Category: United Tax Liens Blog

A Plan investor develops to discover a profit on their investment. Exit strategies range from selling a property to having a property owner redeem on a tax lien certificate.

We encourage investors to invest with the end in mind. This means that before the investor even makes the purchase, they need to already have formulated how he or she will make a profit on the deal and how to execute that exit. The surer the exit strategy and details surrounding it, the better off the investor will be and the fewer hiccups. Something to consider on every property before thinking about any of the following exit strategies is the property type, property value, and the condition.

What Is an Exit Strategy?

An exit strategy is a contingency plan that is executed by an investor, trader, venture capitalist, or business owner to liquidate a position in a financial asset or dispose of tangible business assets once predetermined criteria for either has been met or exceeded.

An exit strategy may be executed to exit a non-performing investment or close an unprofitable business. In this case, the purpose of the exit strategy is to limit losses.

An exit strategy may also be executed when an investment or business venture has met its profit objective. For instance, an angel investor in a startup company may plan an exit strategy through an initial public offering (IPO).

Other reasons for executing an exit strategy may include a significant change in market conditions due to a catastrophic event; legal reasons, such as estate planning, liability lawsuits or a divorce; or for the simple reason that a business owner/investor is retiring and wants to cash out.

Business exit strategies should not be confused with trading exit strategies used in securities markets.

Understanding Exit Strategies

An effective exit strategy should be planned for every positive and negative contingency regardless of the type of investment, trade, or business venture. This planning should be an integral part of determining the risk associated with the investment, trade, or business venture.

A business exit strategy is an entrepreneur's strategic plan to sell their ownership in a company to investors or another company. An exit strategy gives a business owner a way to reduce or liquidate their stake in a business and, if the business is successful, make a substantial profit.

If the business is not successful, an exit strategy (or “exit plan”) enables the entrepreneur to limit losses. An exit strategy may also be used by an investor such as a venture capitalist to prepare for a cash-out of an investment.

For traders and investors, exit strategies and other money management techniques can greatly enhance their trading by eliminating emotion and reducing risk. Before entering a trade, an investor is advised to set a point at which they will sell for a loss and a point at which they will sell for a gain.

Money management is one of the most important (and least understood) aspects of trading. Many traders, for instance, enter a trade without an exit strategy and are often more likely to take premature profits or, worse, run losses. Traders should understand the exits that are available to them and create an exit strategy that will minimize losses and lock in profits.

Exit Strategies for a Business Venture

In the case of a startup business, successful entrepreneurs plan for a comprehensive exit strategy in case business operations do not meet predetermined milestones.

If cash flow draws down to a point where business operations are no longer sustainable and an external capital infusion is no longer feasible to maintain operations, a planned termination of operations and a liquidation of all assets are sometimes the best options to limit any further losses.

Most venture capitalists insist that a carefully planned exit strategy be included in a business plan before committing any capital. Business owners or investors may also choose to exit if a lucrative offer for the business is tendered by another party.

Ideally, an entrepreneur will develop an exit strategy in their initial business plan before launching the business. The choice of exit plan will influence business development decisions. Common types of exit strategies include initial public offerings (IPO), strategic acquisitions, and management buy-outs (MBO).

The exit strategy that an entrepreneur chooses depends on many factors such as how much control or involvement the entrepreneur wants to retain in the business, whether they want the company to continue to be operated in the same way, or if they are willing to see it change going forward. The entrepreneur will want to be paid a fair price for their ownership share.

A strategic acquisition, for example, will relieve the founder of their ownership responsibilities, but will also mean giving up control. IPOs are often considered the ultimate exit strategy since they are associated with prestige and high payoffs. Contrastingly, bankruptcy is seen as the least desirable way to exit a business.

A key aspect of an exit strategy is business valuation, and there are specialists that can help business owners (and buyers) examine a company's financials to determine a fair value. There are also transition managers whose role is to assist sellers with their business exit strategies.

Other Possible Exit Strategies

QUICK FLIP

If an investor got property through a tax lien certificate or low-priced tax deed, they could sell quickly to another investor or property owner.

Like we mention above, answer the following question: “What is the condition of the property?” Is it in need of repair or rehab? If it needs repair, you have to price the property lower to sell it. There are investors that specialize in fixing homes and reselling them, so connect with them and sell to them at a discount. Let them deal with the repair.

What is the investor’s margin on the investment? If the property is worth $50k and was purchased at a tax deed auction for $25k, the investor may want to consider selling it for $30k – $35k to sell it quickly to another investor or someone wanting a fixer upper. If the property is in great shape, the investor can sell it closer to market value.

The best scenario would be having the buyer lined up before the investment is made. If you have contacts in a specific area interested in a fix and sell, show them the property and line up the deal.

WHOLESALE PRICING

Maybe rehab is not needed on the property at all, or maybe it is land that is ready to build on. Either way, you can sell it near or at retail without any work. What now? You can put the property on the market and wait for a buyer, or price it low to sell it faster. This is called selling at wholesale price. Property that is worth $150k in good condition, that the investor bought for $50k, could be sold at wholesale price of $100k to sell quickly. An investor would want to do this if they wanted to cash out quickly and get their money into another investment as fast as possible.

FIX AND SELL

If the property needs work and the investor wants to sell the property at retail, the investor will use this strategy. Before purchase, the investor should take a close look at the work needed and get accurate estimates on rehab. The investor needs to work those numbers into the equation when considering the investment. A $25k investment worth $50k that requires $20k in rehab might not be worth it due to tight numbers. The best way to work this deal having rehab contractors, cost structure, and a buyer lined up before making the investment.

FIX AND RENT

This is similar to fixing and selling, but the investor plans to rent out the property. Before investing, the investor should know what comparable properties are renting for in the area and what costs are required to do rehab on the property.

One important thing to consider when you are thinking about renting is your break-even point, cash flow, and investment return. Example: If you are buying a home for $25k that requires $15k in rehab, you are spending $40k. What kind of return do you need to make for that deal to be worth your time and money?

Let us say the home will rent $700 a month. $700 times 12 months is $8,400 a year, which is about 25% of the cost the investor incurred. It is fair to say that is a 25% investment return. Your break-even point on that investment is about 4 years and then the rental property will all be cash flow.

COLLECT ON REDEMPTION

The standard exit strategy for tax lien investors is to collect when the property owner redeems on the property. When planning this exit, the investor must consider the interest rate promised by that state and the maximum time the investment will be out, also called the redemption period.

When the property owner redeems and the investor receives money back plus interest, the investor has exited. Sometimes, the investor’s exit will not come until after they have foreclosed and executed one of the previously mentioned strategies.

There are other creative exit strategies, but the main ones are mentioned here. Pick an exit strategy that makes sense for any particular investment before you buy. If you have any questions let us know.

Power teams are composed of players that specialize in a specific area the investor does not specialize in or that the investor would prefer not to spend time doing. Since most investors invest in the same geographical areas year after year, they develop a power team in each of those counties. The investor does not need to be an expert in all investing aspects in every count. The investor needs to become comfortable with a few states or counties that work for them and surround themselves with experts.

A History of the Term Specialist

In order to give some context to the term, it’s important to define the history of how the specialist term was developed in the context of real estate.

