All Forum Posts by: Jim Reynante

Do not look for a centralized database for tax liens or tax deeds.

I always recommend to people that they should contact the county officials for the area(s) they are interested in for investing. Call and talk to the county tax assessor office or tax collector office personnel. Often times they will answer all of your questions or point you to their FAQ website.

I know it is a lot of work to go research and contact each county, but it the only method I would use. If you try to use a 3rd party service, you may find that their information old, outdated, inaccurate, missing, etc.

Here’s a quick way to search for a county’s tax lien auction information on Google:

“<enter county name> in <enter name of state> tax lien (sales, auction)”

Just insert the name of the county and state. For example, if I want to know more about the tax lien sales in Jackson County Mississippi, I would enter:

“Jackson county in MS tax lien (sales, auction)”

Google will return to me the results that match my criteria. At or near the top of the list should be the official Jackson County website that describes tax delinquent sales, FAQs, and other important information. FYI, I always specify the name of the state in my query because sometimes there are multiple counties with the same name in different states.

Good Luck you and your investing!

Whenever I consider a property for tax lien investment, I always have to perform my due diligence to assess its potential and risks.

Yes, a tax lien certificate will pay me a rate of return… but only if the certificate is redeemed. If not, what happens? I would get the opportunity to foreclose and acquire the property. So then the question now becomes, would I actually want to foreclose and own the property?

When looking at the possibility of owning a property through an auction process, it comes down to two things for me:

1 - Is the property useable?

2 - Is the property valuable?

If the answer “Yes”, then I would spend some time researching the property.

Here are some key factors to look for in a property before you decide to invest in its tax lien:

 - Property Location

 - Property Condition

 - Property Type

 - Existing Title and Liens

 - Local Real Estate Market

 - Property Zoning and Regulations

 - Redemption Period (it can vary a LOT depending on the state and/or county)

 - Potential for Profit and Exit Strategy

That is a brief list of what I research and look for in a property BEFORE I actually bid on a tax lien certificate.

Hi Brady-

=== Step 1: Research and fully understand tax lien certificates

- Many people I talk to do not fully understand what a tax lien is, how it gets levied on a property, how it works as an investment, etc.

=== Step 2: Determine what your budget is for tax Lien investing

- Yes, “It takes money to make money” And while it is possible to get some very profitable returns from tax lien certificates, it does require money to get started (you have to be able to purchase the tax lien certificate in the first place).

=== Step 3: Identify an area that you are interested in investing in tax lien certificates

- The rules and returns vary from state to state, and even county to county. So I recommend focusing on a single county and getting to know the area really well.

Understand the area, including:

- Demographics (e.g., avg household income, avg home price)

- Growth outlook (are people moving into the are or out of the area?home prices are trending higher)

- Related influences (e.g., is Amazon going to build a warehouse in the area and require 100 new employees that need housing)

=== Step 4: Find tax lien auctions

Find out about the tax lien auctions in the area(s) you are interested in, because not all counties sell lien certificates. Some counties only sell tax deeds (BTW, ensure that you do know the difference between tax lien certificates and tax deeds)

- Here’s a quick way to search for tax lien auctions on Google:

“<enter county name> in <enter name of state> tax lien (sales, auction)”

Just insert the name of the county and state. For example, if I want to know more about the tax lien sales in Jackson County Mississippi, I would enter:

“Jackson county MS tax lien (sales, auction)”

Google will return to me the results that match my criteria. At or near the top of the list should be the official Jackson County website that describes tax delinquent sales, FAQs, and other important information.

=== Step 5: Contact the county and inquiry about the their tax lien sales.

- Do they auction online or in-person

- When do they hold their auction? Once a year? Once a month? Randomly?

- Where can you get the rules/FAQ about their auction

- Get the list of properties scheduled for the next auction of lien certificates

=== Step 6: Due Diligence

- Review the auction listing and thoroughly research the properties for tax lien certificates you are interested in bidding

This is just a quick, high-level list of the activities I perform when researching for tax lien certificates. There is obviously lots more detail about finding auctions, researching properties, participating in auctions/bidding, return rates, what to do after winning a bid, etc.