Permit me to introduce myself, as this virtually my first time posting on this forum. I am in the beginning stages of learning about investing in tax liens and tax deeds. I have been binge watching YouTube videos, in particular those put out by three particular companies. I take this very seriously and I really want to make this activity an integral part of my life.

I have identified one huge gap in the subjects they cover. They cover the auctions and otc sales in a commendably detailed form, but when the sequence reaches the point of making a purchase, the instructions stop. Nobody tells you how to achieve the second phase of the project, the sale of the property—which is the whole point of the exercise. That is a huge gap.

Among these instructors, there is only one who has made passing reference to selling your properties. He emphasizes the need to use social media rather than traditional methods. He points out that if you are buying lots that don’t cost very much and you plan to sell them fast for not a huge markup, realtors won’t put a lot of time into it. He recommends advertising your property yourself, using Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. That is fine as a start, but only as a start.

I emailed one of these companies to point out that none of their Youtube material cover the sale of our properties. They politely wrote back saying this was covered in their mentorship program. That was a nice way of saying—you get that in our $5,000 package. I thought this was a lot of money until another of the companies told me they charged $10,000 for their instructional/mentorship program.

I guess it’s a deliberate decision to give us for free almost…almost…all the information we need…but not the last piece of the puzzle. Tied to this is the fact that it is very hard for us to make informed decisions about making purchases in markets we are unfamiliar with, given the normal ebb and flow of real estate activity.

That said, I am not raising this primarily to criticize these companies, but rather to focus on the practical effect of what they leave out. There is no way I am going to pursue making a purchase if I have no idea how hard it will be to sell it, what I might earn, and what process to follow. I am new to this, as I said. My primary educational resource has been YouTube videos, which I have watched for many dozens of hours. I need to shift now to having practice sessions in doing research and in watching auctions online. Can anyone here suggest how I can get comparable information on the last stage of the process? I have no problem devoting hours to research—hundreds if need be—but I really have no clue where to go.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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