1st learn if your state is a tax lien state or a tax deed state....very important and big difference. Also could be a hybrid state.
You might read the book 16% solution. Not sure if it covers your area or not, but it's a good start even if it doesn't.
Find out if your area does them in person or online. You might start with your county assessor, or county tax collector. Don't give up, not everyone who answers the phone knows. Go in person if you can. You can also search on their websites to see if they post info.
Watch 3 sales before you ever bid. You can do your research like you plan to bid, but don't buy anything at the first 3 sales. Watch, learn, listen, network like crazy. If it starts at 10am, get there at 9am. Talk to everyone, ask them why they paid X, and what they plan to do with the property. Ask them who the biggest player in the room is. Ask if there are any classes for your area.
Attend your local REIA meetings and find out who the tax sale experts are. Buy them lunch.
Funny you ask if they are all the same. In my area the law is the same for the entire state, but there are lots of interpretations. I say it is all local. Basics might be the same, but there are differences...for example some are cash (real cash), some wants checks/no cash, some want cashier's checks, some want it within a minute of the sale, some want it after lunch, some within a couple hours. Some want the money to go to the sheriff, some to the tax assessor, some to the attorney. Sometimes they argue about it at the sale. Sometimes you can negotiate. That's maybe one of the things you learn by attending a sale vs bidding at the first one.
KNOW what you are buying 100%. Don't gamble. Working my list tonight and I can see some people have made some bad purchases, because they did not know what they're buying. There are probably 10 experts here on BP that work different states with different rules and procedures, I think every one of them agree that you want to see every property you bid on in PERSON, not on google street view, not on sat view, not on some website. YOU drive every single property before you bid. Otherwise you may think you're buying a house, and it's dirt. You may thing you're buying a vacant lot, but it has $100,000 worth of junk to haul off, or that faded letter on the window when you get up close and personal says "dry cleaner". Chances are you don't want to buy a building that had PERC spills and EPA just chomping at the bit to hit the new owner with environmental cleanup costs, that might be way more than the building is worth. I think we have all seen disasters and seen people bid on junk. Speaking of junk, doing my research tonight saw a 1/4 acre lot for sale.....except that it is 25' wide and 407' long. They forget to tell you stuff like that. It's a drainage ditch. Someone will buy that, and then have the pleasure of mowing or more fun-weed eating that to keep the city off your back.
Not sure about SD, but I tell everyone you need time and money. #1 you need the flexibility to go to the sale or bid online on tax sale day. #2 normally it is a cash business. You need same day cash typically, no loans, no credit. I expect SD is no different than most other states. You can find deals, but they don't drop in your lap. You're not going to get $500,000 house move in ready for for $50. You might get it for $400,000 if you have that much cash, but it likely won't go for $50 or $100.
You can read some of your state laws here:
https://dor.sd.gov/government/county-treasurers/
Don't ever waste your money on a nationwide trainer or a travelling road show in a hotel ballroom. If you find in person training, make sure it is from someone local.
GOOD luck....happy hunting....