At one time, a specialist was the term used by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to refer to a member of the exchange who acted as the market maker to facilitate the trading of a given stock. The NYSE now refers to these individuals as designated market makers (DMM).

The specialist's duties in the past were very similar to the duties performed by today's designated market maker (DMM) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). A specialist held an inventory of a particular stock, posted the bid and ask prices, managed limit orders, and executed trades. If there was a large shift in demand on the buy or sell side, the specialist stepped in and sold off their own inventory as a way to manage large movements and to meet the demand until the gap between supply and demand narrowed.

Most specialists traded five to 10 stocks at a time on any given trading day. There was usually one specialist per stock who stood ready to step in and buy or sell as many shares as needed to ensure a fair and orderly market in that security. Each specialist had a particular spot on the floor of the exchange, called a trading post, where the buying and selling of stock occurred. Floor traders, who acted on behalf of customers who bought and sold the stock, gathered around a specialist's trading post to learn the best bid and ask for offers for a security or a stock. Specialists executed a trade when bids and ask orders matched.

Specialist Roles

Specialists also bought or sold the stock when it reached a certain price. If a floor trader's bid was above the ask price, but then the ask price rose to match the bid price later, the specialist would then fill the order. Before the stock market opened for the trading day, specialists attempted to find a fair opening price for a stock. If a specialist couldn't find a fair opening price, they might delay trading on a particular stock as part of their overall role.

Specialists had four major roles to fill. Specialists acted as auctioneers to show brokers the best bids and offers. Specialists also continually updated floor brokers to act as a catalyst for buying and selling. They placed orders on behalf of brokers and placed orders for customers ahead of their own. Despite all of these duties, the number of specialists declined over time, thanks to electronic trading.

Power Team Players

Here are potential power team players we will go through:

• Support Team
• County Officials
• Real Estate Agents
• Real Estate Attorney
• Real Estate Investors
• Property Appraisers
• Contractors

SUPPORT TEAM

You will have questions along the way, which is why we are here. Although we cannot give you legal advice, or tell you exactly what to do, we can provide a guideline to help you make a wise decision.

COUNTY OFFICIALS

The county official knows the county processes better than anyone. If the investor can develop an amicable relationship with county officials, all the better. Our students have created these relationships that the county officials call them to give our students a shot at potential investments before the county releases the list publicly.

County officials can provide insight into their systems and sales procedures. County officials and workers are not allowed to invest in their county since it would be considered an unfair advantage. They know a lot and learn the best ways to make investments in their county.

Create relationships with county workers and county officials in counties where you would like to invest and profit from those relationships.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Having quality real estate agents on your power team serves a couple of purposes. The first help with evaluations. What would it be like buying a tax deed across the country without a way to evaluate the property personally. A way to get an educated guess is getting one from a real estate agent in the property area. This can be done by going to Zillow.com and viewing properties being sold near the one you are interested in.

Along with a description of the properties, Zillow will show you the agent for those properties. You can call the agent and make a simple request. Tell them you are buying property nearby that you would like to sell quickly, and you might like them to sell it for you. Ask them to look at the property, see how it compares to others in the area, and what it may need to sell at retail price.

You may want to get a couple of agents to quote it for you. Once you invest in the area a few times and call back the agents that did a good job for you, you suddenly have a real estate agent or agents on your power team.

REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS

When it is time to foreclose on a property or to clear a title, you may want assistance from a real estate attorney in the property area. They can help with foreclosure notices for financially interested parties. The attorney will represent you to those parties and in the court system to clear the title. Your attorney will appear before the judge to clear the title to have a warranty deed issued on the property. Once you use a real estate attorney you like and trust, you can stick with them whenever you invest in the area. That real estate attorney becomes a player on your power team and someone you can call on for help.

REAL ESTATE INVESTORS

A significant group for your power team is other real estate investors. You can find these investors through our Investor Forum, local real estate clubs, or web-based real estate clubs.

We may use these investors as mentors, but it is more critical to aid you in your exits. When attending real estate clubs or chatting with other students, you may find out that one investor is interested in buying beat-up homes to rehab and sell, and another investor likes to purchase raw land and develop it.

Knowing investors in the area can be powerful since you can invest with those investors in mind. You could speak to the one interested in land and find out where they like buying land and what they avoid. Then you can find property specifically for that person. Call the investor and share images of the property and information, including historic values and the neighborhood, then work the deal before making your investment.

Having other real estate investors can provide the investor with a constant buyer for investments. The investor can reach out to people and invest with the end in mind much easier, knowing that other investors are anxious for the investor's deals.

PROPERTY APPRAISERS

Property appraisers determine the property value. Sometimes these values are higher and sometimes lower than anticipated. Having the right appraiser on your power team is crucial to evaluate your investment properties properly. It is vital to have accurate values if the investor wants to take money against the property or when the investor wants to sell the property.

This is especially important for investors that have spent time and money to rehab the property. The investor needs to get a new appraisal after work is done. Otherwise, the investor hardly has grounds to argue a higher price than the previous appraisal. Once you find an appraiser that provides excellent and accurate results, hold onto them, and call on them in the future as a new team member.

CONTRACTORS

When an investor wants to perform extensive rehab on property, the investor will need assistance from a contractor in the area. A contractor will complete work and source professionals to get your rehab done well and on time. Having an honest contractor that can stay under budget and get the job done within the deadline is a great asset. Once you find one in the area, keep that contractor, and go back to them every time.

Finding these team players can be quite straightforward. It can be done by searching the Internet for that particular skill set. Go to Google.com and search “real estate attorney Pima county, AZ” or “property appraiser Hernando County, FL.” You can find players through other tax lien and deed investors that have invested in that area.

Do not worry about finding all the people before you need them. When you get to the point where you need a new appraisal, then find an appraiser. Please let us know if you have any questions.

There are always potential risks when you invest in tax liens and deeds. Below we will carefully explain how to avoid them. Tax lien investing is exceptionally safe. The government made it that way, but there are some risks. We want to make you aware of these risks and how to avoid making a mistake easily.

What Is a Default?

Default is the failure to repay a debt, including interest or principal, on a loan or security. A default can occur when a borrower cannot make timely payments, misses payments, or avoids or stops making payments. Individuals, businesses, and even countries can default if they cannot keep up their debt obligations. Default risks are often calculated well in advance by creditors.

Default Explained

A default can occur on secured debt, such as a mortgage loan secured by a house or a business loan secured by a company's assets. If you fail to make timely mortgage payments, the loan could go into default. Similarly, if a business issues bonds—essentially borrowing from investors—and it's unable to make coupon payments to its bondholders, the business is in default on its bonds.

Defaults can also occur on unsecured debt, such as credit card debt. A default has adverse effects on the borrower's credit and ability to borrow in the future.

Defaulting on Secured Debt vs. Unsecured Debt

When an individual, a business, or a nation defaults on a debt obligation, the lender or investor has some recourse to reclaim the funds due to them. However, this recourse varies based on whether the debt is secured or unsecured.

