Tax lien Investments

[Armando Payano]

Hello BP

Can any tax lien investors share what criteria they use for their investments. I'm meeting with with our attorney to discuss some diversification options. We have never invested in liens before. We are in the Tampa area market.

Thank you 

[John Thedford]

Tax lien CERTIFICATES 
Tax deed sales
Two different birds.
Tax lien certificates are issued by counties to make up for shortfalls in collected taxes. They do attach to a specific property but do NOT provide for ownership of that property. Once they are two years old, the holder may file with the clerk of courts to force a TAX DEED SALE of the subject property. It is open bidding and highest bidder wins. At that time, the holder of the tax certificate is made whole. In Florida, bidding starts at 18% and goes down. If you bid as low as .25%, you are guaranteed 5% over the life of the certificate. In my opinion, there are much better options to make more money. Desirable properties are generally bid way down. Undesirable properties, and those with other tax lien certs, may go unsold. One of the best buys I got on a SFR was a house scheduled for a tax deed sale. I still have that property today. I do some mailouts for properties scheduled for tax deed sales but have not had much luck.