. 

I have no idea what the “value of $5500” is supposed to mean. 

Understand, a tax certificate gives you Absolutely No interest in, or advantage in acquiring,  any interest in the property. 

It only entitles you to two things:

1) if someone redeems the Certificate, pays you off, you get the Cost of the original certificate plus accrued interest at whatever the bid the rate down to.....rarely above 5%.

2) If no one else redeeems, and you want to get your money back as the certificate holder, once the certificate is 2 years old, you can apply to send the property to s public tax deed auction. To do this, You must pay off All the other outstanding certificates along with 18% interest on them, plus fees. Then, if the auction gets a bid above the money you already have in this process(the minimum/starting bid), you get paid back, plus the interest you deserve on your certificate. If no one bids this starting bid, then you get the property.....great deal right?....only that would mean you already invested more money than anyone else was willing to pay for the property....probably not s good deal. 

3) Once Your Certificate becomes 7 years old, if not redeemed or sent to tax deed auction, it expires worthless. 

For these reasons, FL tax certificates have never interested me and Zi suspect many are for sale in the secondary because people later realized what the process was.