Secured debt

If a borrower defaults on a mortgage, the bank can reclaim the home that secures the mortgage. Also, if a borrower defaults on an auto loan, the lender can repossess the automobile. These are examples of secured loans. With a secured loan, the lender has a legal claim on the asset to satisfy the loan.

Corporations in default or close to default usually file for bankruptcy protection to avoid an all-out default on their debt obligations. However, if a business goes into bankruptcy, it effectively defaults on all of its loans and bonds since the original amounts of the debt are seldom paid back in full. Creditors with loans secured by the company's assets, such as buildings, inventory, or vehicles, may reclaim those assets in place of repayment. If there are any funds left over, the company's bondholders receive a stake in them, and shareholders are next in line. During corporate bankruptcies, sometimes a settlement can be reached.

With that said, here are a few more pitfalls to look out for:

• Liquidity
• Emotional Bidding
• Low-Value Properties
• Environmental Issues

Liquidity

Liquidity: The ability to sell an asset and convert it to cash.

This is only risky if the investor's cash invests in a tax lien or deed is tied up for an extended period of time. An investor's money is tied in a tax lien until one of two things happens:

1. Property owners redeem liens by paying the county the delinquent taxes, penalties, and fees in full.
2. Redemption period passes, and the certificate holder forecloses and sells the property.

A tax deed investor's money is tied up until they execute their exit strategy. The investor might want a cash flow property. Each month the investor receives a check from the renter, or the investor may want to sell it, then exit when the property sells. For some investors, this is important to consider, but it is not a risk. If you need money in the near future for things such as buying food or gas, you should not invest that money unless you know you will cash out quickly.

If an investor needs to exit a tax lien certificate, they can sell it to another investor. We have seen them listed on eBay.

The main thing to look at for a tax lien, tax deed, and redemption deed investors is the redemption period. Consider the most prolonged time period your money will be out of pocket. If you are fine with it, go for it.

Emotional Bidding

Emotional bidding can be described as a state of mind in an auction setting where a bidder gets emotionally caught up to the point where they bid away their returns.

Example: A tax deed investor that is interested in a $50,000 property sets a maximum bid limit of $25,000. Another bidder in the room is competing with the investor and continues to bid higher. The bidding reaches beyond $25,000 and the investor bids until the return is gone.

There are two ways to lose money in tax deed investing: Bid away return through emotional bidding (or bidding too high due to a lack of due diligence) or buying a property with little or no real value. Researching before attending the auction and sticking to your limits will help you to avoid making both of those mistakes. To avoid bidding away your return:

• Research beforehand
• Make sure property values are solid
• Set maximum bid limit after considering your exit strategy and after you know the maximum amount you can spend to make a sufficient return
• Stay cool at the auction

Low-Value Properties

This is quite simple to avoid but is the risk you need to keep in mind more often than the others.

What are low-value properties? Useless land such as a lot in the middle of the desert, far from access to civilization, might be considered low value. We only consider it low value because your options after purchase are limited. Beware of land with easements on it since they can prevent the investor from making changes to the property. 

A good indication of useless land is the assessed value. If the land has an assessed value of $1,000, move on to another investment. Even if the land has a high assessed value, check the location of the land. A piece of land with an assessed value of $500,000 might be in the middle of the Texas desert when no one can reach it.

Other properties you may want to avoid are:

Flood or swampland: May come up in Florida or other southern states.

Landlocked properties: Surrounded by other land and lack public access. To access your land, you have to get permission.

You can avoid both of these property types by looking at a mapping service in the assessor's office or Google Maps.

To avoid making a purchase on a property with low to no real value:

1. Check the assessed value and look at the property using a mapping service.
2. Do not buy a property based only on the legal or property description.
3. Do some due diligence, so you know exactly what the property is.

Environmental Issues

This is uncommon, but something you need to be aware of. U.S. Code Title 42 Section 9601 states property owners are responsible for contamination even if it existed prior to ownership. This is not a problem for tax lien holders since the investor is not the property owner unless he or she forecloses on the property but should be considered a tax deed investor.

This is easy to avoid since all you have to do is look at county records and in most cases, these issues are undeniable. If you are buying an old gas station that experienced underground erosion, you probably have environmental issues. A safe way to avoid environmental problems is sticking to residential land and homes. Residential homes and improved lots usually lack environmental issues.

Other Risks

You may want to consider bankruptcy and federal liens. They will not wipe out a tax lien certificate but can postpone repayment. In some cases, the foreclosure will not wipe out a federal lien. If you are buying a tax lien or deed on a property you want to own, avoid federal liens.

One way to check for any risks we have discussed is through the county records. If you do not find what you need, you can do a title search. You will do a title search if you have questions about a particular property you want to buy. A title search can cost from $25 to $150, depending on the required detail.

There are links on this website's resources page to some online title search companies if it comes to that. If you have any questions about potential risks, please give us a call, and we would be happy to help.

Marketplace Pro Software

You will have to complete the amount of due diligence before bidding on tax lien certificates, or deeds will vary from deal to deal. You can get an idea of how much due diligence may be needed when you evaluate the property description, and this is when Marketplace Pro software comes in handy. 

Suppose you are familiar with the Multiple Listing Service platform used by real estate brokerages. In that case, you will love the intuitive user interface of Marketplace Pro, which is the first step tax lien investors should take when evaluating investment opportunities. 

Contact our office today to arrange a free demo of Marketplace Pro; once you get the hang of it, we can start discussing due diligence strategies.

It is essential to set up your investment criteria before diving into your first tax sale list, or you will not know what to look for and avoid.

When you look at a list you typically see the following:

• Property Owner and their Address
• Identification Number (Parcel Number)
• Amount Owed (Tax Delinquency Amount)
• Property's Legal Description
• Assessed or Taxable Value Property
• Physical Address
• Property Type

The primary things we want to look at is the amount owed, assessed value, and property type. We can look at them if we need, but it is usually unnecessary, especially in the beginning.

How much do you want to invest?

Decide how much money you have set aside you want to invest. We have had investors start with $100 and students with $1,000,000. This number should not be what you want to invest, but the money you have set aside right now. This will decide which investments you can make. Even if it is a small amount, it is okay since we start somewhere.

What is the property worth?

After you find out how much you can invest, decide what the property value should be for your potential investments based on that investment amount. Investors usually look at the return on investment (ROI) or property value percentage to find this out. If you are investing $5,000 and want your investment to be 15% of the property's value, divide 5,000 by 0.15. This gives you a property value of a little over $33,000. If you are investing $5,000 your base should be $33,000.

What kind of property is it?

The final category you should set is the property type. Are you only interested in a property with a home (single-family residential), or are you looking for raw land or commercial property? Deciding this beforehand will save research time.

Understanding Lists

The investment process can be broken into four steps. Find and read the tax sale list, make investments, and perform an exit strategy.

We will now talk about reading a list once you acquire it and sift through the list to find qualified investments.

As mentioned in the training video about determining your investment criteria, there is a lot of data on tax sale lists. Still, we only care about the amount we invest, the property value, and the property type. To quickly sift through to find items that meet the criteria we set up; we use the Quick Glance Method.

