All Forum Posts by: Jerry K.

Took a look at who the top ten winners were in the auction based on amount invested. "Struck to County" are the liens that no one bid on that went back to the county, so I took the top 11 rows.

Then did a little deeper look at the top buyer, "Land Listings LLC", since they received over 12.5% on average. First up are the liens they won and I see most are liens on vacant land.

The final image shows their bidding strategy was to bid 0% for almost all the liens. A couple of 1% bids are in there too. Interesting to see that they bid on homes and commercial parcels but won mostly vacant land.

Click on any image to see a larger version:

The 2017 online tax lien auction for Coconino county in northern AZ ended last week and here are some unofficial results. Results can change if investors do not make their final payments for their lien purchases.

Dollar amount was about 30% higher than the last two years. However the total number of liens sold to investors was down almost 18% this year for Coconino compared to the last two years. The largest number of investors won liens this year since the 2013 auction.

I eliminated the "Struck to County" liens which are the liens nobody bid on and are now held by the county. There were 1,853 liens that were struck to the county. A total of $1,687,241.99 in liens not sold.

Number of liens sold to investors:

2017 - 630

2016 – 766

2015 - 767
2014 - 1,062
2013 - 1,220

Total dollar of liens sold:

2017 - $1,023,450.05

2016 - $789,139.40
2015 - $752,379.78
2014 - $1,359,566.57
2013 - $1,868,433.33

Average rate of return overall:

2017 – 5.91% (12.19% if you include the Struck to County which all get 16%)

2016 - 4.71% (11.74% if you include the Struck to County which all get 16%)

2015 - 6.52% (12.58% if you include the Struck to County which all get 16%)
2014 - 6.58%
2013 - 6.83%

Number of Investors who won liens:

2017 - 84

2016 - 54
2015 - 68
2014 - 69
2013 - 106

Total Number of bids for all liens:

2017 – 3,601

2016 - 3,348

2015 - 4,311
2014 - 6,254
2013 - 54,255,0890

You bid down the interest rate in 1% increments from 16% down to 0%.
Rate Percent that had the most number of bids overall:

2017 – 5% 688 bids

2016 - 4% 867 bids

2015 - 5% 551 bids
2014 - 7% 1,162 bids
2013 - 7% 18,001,058 bids

Most bids per lien/parcel:

2017 – One lien had 25 bids

2016 - One lien had 21 bids

2015 - One lien had 35 bids
2014 - One lien had 38 bids
2013 - Two liens each had 482,840 bids

Results by Property Type minus the Struck to County (click on image to make larger):

@Justin Owens Yes that would be an annualized rate. Divide by 12 months and that is how much you earn as of the first day of each month in AZ. I've had a couple of liens pay off in the first month after the auction in AZ over the years. Each county can have a fee that does not earn interest for each lien. You have to check the rules for each county, they state it up front.

Typical fee is $10, so if the owner redeems in the first month, you can lose money. That's right, despite what the gurus say, you can lose money in liens. I've seen people buy a lien that was $25 in taxes, for 16% annual return with an additional $10 fee that did not earn interest. It would take 2.5 years just earn the $10 fee via the interest! And if the owner redeemed early...

The 2017 annual Tax Lien auction for Yavapai county Arizona ended last week. I have the raw results data. There may be some slight changes since the official counts come out after all certificates are paid.

Rates were up this year along with the number of liens available, total $ sold, and number of winning investors. Total number of bids were up a little this year too, but nowhere near the 2013 bids.

Number of liens sold to investors:

2017 - 2,141 (1,902 bought by investors - 239 Struck to County as no bidders)

2016 - 1,880 (1,600 bought by investors - 280 Struck to County as no bidders)

2015 - 2,039 (1,808 bought by investors - because 231 struck to county as no bidders)

2014 - 2,575

2013 - 2,382

Total dollar of liens sold:

2017 - $2,175,069.34 ($1,890,259.85 bought by investors and $ $284,809.49 not sold)

2016 - $1,874,010.88 ( $1,694,277.89 bought by investors and $179,732.99 not sold)

2015 - $2,678,533.35 ($2,336,551.03 bought by investors - $341,982.32 not sold)

2014 - $3,015,871.87

2013 - $3,435,014.32

Average rate of return overall:

2017 – 7.26% (5.94% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)

2016 - 6.28% (5.25% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)

2015 - 6.75% (5.40% by investors when subtracting out struck to county liens which all get 16%)

2014 - 5.86%

2013 - 6.55%

Number of Investors who won liens:

2017 - 97

2016 - 74

2015 - 89

2014 - 116

2013 - 201

Total Number of bids for all liens:

2017 – 10,550

2016 - 8,823

2015 - 10,525

2014 - 18,812

2013 - 99,073,789

You bid down the interest rate in 1% increments from 16% down to 0%.

