noob attempting tax lien investing in illinois

[Ryan Adams]

I'm in Illinois and the annual tax lien sale is coming in the county I live in.  I've read Loftis' book and all the forum posts I could find that specifically talked about tax liens (and at least most of your blog posts Jerry K).  I am not trying to foreclose on property.  I am really only trying to get a better return on my money than my stock portfolio.  I plan to invest around 10k for my maiden voyage.  I've watched the videos on how to bid.  I haven't registered with the county yet but will do that very soon, and they should give me the list of parcels.  When I get the list, I plan to try to go through it and decide which parcels I would like to bid on.

So I'd like to ask, what am I overlooking?

What are typical first timer mistakes?

What do I need to know that I don't know?  How to ask more specific questions :) ?

Thanks in advance

I don't know why it posted twice.