Quick Glance Method

We quickly skim through a tax sale list to narrow the list based on our criteria:

1. We look at the amount owed on each investment and quickly mark the ones that qualify.
2. We go through and check off the ones that have a qualifying property value and mark them.
3. You scan those to mark the ones that are the right property type.

We did not look at the parcel description or other codes. Once you do the Quick Glance Method you can do deeper due diligence if necessary.

Due Diligence Definition

Due diligence is an investigative review performed to confirm facts or details of a matter under consideration. Due diligence requires an inquiry of financial records in the financial world before entering into a proposed transaction with another party.

Due diligence became a common practice in the United States in 1933 with the passing of the Securities Act. With that law, securities dealers and brokers were responsible for fully disclosing material information about their selling instruments. And the failure to disclose this information to potential investors also made both dealers and brokers potentially liable for criminal prosecution.

The writers of the act also realized that requiring full disclosure left dealers and brokers vulnerable to unfair prosecution for failing to disclose a material fact they did not possess or could not have known at the time of sale. The act included a legal defense: as long as the dealers and brokers exercised “due diligence” when investigating the companies whose equities they were selling, and fully disclosed the results, they could not be held liable for information that was not discovered during the investigation.

Performing due diligence means researching potential investments to ensure they are good, which means they will perform well and return as estimated. If you perform due diligence and set up a good deal, there should not be too many questions. The first-way tax lien and deed investors research potential investments is using tools on the particular county assessor's website. There is usually a parcel search tool to plug in the identification number for a property and see detailed information. Due diligence is a systematic way to analyze and mitigate risk from a business or investment decision. An individual investor can conduct due diligence on any stock using readily available public information. The same due diligence strategy will work on many other types of investments. Due diligence involves examining a company's numbers, comparing the numbers over time, and benchmarking them against competitors. Due diligence is applied in many other contexts, for example, conducting a background check on a potential employee or reading product reviews.

Due Diligence Basics for Startup Investments

When considering investing in a startup, some of the 10 steps above are appropriate, while others aren't possible because the company doesn't have a track record. Here are some startup-specific moves.

• Include an exit strategy. More than 90% of startups fail. Plan a method to recover your money should the business fail.
• Consider entering into a partnership: Partners split the capital and risk, so they lose less if the business fails.
• Figure out the harvest strategy for your investment. Profitable businesses may fail due to a change in technology, government policy, or market conditions. Be on the lookout for new trends, technologies, and brands, and get ready to harvest when you find that the business may not thrive with the changes.
• Choose a startup with solid, marketable products. Since most investments are harvested after five years, it is advisable to invest in products with an increasing return on investment (ROI) for that period.
• In lieu of hard numbers on past performance, look at the business's growth plan and evaluate whether it appears to be realistic.

Specialized Due Diligence

In the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) world, there is a delineation between “hard” and “soft” forms of due diligence. “Hard” due diligence is concerned with the numbers. “Soft” due diligence is concerned with the people within the company and in its customer base. In traditional M&A activity, the acquiring firm deploys risk analysts who perform due diligence by studying costs, benefits, structures, assets, and liabilities. That's known colloquially as hard due diligence.

Increasingly, however, M&A deals are also subject to studying a company's culture, management, and other human elements. That's known as soft due diligence. Hard due diligence, which is driven by mathematics and legalities, is susceptible to rosy interpretations by eager salespeople. Soft due diligence acts as a counterbalance when the numbers are being manipulated or overemphasized. There are many business success drivers that numbers cannot fully capture, such as employee relationships, corporate culture, and leadership. When M&A deals fail, as more than 50% of them do, it is often because the human element is ignored. Contemporary business analysis calls this element human capital. The corporate world started taking notice of its significance in the mid-2000s. In 2007, the Harvard Business Review dedicated part of its April issue to what it called “human capital due diligence,” warning that companies ignore it at their peril.

What Are the Types of Due Diligence?

Depending on its purpose, due diligence takes different forms. A company that is considering an M&A will perform a financial analysis on a target company. The due diligence might also include an analysis of future growth. The acquirer may ask questions that address the structuring of the acquisition. The acquirer is also likely to look at the target company's current practices and policies and perform a shareholder value analysis. Due diligence can be categorized as “hard” due diligence, which is concerned with the numbers on the financial statements, and “soft” due diligence, which is concerned with the company's people and its customer base.

What Is a Due Diligence Checklist?

A due diligence checklist is an organized way to analyze a company. The list will include all the areas to be explored, such as ownership and organization, assets and operations, the financial ratios, shareholder value, processes and policies, future growth potential, management, and human resources.

What Is a Due Diligence Example?

Examples of due diligence can be found in many areas of our daily lives. For example, conducting a property inspection before completing a purchase to assess the investment risk, an acquiring company that examines a target firm before completing a merger or acquisition, and an employer performing a background check on a potential recruit.

Summation

Due diligence is a process or effort to collect and analyze information before deciding or conducting a transaction, so a party is not held legally liable for any loss or damage. The term applies to many situations but most notably to business transactions. Due diligence is performed by investors who want to minimize risk, broker-dealers who wish to ensure that a party to any transaction is fully informed of the details so that the broker-dealer is not held responsible, and companies who are considering acquiring another firm. Fundamentally, doing your due diligence means that you have gathered the necessary facts to make a wise and informed decision.

Though many small or rural countries do not have websites, counties make property information available online. This makes research much more manageable. It is possible to skim through physical records and find what you are looking for, but we find using county web tools much more straightforward.

Here are a few main points about county property records.

The county assessor's records contain information the assessor uses to find the value of every. This information can help investors determine the value of properties they are interested in buying.

Counties are not required to put the property record information online but make it available to the public. Over the past 10 – 15 years, counties have increasingly become more tech-savvy. Many counties have websites where they post the assessor information, and you can view the records online. If a county website is not available, the investor can go to the county building to view the records or call the county official in charge of property records for information.

Using county officials is an excellent tool for tax lien investors that often goes untapped. Make sure to use them when you have specific questions about their records or county information. The county office is our team's hotline support. When we have a question, we call the county official.

How Does Recording of Real Estate Records Work?

Just as in any transaction, keeping an official paper trail and record of any sale or change in ownership is an integral part of verifying a given property or purchase history. Recording – the act of putting a document into official county records – is a necessary process that provides a traceable chain of title to a property. More than 100 types of documents can be recorded, depending on the type of property and type of real estate transaction. The most common forms are mortgages, deeds, easements, foreclosures, estoppels, leases, licenses, and fees, among other documents.

The most important real estate documents list ownership, encumbrances, and lien priority. These are used to maintain proper real estate transactions.

Real Estate Recording Systems

In reality, recording systems vary by state and are established by individual state statutes. Not all states use a process of instrument recording to track title; some states use land registration systems instead. In any case, it is the local county's responsibility or state to make sure that these official documents are kept on file.

Recorded documents do not establish who owns a property–this is instead of a title that demonstrates the asset's legal owner. Instead, recorded documents are made public to resolve disputes between parties with competing claims to a property. For instance, if two different claimants have conflicting deeds to a property, the date of recording can be used to determine the ownership timeline. In most cases, these public records provide clarity, and typically the owner with the most recent deed would be considered the rightful owner. If there are any issues, it would be wise to seek legal counsel.

