FL Tax Certificate Auction Questions

[Tim L.]

I'm thinking of getting in on the tax certificate auction in Pinellas county. This would be my first crack at tax certs, and I had a few quick questions for the veterans here.

My criteria will be as follows:

- Type of property: SFR

- Location: beach side communities I am familiar with

- Improvements representing at least 75% of the total value

I plan to do my research and make sure that the properties I bid on have a high probability of being redeemed, since I would prefer not having to go through the foreclosure process down the road. However, judging from previous auctions, it appears that the majority of these are going for a piddly 0.25% interest. I did notice that there were some higher interest rates sprinkled in, but then upon researching the properties, those places wouldn't really meet my criteria.

What would be a good bid to place? Is 0.25% the norm now? I was hoping to get much higher than that, so I'm thinking about just placing higher bids on a lot of properties and seeing what happens. If I don't win any, then I'm right back where I started.

Thoughts?