Is it really as easy as buying at tax sale and re-listing?

[Marc Roberson]

& does it typically wipe out any bank or other lien? Asking because my county has many tax sales they do once a month & before I go buying anything I want to get clarification first 

[Ned Carey]

@Marc Roberson  NO

If you are buying a tax lien, you are only buying a lien against the property. You do not own that property. It is like buying a mortgage, you do not own the property, just the right to collect payments and foreclose in the event of non-payment. 

As said before the exact laws vary tremendously by state. Some states do not sell tax liens they sell tax deeds. In the case of a tax deed you are actually buying the house. However most tax deed states offer the owner a right of redemption period before you are the owner. What you want to do Might be possible in a tax deed state but you could need to do a quiet title action to get saleable title.

In general, in most states, a tax deed sale or tax lien foreclosure does wipe out any mortgages.

Despite the above, my business model is buying tax liens, foreclosing on them and then reselling them once I get legal title. However this process is very slow. It is typically 2 years from when I buy the lien until I get a settlement check on the resale.