In the case of mortgage liens, courts use a recording date to determine the priority for which liens should receive payment first.

To understand which documents have been or must be recorded, check with your state and county recording division. Some states have also passed recording acts, which are statutes that establish how official records are kept.

Ultimately, recordings provide information for both government authorities and the buyers and sellers of real estate property.

What Is a Recording Fee?

The term recording fee refers to an expense charged by a government agency for registering or recording the purchase or sale of a piece of real estate. The transaction is recorded, so it becomes a matter of public record. Recording fees are generally charged by the county where the transaction occurs since it maintains records of all property purchases and sales. The amount of the recording fee varies from county to county.

Understanding Recording Fees

The purchase and sale of real estate come with closing costs. These are expenses that buyers or sellers pay to complete the transaction. In some cases, both parties may agree to split the costs. Closing costs include appraisal fees, loan origination fees, title searches and insurance, surveys, taxes, and recording fees.

Counties record mortgages and other liens against a home or other piece of property as well as its title. These government agencies generally charge a fee to do so. This is known as the recording fee. Counties charge a recording fee to make the information easily accessible to the general public by covering the costs of the clerk or recording agency's services that must maintain complete and accurate copies of official documents. These documents may be used for legal and transactional purposes, such as when title searches are conducted as part of a sale.

In many instances, the buyer pays the new mortgage and deed recording fees to be entered into a legal record. The amount depends on the type and complexity of the real estate transaction. The recording fee may cost $12 in one county, while another county charges buyers $15. Costs may also vary depending on the size of the document. For instance, a land record instrument may have a $60 fee for the first page, then $5 for every subsequent page. Another agency may charge $84 for the first page and then $1 for every other page after that. The fees may also change over time as the agency and county deem necessary.

Documents that generally incur recording fees include affidavits, leases, mortgages, corner certificates, uniform commercial code filings, changes of title, deeds, registration of trade names, boundary surveys, powers of attorney (POAs), bills of sale, and other contracts. Depending on the jurisdiction and guidelines, transactions such as bank mergers may need to be documented with recording fees.

County Record Tools

Parcel Search: This is the top tool used by investors. They contain all real estate records that investors use to evaluate potential investments.

Owner information: Legal owners on the deed.

Legal Description: Description the assessor uses to describe the parcel. Unless you are a real estate guru, the legal description is rather difficult to read.

Parcel number: Similar to a fingerprint for each property.

Site Address: Physical location of parcel. Once you have the physical address you can do much more research, drive by etc.

Tax Information: View past years assessed value.

Assessed Value: What the county says the property is worth. The assessed value and the market value may be different.

Improvement Info: Sq. ft. bedroom, bath, year built, lot size etc.

Tax records are also available to investors. Having access to that information can allow you to review all past tax owners, payments, assessed values, and amounts owed. Many counties provide an essential feature on their website is a map, which shows the actual property and its boundaries. This is included with the information returned from the parcel search in most cases, but the mapping software is sometimes a different feature.

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Foreclosures are the legal process in which a property owner's right to redeem or retain the property is removed. It's pertinent to define what a foreclosure is before moving forward. 

Foreclosure can be defined as the legal process by which a lender attempts to reclaim the amount owed on a defaulted loan by selling the mortgaged property. Usually, default occurs when a borrower misses a number of payments. But it may happen when the borrower fails to meet other terms in the mortgage document.

The foreclosure process forms its legal basis from a mortgage or deed of trust contract, which allows the lender the right to use a property as collateral if the borrower fails to confirm the terms of the mortgage agreement.

Even though the process varies by state, the foreclosure process is established when a borrower defaults or misses at least one mortgage payment. The lender will then send a missed payment notice that demonstrates they haven't received the payment.

If the borrower misses two payments, the lender sends a demand letter. While this is more serious than a missed payment notice, the lender may still be willing to make arrangements for the borrower to catch up on the missed payments.

The lender sends a notice of default after 90 days of missed payments. The loan is handed over to the lender's foreclosure department. The borrower typically has another 90 days to settle the charges and reinstate the loan (this is called the reinstatement period).

At the end of the reinstatement period, the lender will begin to foreclose if the homeowner has not made up the missed payments.

The Foreclosure Process Varies by State

Each state has laws that govern the foreclosure process, including the notices a lender must post publicly, the homeowner's options for bringing the loan current and avoiding foreclosure, and the timeline and process for selling the property.

As in the actual act of a lender seizing a property, a foreclosure is typically the final step after a lengthy pre-foreclosure process. Before foreclosure, the lender may offer several alternatives to avoid foreclosure, many of which can mediate a foreclosure's negative consequences for both the buyer and the seller.

In 22 states—including Florida, Illinois, and New York—judicial foreclosure is the norm. This is where the lender must go through the courts to get permission to foreclose by proving the borrower is delinquent. If the foreclosure is approved, the local sheriff auctions the property to the highest bidder to recoup what the bank is owed. The bank becomes the owner and sells the property through the traditional route to recoup its losses.

The other 28 states—including Arizona, California, Georgia, and Texas—primarily use non-judicial foreclosure, also called the power of sale. This type of foreclosure tends to be faster than judicial foreclosure, and it does not go through the courts unless the homeowner sues the lender.

Let us look at a tax lien investing scenario when foreclosing is an option.

Remember, the redemption period starts on the day of the sale during the year the certificate was issued. If the property owner has not redeemed by the end of the redemption period, the tax lien holder can initiate the foreclosure process.

Second, the investor sends out notices to everyone with a financial interest in the property. This includes a mortgage company or another lienholder, like a mechanic's lien holder. It is possible to have the county help you do this for a small fee, hire a real estate attorney, or do it yourself if you know what you are doing.

Utilizing the foreclosure process is only necessary with tax liens since the county has already foreclosed tax deeds. With redemption deeds, the deed does not get filed until the redemption period expires. The lienholder is required to send out notices at the beginning of the foreclosure process. This gives the property owner one more chance to pay off the lien.

For example: it has been two years since you purchased a tax lien certificate and the redemption period is two years. Legally, the certificate holder can now foreclose on the property. Notices are sent out to the property owner and other interested parties, which have 30 – 90 days to respond.

If you are foreclosing yourself, the county can provide steps to complete the process. For example, they will require you to use certified mail for the letters, and the time period in which financially interested parties have to respond may differ. If there is a mortgage on the property, the mortgage company will likely respond to the notice with payment of your investment plus earned interest. If the mortgage company does not respond, the property reverts to the lienholder, free and clear of mortgage obligation.

Once you finish the foreclosure process and become the property owner, the property does not have any mortgages or liens against the property since they were cleared during the foreclosure process. When you send out notices, and no one responds, you show a judge your certified mail delivered and show they did not respond during the allowed time period, and the judge will issue a clear title.

Types of Foreclosures 

If a homeowner has defaulted on his payment, then the mortgaging bank will start the pre-foreclosure process. A tax lien will then be issued for the property so that the right to retain the property can be gained. You can do real estate investing in tax liens for a certain property that has been issued a lien and put out for an auction sale. You can earn profit from this because the state will pay fixed interest on a tax lien, and others will start the bidding price at auctions in the amount of the lien. Suppose the tax lien is unpaid during the duration of the redemption period. In that case, all other mortgages and liabilities on the house are extinguished, and the title to the property will be cleared. The investor will now own his or her new property with a clean title. However, if the owner can pay the property's liability, the investor can still earn through interest earned on the lien. Real estate investing in this manner can lead to profits in both ways.

