Question To Wil Sifert: How many of those 200 Colorado tax liens do you still have?

Question

Hi @Will Sifert,

If I remember correctly, about a year ago, you went crazy in some Colorado county and bought about 200 tax lien certificates.

How long ago was that?

How many of those tax liens do you still have?

Of those, how many do you believe are worth subtaxing and paying for the foreclosure cost?

When will the redemption period expire?

I suspect the only way to find out whether buying tax lien certificates at an auction is worth it is to go big like Will Sifert did.

I too went crazy in a rural Arizona county a year ago and bought 159 tax lien certificates. Of those, I have 48 left. 46 of which I plan to subtax (NOT 47 like I stated in a separate thread). Two years, plus foreclosure time, remain the redemption periods. 46 are the ones I believe are worth subtaxing and paying for the foreclosure cost.

Bruce Lynn · Answer

What is the exit strategy on them?  Can you sell desert lots?

Bruce Lynn · Answer

I'm surprised there were 50 livable houses to bid on.

We just don't see that many here in Texas.  If it is a house, it is normally trashed.

Mostly what sells are lots.

Almost no one redeems here, so I'm pretty surprised in AZ you have such a high % of people who redeem and pay off what they owe.  That would be nice.

Abdenour Achab · Answer

Last year, when I bought those liens, that county listed about 3,700 parcels on whom to sell liens. My guestimate is that 500 to 1,000 of those properties were livable homes.

The vast majority of those homeowners were only one year behind on their property taxes.

There is no real money to be made from redemption of livable homes in Arizona though. The competition is so fierce that it drives the interest rates too low. I bought many liens at 0% interest rate. Some at 1% per year. Many at 2% per year. Many at 3% per year. I suspect my average interest rate was between 2% per year and 3% per year.

The only real money to be made if you bid on tax liens secured by livable homes in Arizona is in a non redemption. That's why the new law about defendants ability to request an Excess Proceeds sale is leading me to question whether it's still worth bidding on tax liens secured by livable homes in Arizona.

I will know the answer to that question by the end of 2027.

150 liens on good properties (the other 9 or so were mistakes due to lack of due diligence) have already turned into 46 in just a year. I expect those 46 to turn into 23 by the end of June, once most of the homeowners have received their first first class mail letter from me.

Abdenour Achab · Answer

Now, the TLDR version of my previous post:

"Exit Strategy" is a big word for what I am trying to do: acquiring a modest home in rural Arizona at a cost of:

1) About $15,000 in cash.

2) Tying up another $200,000 four nearly four years at very low interest rate return.

Abdenour Achab · Answer

@Bruce Lynn ,

Every situation is different. Let me start with your second question:

> Can you sell desert lots.

Not sure. Alone, no. With the help of a real estate agent, maybe.

> What is the exit strategy on them?48 exit strategies are too many to list. Let me start with the two that I don't plan to subtax. If and when I find out that the treasurer's office received money through someone else, whether through redemption or by selling the lien at the February 2026 tax lien sale, my strategy is to send the original certificate back to the treasurer and, when I receive the redemption money, mobile deposit that check into one of my bank accounts.

For the other 46, I fully expect 40 to 45 of them to be redeemed before foreclosure. My exit strategy is similar to the above.

My hope is to acquire one or two properties out of the 46.

If a property is worth more than $100,000 and is in ready to move in condition for a confirmed bachelor, my "exit" strategy is to turn it into my home.

If a property is worth less than $100,000 or needs significant rehab and is vacant, my exit strategy is to sell it to someone able and willing to rehab it.If a property is worth less than $100,000 or needs significant rehab and is occupied, my exit strategy is to ask the occupant(s) to rent it from me and, if they say no or fail to pay rent, evict them and sell it to someone able and willing to rehab it.

PS: There is more in rural Arizona than undeveloped vacant desert lots.

Question To Wil Sifert: How many of those 200 Colorado tax liens do you still have?

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