Ethics and Legality of Tax Payment Purchasing

[Brendan Lawrence]

Hey Guys,

This whole tax lien thing really is interesting to me.  I've got a question about it:

North Carolina for example, is one region I was just searching through delinquent tax payments.  I'm going to assume there's a difference between somebody being behind in their taxes, and somebody having a tax lien?  If this is true, what happens if I click the "Pay by Credit Card" button and pay off $3,000 of some strangers back taxes listed on the site.  

From my understanding the tax liens for which you start acquiring properties are held at auctions, and not completed through this method.  

So, I guess this goes back to the original paragraph.  What happens if I were to pay somebody's property tax bill?  Are you just a rude home wrecker at that point, pissing off the neighborhood by paying the bill and telling them they owe you money now?  Or do you even get to go that far?  Have you just paid their taxes for them and they owe you a beer?

Really curious.  Thanks for any input on explaining this!

[Jerry K.]

@Brendan Lawrence Based on what you described, "what happens if I click the "Pay by Credit Card" button and pay off $3,000 of some strangers back taxes listed on the site?" well, you just paid their taxes for them - and they owe you nothing. It would be a gift. It's the same thing as paying somebody's bill at the grocery store, or restaurant, or paying their car payment. You aren't legally entitled to repayment by paying that way.

So your follow-up statement is correct - "From my understanding the tax liens for which you start acquiring properties are held at auctions, and not completed through this method."

The county/city/state has a legal process for selling real estate tax liens/certificates. The only way you have a legal lien on the property is if you buy the lien/certificate from the government - or if you buy the lien from a lien holder. Most liens are transferable but have to be registered with the county/city/state that issued the lien. There are so many statutes for liens, and they are different in every state and possibly county and city. You have to know exactly what the statutes are in the area you are investing.