Determining Real Property Values

People tend to overvalue or exaggerate the value of things they own. It is important to keep your emotions in check and value potential investments objectively. This session will discuss how to do that.

A proper value assessment ensures investment security. The number one thing to research is the property value. Different investment strategies require varying degrees of research. The more money invested, the greater the research that needs to be done. Tax lien investing typically requires an external evaluation, but tax deed or redemption deed investors need to know more specific information.

A few formulas used to determine property value are:

• Comparable Market Formula
• Net Operating Income Formula
• Replacement Cost Formula

The only one you will likely use is the Comparable Market Formula.

To use the comparable market formula, the investor will price similar homes that have recently sold, and homes for sale within proximity to the home being valued. These similar homes are “comps” and should have the same features and characteristics as the current property being valued.

Appraised Value: A licensed professional real estate appraiser will determine the appraised value of a property. The appraiser will consider similar properties that have recently sold in the area. They might use properties that are currently for sale and properties that were for sale but have expired.

Wholesale Value: Wholesale value is usually on investors' properties and tends to be the lowest estimated price. Wholesale pricing usually means the property will sell for below market value. This is done for quick profit. These properties typically include foreclosure tax lien and tax deed properties.

Tax Assessed Value: Assessed value will be the value placed on a county tax assessor's property. This is an excellent way to check property value when working with tax liens and deeds. Though, this should not be your only way to determine what the property would be. Tax assessed values can fluctuate above or below market value. Generally, they run about 20 percent below the current market value.

Insured Value: Insured value is what insurance companies place on property improvements and structures. This is usually the amount it costs to replace or rebuild the system.

Mortgage Value: Mortgage value is what a mortgage company loans on a property. This value is generally close to the appraised value.

Retail Value: Retail value is what a homeowner or property owner places on the property. This is the price they feel their property is worth. This value is usually above market value and is the highest value place on real estate.

Real Value: Price someone is willing to pay for the property.

One investment niche that investors often overlook is property tax liens. The increasing volatility of the stock market, combined with still historically low-interest rates, has many investors seeking this alternative avenue to provide a decent return rate. In some cases, this unique opportunity can provide knowledgeable investors with excellent rates of return. Property liens can also carry substantial risk, which means novice buyers need to understand the rules and potential pitfalls that come with this type of asset. This article discusses tax liens, how you can invest in them, and the disadvantages of this type of investment vehicle.

Buyers also need to do their due diligence on available properties. In some cases, the property's current value can be less than the amount of the lien. The NTLA advises dividing the face amount of the delinquent tax lien by the property's market value. If the ratio is above 4%, potential buyers should stay away from that property. Furthermore, other liens may also be on the property that will prevent the bidder from taking ownership. Every piece of real estate in a given county with a tax lien is assigned a number within its respective parcel. Buyers can look for these liens by number to obtain information about them from the county, which can often be done online. For each number, the county has the property address, the owner's name, the assessed value of the property, the legal description, a breakdown of the property's condition, and any structures located on the premises.

Investors interested in locating tax lien investing opportunities should get in touch with their local tax revenue official responsible for collecting property taxes. There are currently 2,500 jurisdictions, cities, townships, or counties that sell public tax debt. While not every state provides for the public sale of delinquent property taxes, if the state does allow the public auction of the unpaid property tax bill, investors should determine when and where these taxes are published for public review. Property tax sales are required to be advertised for a specified time before the sale. Typically, the advertisements list the property owner, the legal description, and the amount of delinquent taxes to be sold.

Investors who purchase property tax liens are typically required to immediately pay back the lien's full amount to the issuing municipality. In all but two states, the tax lien issuer collects the principal, interest, and any penalties, pays the lien certificate holder and then collects the lien certificate if it's not on file. The property owner must repay the investor the entire amount of the lien plus interest, which varies from one state to another—but is typically between 10% and 12%. If the investor paid a premium for the lien, they might add this to the repaid amount in some instances. The repayment schedule usually lasts anywhere from six months to three years.

In most cases, the owner can pay the lien in full. Suppose the owner cannot pay the lien by the deadline. In that case, the investor has the authority to foreclose on the property just as the municipality would have, although this happens very rarely.

Mortgage in a Tax Lien Sale

A lien stays with the property when it is sold. However, the lien remains on the previous owner's credit report. Property tax lien foreclosures occur when governments foreclosed properties in their jurisdictions for the delinquent property taxes owed on them. Property tax liens are superior to other liens, so their foreclosure eliminates other liens, including a mortgage lien. Homeowners with delinquent taxes typically also have outstanding mortgage debt. After purchasing a tax-foreclosed property, if you discover a mortgage lien on it, it should be removed by the county in which you bought it. The county will discharge the lien based on the tax sale closing documents. If this does not work, you can also contact the lien holder to have it removed. In every state, after the sale of a tax lien, there is a redemption period (although the length of time varies depending on the state) where the property owner can try to redeem their property by paying their delinquent property taxes. However, even if the owner is paying their property taxes, if they fail to make their mortgage payments during this time, the mortgage holder can foreclose on the home.

Focusing on the supposed “quality” of a property is the #1 mistake people make when they start in tax lien investing. DO NOT analyze the property associated with your tax lien the same way you look for a home or rental property. If you treat it this way, you will miss out on many great deals.

Who here has dreamed of one day owning a lot halfway across the country in a neighborhood you would not live in? If I told you the lot was available for pennies on the dollar and I would sell it for you quickly and double your money, never lift a finger; who is interested? The property exists as a safety net and a bonus, which is your hallelujah moment. Smart investors invest in the interest rate. Acquiring the property is a bonus, like winning the jackpot.

Property tax liens can be a viable investment alternative for experienced investors familiar with the real estate market. Those who know what they are doing and take the time to research the properties they buy liens can generate substantial profits over time. However, the potential risks render this arena inappropriate for unsophisticated investors. Without the proper research and understanding of the real estate market, an investor could quickly end up with a property that doesn't get redeemed by the owner (in the form of them paying their taxes to you with interest), and that has no value. That low-value property will then ultimately end up as the property of the investor. For those interested in investing in real estate, buying tax liens is just one option.

IRS Tax Liens and the Public Record

Are IRS Tax Liens Public Record? If a legal claim is made against your property to satisfy a tax debt, the IRS will file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. This is a public document and serves as an alert to other creditors that the IRS is asserting a secured claim against your assets. Credit reporting agencies may find the notice and include it in your credit report.

We have purchased millions of dollars in tax liens, and when buying a tax lien, we focus on two items:

First: What is the interest rate? The higher, the better. It is not like buying a mutual fund where performance fluctuates. Tell your portfolio manager to sort their tax liens for the highest to lowest interest rate and send the highest interest rates they have.

