All Forum Posts by: DL Coker

@Beth H. Thanks for replying and thanks for that advice about being aware of cumulative liens. Easy to see how those could quickly add up. Did you invest in other counties in MD before investing out of state? 

@Matt Schelberg That is really useful information, especially about reaching out to tax sale attorneys. I'll PM you for details.
I am indeed leaning towards the route of investing that will (hopefully) generate interest rather than properties - at least at this point in time. I suppose nothing is risk-free - that is really unlucky to have two properties taken out by fires!
That situation never crossed my mind nor have I seen it in any books or material I've read through so far. What happens in that case- is there some sort of insurance that can cover some of your losses or is your principal redeemed without interest? 

Most replies so far seem to have pointed me to Baltimore City - perhaps because it's the biggest and most developed market in the state. I wonder if a beginner might have better chances in a smaller county - Frederick, Anne Arundel, etc.? I'm going to keep researching and once Covid dies down, I'll see if it's possible to physically attend any tax sale auctions - if only to observe and meet other professionals in the field.

@WAYNE G. Thanks for your reply! It's encouraging to hear that it is in fact possible to start small. I threw $5k out there as a number to see if it would get any traction, and as you say that it's around the bare minimum, I suppose I'll work on building up a healthy sum to work with before fully committing any funds. 

I did not know about assignment sales - that sounds interesting so I will research that a bit more. Do you know if that exists across all MD counties?

The time spent getting to know markets and researching properties is something that seems to come up a lot when I ask about tax liens, but I figure that applies to almost any strategy so I'll try not to let that deter me. I figure that with a seemingly impending housing market correction and wider recession, it is reasonable to assume household and commercial budgets might be tighter, thus increasing the likelihood of property tax defaults (i.e. more availability/increased chances at forthcoming tax sales). Perhaps my thinking is a bit too simplistic but, in the meantime, I'm planning to educate myself as save as much as possible so that if and when more tax lien investing opportunities come up (say, in the next 12-18 months), I'll be in a better position to act and invest than I currently am. 

@Chris Seveney @Russell Brazil

Thank you both for your prompt replies. have seen Ned Carey's comments on a few tax lien threads so I will be sure to look into more of his posts on the topic.

@Beth H. Thanks for the reply too! You confirmed my suspicions. Any idea if neighbouring counties (PG, Howard, etc) are as competitive in the tax lien space? I suspect they are. In any case, this is all part of the learning process for me. I'll keep doing research and see if I can build up enough capital to ever get involved in this or consider alternative real estate investing strategies.

Hello BP Community,

This is my first ever post on the forums. I am just starting out on my real estate investing journey and I am currently educating myself as much as possible and trying to identify my niche areas of interest and strategies.

I am quite interested in tax lien investing, particularly as a means of obtaining better interest rates than elsewhere. However, in doing my research I have so many questions and I would be grateful for any thoughts and guidance.

1. 1. I’m currently based in Montgomery County, Maryland. In my limited research done so far, it seems that this is quite a developed market for tax lien investing and it might be difficult to be successful at one’s first auction. Can anyone offer insight on this? If I had, say, $5k to work with, would I even have a chance of being able to place a successful bid? I’m just trying to gauge how significant the barriers to entry might be for someone who doesn’t have hundreds of thousands to invest right now.
2. 
   2. Secondly, although tax lien investing may be more “hands-off” than other strategies, it’s my understanding that one should still get to know the market and areas they’re planning to invest in – so I figure I would start out (physically) close to home before considering out-of-state (or far away) tax sales in markets I know nothing about. While Montgomery County might be highly priced in MD, I wonder if Prince George’s and Howard Country might offer better chances for one starting out – any thoughts?
3. 3. My last question relates to where I can learn more. I’ve read some material on the subject, particularly “The 16% Solution” by Joel Moskowitz and “Zero risk real estate” by Chip Cummings. In the fast moving world of the Internet, I realize some of the content might be a bit dated but I assume the basic principles still apply. Can anyone recommend any other decent sources or reading and research material in this area?

Thanks for reading through this far and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Best,

DL