All Forum Posts by: Will Sifert

@Ned Carey I suppose my concern was with the government liens @Bruce Lynn brought up. How can you catch these? I'm sure this goes without saying, but what I don't want is to win a house that has double the amount I bid, in IRS liens or in some other type of lien. I have heard most of the governing authorities are relatively open to negotiating on these gov liens, but I'd rather know about them before the auction then find out after. 

My county has tax deed auctions 1-2X a month. Although I haven't bought a tax deed property yet, I have been practicing by going through the due diligence process on the properties that will be auctioned and then checking, post-auction, to see how I would have stacked up against those who actually bid on the properties. You can tell a lot of people get auction fever as they bid at, or over market value for some of these properties. That said, there are always a handful of properties that go for 80-90% below market value, some of these properties being relatively nice condos and other homes. I can't help but wonder what I'm missing, as that seems too good to be true...thoughts?

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen!

@Denise Evans  Really????  Write in big black letters that the book may be outdated?  Should all the other copies in the bookstores have the same written on them?  There is something called due diligence.  Isn't it up to the reader to look at the date published?  They are readers after all.  People give and receive bad advice from all professions 

The poster hasn't even identified which books she is disposing of.  How do you know if they are valid or not?

Quote from @Ned Carey:

@Nicole H. I never heard of them. Personally I am very skeptical of most tax sale training and especially of offers for access to off market liens or software. I have heard a lot of crap spewed by Gurus,  and no one is going to sell a lien that is worthwhile for anything less than a premium. There are a lot of scammers in this space. 

That said their monthly membership is cheap and the training is cheap. It is worth a shot to see it it has value. But be vary wary of an upsell.

If you are not willing to  risk throwing away $49 for training then you shouldn't be investing in tax liens, which is itself risky.

the other thing is tax liens  ( compared to tax sale) vary so much from jurisdiction ..  so if its just general information rarely will it hone in on how you are do do it at your home drome.  I went to one presentation years ago but it was specific to Tax Liens in AZ..  so if your going to buy in AZ it was probably OK to spend a few bucks on that course.  But if its just general information  Kind of like the how to wholesale guru's your probably not going to get the in depth detail you need to work in the area you live in..

In Az it is bid down on the percentage of interest and whoever takes the least amount of interest gets the tax lien.  A usual amount for a tax lien property with value will be around 3-4% or less. 

Quote from @Will Sifert:

Quote from @Jerry K.:

@Kyle W. did a great summary for Arizona. I have been investing in tax liens in AZ since 2009. One point I want to ask Kyle - are you sure the property goes to auction after the 30 day foreclosure letter? That is not what has happened in my tax lien foreclosure cases. That is how they are done in Florida, but in AZ my experience, once the foreclosure actions is complete the lien holder who foreclosed gets the property. I have not done a foreclosure in Maricopa county, but I haven't found a statute that mentions after the foreclosure the parcel is auctioned to highest bidder. 

That is the main reason I will never buy tax liens in Florida. After the redemption period expires I don't want to go through all the trouble of trying to take ownership just to have the deed go to auction for the highest bidder, no thanks. 

 Will, as you know some states are better than others. Today I received my 1st of 3 deeds to houses from last year's auction. I also made over 4k in interest in one year from properties that were redeemed.

Time to gain entry once I confirm it's not occupied. Since I now have the deed I am the legal owner and can walk on the property and possible get into the house and change the locks.

@Will Sifert, if the owner redeems after the judicial foreclosure lawsuit has been filed, the reasonable attorneys fees for that lawsuit, plus court costs, will be added to the redemption price tag. The investor cannot collect for ALL attorneys fees related to the lien purchase, throughout the lien ownership period.

BTW, if a bill pending in Alabama legislature is passed and signed into law, the judicial foreclosure "window" will be changed from the current 3 years (earliest) to 10 years (latest) to a new time period of 45 months (earliest) to 60 months (latest)

Alabama 45 counties (about 2/3) including all the large ones now do tax lien auctions with online auctions and interest bid-down. Redemption period 3 years.  For those still doing tax certificate auctions, and for purchases over the counter from the State, tax deed is automatic three years after auction, but there might still be redemption rights. The tax deed vastly improves the investor's legal and economic position, though. For tax  liens, you file a judicial foreclosure lawsuit to foreclose your lien. You name as defendants anyone who has redemption rights. If they don't redeem (by paying taxes, interest, and investor legal fees) then the judge forecloses the lien, quiets title in the investor and orders the circuit clerk to issue a deed to the investor. There is no auction. Outsiders do not get a chance to get the property when there is a judicial foreclosure. It's not like a judicial foreclosure of a mortgage, in those states that use that method.

Possession rights in investor automatic granted after tax certificate sale. No automatic with tax lien sale, but there are strategies for gaining possession and improving the property, and getting reimbursed even if there is a redemption. Plus, investor can keep rental income in the meantime.

@Kyle W. did a great summary for Arizona. I have been investing in tax liens in AZ since 2009. One point I want to ask Kyle - are you sure the property goes to auction after the 30 day foreclosure letter? That is not what has happened in my tax lien foreclosure cases. That is how they are done in Florida, but in AZ my experience, once the foreclosure actions is complete the lien holder who foreclosed gets the property. I have not done a foreclosure in Maricopa county, but I haven't found a statute that mentions after the foreclosure the parcel is auctioned to highest bidder. 

@Jerry K.  I am looking to purchase tax liens in AZ. I saw some parcel with lien open back to 2007, does this mean those liens never got redeemed?  And from 2007 to 2011, the rate is 16%, and then 2012 to 2013 rate is 7%, looks like the lien holder was changed, did the first one got his/her investment back, if the property owner did not redeem, who paid him/her? And why the first holder not foreclose since she/he held more than three years?  If I purchase all the back liens am I able to foreclose?

2014	1302042	Open	I	00001657			2016	0	$617.48	16%
2013	1400045	Open	I	00003835			2015	0	$591.28	7%
2012	1400045	Open	I	00003835			2014	0	$554.09	7%
2011	1302042	Open	I	00001657			2013	0	$640.87	16%
2010	1302042	Open	I	00001657			2012	0	$744.45	16%
2009	1302042	Open	I	00001657			2011	0	$769.52	16%
2008	1302042	Open	I	00001657			2010	0	$383.79	16%
2007	1302042	Open	I	00001657			2009	0	$360.24	16%