Second: Can I make money? The property tied with the lien is not your investment, but your insurance policy. If you get a property, you will be ecstatic, but you would not believe how often we have sent a client a portfolio; they will look at it like they will have their own mother retire there. We hear things like: “That is a rough neighborhood, I would never live there,” or “That is halfway across the country.” You will not live there. You are going to buy it cheap and sell fast, and then you will repeat the process.

You should only be in the tax lien deal for a few weeks or months, not years. We are flipping tax liens: the faster we buy and sell, the more money you make. You would be surprised how many new tax lien investors walk away from a deal that could double their money in a few weeks since it is vacant or looks terrible. What is important to you: if the property is pretty or the deal is profitable?

The process is simple. I do not care where the tax lien is: if I think I can make money, I buy it since I know most of the time I will not get the property, but the interest. If I get the property, I price it to quickly sell: “Buy Low – Sell Fast.”

We have made way more money buying tax liens on vacant land than any other property type. We cherish vacant land. There is no need to worry about mold, fires, transients, rats, evictions, etc. The foreclosure and sale process is extremely clean and fast.

Our portfolio management team is there for you to answer questions, make sure you know what you are doing, and that you are comfortable. 

Buying a home in foreclosure or buying a home at an auction can also be valuable investment opportunities. If you are still interested in property tax liens, it is recommended that you consult your real estate agent or financial adviser.

A tax sale is the sale of a real estate property that results when a taxpayer reaches a certain point of delinquency in their owed property tax payments.

How Does a Tax Sale Work?

Every state has its own laws for tax sales that must be followed for these sales to be valid. The laws will vary based on which entity is requiring the taxes, whether it is a local or a state jurisdiction. In most areas the basic requirement is that adequate notice be given to the taxpayer to pay the outstanding taxes, and any resulting sale usually must be open to the public, so that an adequate price is obtained for the property. There is usually a waiting period that ranges from several months to several years before tax collection agencies are involved.

When a tax sale is triggered, the property owner has a right-of-redemption period. During this period they have the opportunity to pay off the delinquent taxes in full and reclaim the property. If the property owner fails to pay the back taxes, along with any accrued interest, the property is then eligible to be sold at auction or through other means by a governmental entity.

When a property goes to auction in a tax sale, the minimum bid price is usually set at 80% of the forced sale value of the property after subtracting any liens, based on the fair market value (FMV) as determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Find Tax Sales Lists

You should have a good understanding of tax sales and systems used by now. Once you understand that process you can invest all over the country because each state usually follows that basic model.

Tax Sale Comparison

There are two types of tax sales that can occur when a property has unpaid property taxes. The first is a tax lien sale, and the second is a tax deed sale. In a tax lien sale, the liens on the home are auctioned off to the highest bidder, which gives them the legal right to demand lien collection, along with interest, from the property or homeowner. In the event that the property owner is unable to pay the liens, the bidder who purchased them can have the property foreclosed.

A tax deed sale, however, sells the entire property, unpaid taxes included, at a public auction. Jurisdictions may offer a right of redemption after a tax deed sale, which allows a homeowner to get their property back within a redemption period if they reimburse the purchaser the amount they paid at the sale.

Tax lien sales are both an incentive for the lien buyer to make money off the interest of the lien and a way to force the property owner to pay the outstanding taxes. Tax lien sales are only legal in 23 states in the U.S. (approximately 2,500 jurisdictions—cities, townships, and counties), and each state has its own cap for the maximum amount of interest that the new lien owner can accrue in interest.

Tax Sale List Basics

There are 2 categories of tax sale lists: Pre-auction lists and post-auction (over-the-counter) lists. Pre-auction lists are usually released 4-6 weeks before the sale. They contain all investments that will be sold at auction. Post-auction lists contain all tax liens or deeds that were offered at the tax sale, but not sold.

Some investors are concerned about getting the left over properties. They ask: “If the investors at the auction did not want to purchase these, then why would I want to?” This is valid, but the flaw is thinking of the word “want.” If other investors did not want them, why should I? That would only be the case if every investor had unlimited investing resources and every property had a buyer.

As you attend tax sales, you will notice there will probably be a lot of people there and few actually bidding, while the rest watch. In Phoenix, Arizona there were over 27,000 liens available and 13,000 left over. In Chicago there were 96,000 liens available and 44,000 left over. In Miami, 50,000 left over. There are incredible deals in those leftover tax liens.

Over-the-counter lists are usually released a week or two after the auction takes place. It takes county workers a little time to redo the list. Once the list is ready, counties will post it on their website. Investors will have to contact the county to request the updated list. Not all counties offer over-the-counter investing and hold them till the next sale.

Located tax sale lists is simple. Nevertheless, it is probably one of the most time consuming parts of tax lien investing and where most students hit the brakes and quit. It can be tricky working with counties.

Finding Tax Sale Lists 

The first thing to do is find out where the county sales are occurring. You can do this by looking on your website in the auction calendar or the state reference material. Once you know when the sale is happening and decide to get the list from the county, you would call to request the list. They will send it out or describe how to get it from their website.

Another way to find tax sale lists is via the newspaper. This is pretty archaic, but is still practiced all over the U.S. Even if a county posts the list online, they may also post it in the local newspaper. If the county only posts the tax sale list by newspaper, you are in trouble. If you live in the county, it is not too bad, but if you are investing from outside the country, you may need to consider moving on to another county. You would have to get the newspaper from the distributor.

You can also get it from our website. The calendar is updated at the beginning of every month with new events. The new lists are uploaded to the site to download, making the process simple. You should be comfortable with our website by now, so I will show you how to find county websites on your own. You can search Google for the county you are interested in. Investors prefer to find counties through Naco.org. It links to all counties and provides good information.

NACO.org Marketplace Pro Software

Go to About Counties in the top left corner and select the state you are interested in: Arizona.

NACO provides a lot of information about the state and counties. It shows a map of the counties, when it was founded, the county seat, square miles, and the population. The population is useful because it largely determines the size of the tax sale and potential competition levels. Then you select a county: Mohave. After selecting a county it shows the county’s population trends and contact information for elected officials. Click on the link to Mohave County’s website.

This is where some students get hung up. Every county website is different so it can be tricky to find the right department and the tax sale list. Some are easier to navigate than others, but most have the same general pages and tabs, so we try to follow the same pattern. Most county websites have a search tool, county services, elected officials, and department listings, but we do not care about most of this. We care about two offices: The office that handles the tax sales and the office that does the property records and assessments. Typically, the treasurer’s office handles tax sales and the tax assessor handles the property records and assessments. This is pretty standard across all counties. You use the assessor page to research each property you want to invest in. You would find fair market values, assessed values, images of properties, owner information, and other information that is especially useful during your due diligence.

Another example: Riverside County, California. This time try using Google search. Go to Google.com and search for “riverside, ca county.” Once you get to the website find the treasurer or tax collector and look for keywords like property taxes, tax sale, property tax website, delinquent parcels, county held certificates, delinquent taxes, etc. There is a link that says Property Tax Website. Click on that. On the left side you will see a bunch of information including tax sales. You may want to take a look at results from a previous sale if you are interested. The easiest way to find tax sale lists is through our website, but it is great to know how to do it on your own.