Percentage with the most number of bids overall:

2017 – 5% had 1,315 bids

2016 - 4% had 2,680 bids

2015 - 6% had 2,391 bids

2014 - 7% had 3,542 bids

2013 - 4% had 36,251,623 bids

Most bids per lien/parcel:

2017 – 3 liens had 23 bids

2016 - 3 liens had 20 bids

2015 - 7 liens had 24 bids

2014 - One lien had 41 bids

2013 - One lien had 470,295 bids

Created a Pivot table where I grouped the liens by "Property Use Description". The county had no Use Description (#N/A) on 26 parcels that did sell in the auction. This table is based only on the liens that were purchased by investors. I eliminated the Struck to County liens that all received 16%:

Click on image to see larger version of table.

@Ned Carey It is pretty funny some of the types you see when they have them available. I think the Bar/Tavern is listed twice because in the sheet there is a space in front of the title "Bar/Tavern" in one of the listings. So there are 5 Bar/Taverns in total. It would be nice if they came with the liquor license.

@Doug McVinua I have results from Pinal county going back to 2011. In 2011 & 2012 the average winning rate was in the 7%-8% with about 1/3 of the liens being sold. The remaining stay with the county and are available Over The Counter - but the OTC are the leftovers. I've found a few good ones OTC, but it takes a lot of time. Yes, most of the OTC are vacant land with minimal value.

Starting with 2013, the average winning rates dropped into the 4% range and still 1/3 of the liens are sold.

One interesting statistic - the number of liens in the sale is down to 5,369 this year. That is a drop of about 1,000 from last year and 2k-3k lower than a few years ago.

@Account Closed I like the vacant land liens that get the higher rates and have value in case the owners never redeem.

@Dennis Weber - only one part of the golf course makes up the lien. It is the clubhouse though... I noticed the separate use types of "Bar/Tavern" and "Cocktail Lounge". I wonder what attributes make something a Cocktail Lounge versus a Bar/Tavern?

@Jay Hinrichs is so right on the vacant land. And in Arizona a lot of it is desert lots in subdivisions never built or just large tracts of land with little access. Way too many broken down mobile homes too.

The Arizona tax lien auctions are open right now. I gather a lot of data on the available liens for the counties in which I invest. Pinal county, just south of Phoenix, offers more detailed Use descriptions than other counties. Below is a list of the Use types for the 5,369 tax liens in this year's auction and the number of liens for each type.  The golf course listed is Rancho El Dorado course in Maricopa, AZ (the city, not the county). It's the club house and concession stand parcel. A mini-mart is listed, 2 gas stations, a bank, a couple of restaurants, and others. Just thought it might be interesting to others. (Click on image to make it larger)

@Maynhia Stott Many states that sell tax lien certificates/liens allow counties to sell OTC - but it is up to the county to choose to do so. Your home state of Arizona has many counties that offer OTC certificates. I bought one in Pinal county a couple of years ago and earned the full 16% interest  (1.33% each month) for 14 months. I started the tax lien foreclosure and the owner redeemed with about 2 weeks to go.

You have to look at each county individually to see;

1. Do they sell OTC liens/certificates
2. If they do sell OTC, do they sell OTC all year long or only in a special OTC auction

In Florida, counties that offer OTC certificates, you can earn the full annual 18% (1.5% per month). Note Florida offers a 5% penalty rate when bought in the original auction, but removes the 5% penalty rate if bought OTC. 

Example - if you buy in the original auction and win at 12%, you accrue 1% per month. With the 5% penalty, if the owner redeems in month #2 you would have accrued only 2% - but you get paid the 5% penalty instead. The 5% stays in place until you have accrued above the 5%. However, on an OTC certificate, you earn the 18% (1.5% per month). If the owner redeems the 2nd month after you bought the OTC, you only get the 3% (1.5% x 2 months).

Exercise those due diligence skills!

@Robbie J. I'd be interested to hear if you followed through with the billboard project and how it played out for you. Also, you mention in the post above that Clear Channel has a perpetual easement for a board on land you own. I could understand the easement granting them access to the billboard, but it seems you also mean they don't have to pay rent via a ground lease to you, the property owner?