Marketplace Pro Software

A great deal of the success you can derive from tax lien investing has to do with locating diamonds in the rough. With Marketplace Pro software, you can quickly and easily identify properties offered in county auctions. You can learn more about Marketplace Pro by contacting us today and scheduling a demonstration.

Looking to buy a property at an auction? There are alternative ways to buy besides the traditional channels of searching real estate listings and working with real estate agents. You can also purchase a property at auction.

Buying a home at auction is riskier than buying through the usual process. It is vital to be well educated about how real estate auctions work.

• You can find home auctions through local governments, real estate agents, and online sites such as RealtyTrac.com and Auction.com.
• Auction properties often do not allow a home inspection or any legal way to view the interior in person. If you cannot afford the risk of buying a property in poor condition, stick with auctions that allow you to inspect the property before bidding.
• Review and understand all auction rules and do your due diligence on any property you are interested in—for instance, check for claims, liens, and occupants before you bid.

The benefits of buying at auction include expanding your options and possibly purchasing at a discount. You may face less competition to buy an auction house compared with buying in the traditional way, but you will also be dealing with a different pool of potential buyers—often, experienced investors.

Perhaps the biggest risk of buying at auction is that you will have limited knowledge of the properties for sale, making an expensive misstep a real possibility. Also, as with any real estate purchase, you will need to read, understand, and sign lots of paperwork (ideally with the help of a real estate attorney).

Real-estate lore is rich with tales of homes bought at auction for well below market value, and such bargains do exist. However, auctions are typically a riskier way to acquire property than buying through the usual process. That reality makes it vitally important to be well educated as to how real estate auctions work and prudent about the properties you consider bidding on.

To help you avoid making a big mistake, here are the basics of residential property auctions, so you can decide if this option might work for you—whether you want to live in the property or use it purely as an investment.

Tax liens or deeds can be purchased using one of the following methods:

• Live On-site Auctions
• Live Online Auctions
• Over-the-Counter

How Homes End Up at an Auction

There are two common ways a home can end up being auctioned off.

Foreclosure auctions: When a homeowner has not paid the mortgage for at least a few months, they may fall into default and end up in foreclosure. When this happens, the bank files a notice of default with the county recorder. If the homeowner does not pay the balance owed—or renegotiate the mortgage with the lender—the lender can put the home up for auction and force the homeowner out for nonpayment. These foreclosure auctions are held by bank-hired trustees. 

Property Tax Default Auctions:

Another way a home ends up on the auction block is when the owner does not pay the assessed property taxes. In these cases it is the unpaid tax authority, rather than the bank, that seizes the property. The resulting tax lien auction is conducted by a local sheriff, clerk, or the county or local tax authority’s comptroller’s office.

Regardless of the auction type, these events may take place at physical locations such as local government courthouses and hotel conference rooms, and these in-person auctions are completed rapidly. Real estate auctions also increasingly take place online, where they may last for days or weeks.
Buying homes at auction has been and will continue to be popular.  However, foreclosure auctions don’t provide the discounts that existed during the time of the housing crisis. 

When fewer properties are available, buyers are highly motivated because of home appreciation and favorable mortgage rates. He says that online auctions have increased competition and driven up prices.

Property Condition and Inspections

A house could have all kinds of problems—remember, it used to belong to someone who couldn’t afford the mortgage or the property taxes, so the owner probably could not afford any routine maintenance or repairs, either.

Furthermore, once the loss of the home appeared inevitable, the owner may have intentionally neglected it or even seriously damaged it. Also, a vacant property may have been vandalized or occupied by squatters.
Assume that if the property looks terrible from the outside, it probably looks terrible on the inside. Auction properties are sold as is, and you will need to be able to afford any and all repairs.

1) Live, On-site Auctions

This is the oldest and most common method for selling tax liens and deeds. County officials schedule auctions unless the state requires otherwise. When you invest at a live auction you go to the county courthouse to bid on properties alongside other investors. Before attending, you register and get assigned a bidder identification number. Check with the county for any registration deadlines long before the auction.

You would sit down in the room and wait for the auction to start. An auctioneer stands at the front of the room and reads an identification (parcel) number for a property one at a time, which is usually the parcel number. Then the bidding begins on the property. The auctions are public so there may be quite a few people there, and the level of competition at the auction largely determines your success.

2) Live, Online Auctions

Online auctions work like a live, on-site auction, except it all happens on your computer. Before the auction starts, go to the website, register for the event, and download the updated list. When the auction starts, you simply bid by clicking your mouse.

The advantage of an online auction is you can participate from the comfort of your home. You can do most research from the comfort of your home and many online auctions will have the property information easily accessible. Just by clicking on the tax lien or deed that is being offered at the online auction, you can pull up much of the crucial information we are interested in.

Different Bidding Methods 

Methods Counties typically use one of three bidding methods at their auctions: premium bidding, bidding down the interest rate, bidding down the percentage of ownership, rotational bidding, and random selection.

Premium Bidding 

This method is most common for tax deed states. There are only a couple of tax lien states that use premium bidding. The premium bid method is like what you would expect at a typical auction. The price starts at the delinquent tax amount plus fees, it then goes up according to bidders. Depending on the competition at the auction, the price could remain fairly low or go fairly high.

The amount the property is bid above the base amount is known as the surplus. If the opening bid starts at $10,000 dollars and you end up paying $15,000 – the additional $5,000 is the surplus. Usually that will be given back to the property owner after debts are paid.

If investing at an auction using this method, make sure to set a maximum price you are willing to pay and do not exceed it.

Bidding Down the Interest Rate 

This system uses the interest rate the investor earns as the bidding medium. Bidding starts at the maximum rate of return the state offers and the rate is bid down by interested investors. Florida, Arizona, and other large tax lien states use this. In Florida, bidding starts at 18% and then goes to 17.75%, 17.5%, and on until no one is willing to go lower. If attending an auction that uses this method, set your base interest rate.

Bidding Down the Ownership 

This is the least common bidding method for good reason. This method uses the ownership of the property as the bidding medium. The bidding begins at 100% property ownership and then works down 1% at a time until bidding stops. After the sale, the investor would own whatever percentage he or she bid to, and the previous property owner retains the remaining percent.

If used in a tax lien state, the ownership applies after the redemption period ends and the investor attempts to take ownership of the property. In order to settle the difference, the investor would have to settle with the previous property owner. This bidding method is rare and a little bizarre.

Forms of Payment

Most counties will require payment for any tax liens or deeds 24 hours. Counties will require certified funds, bank checks, or cash. Online auctions have payment systems in place that allow you to pay with a credit card or ACH withdrawal.

There are two categories for tax investors: long-term investors, and those interested in high-interest investments: and short-term investors looking to acquire the property.

What type of investor are you?

The kind of investor you are is determined by your resource constraints: the cash you set aside to invest, time available, ability to travel, etc. Try answering the following questions.

• How much money do you have currently dedicated to this strategy?
• Where is that money located? I.E. Checking, Savings, etc. 
• Will you need access to that money in the next 12 months?
• How much time can you honestly devote each week to this strategy?
• Are you willing to travel regularly?

The answers to these questions will determine what investing profile you are.

Profiles

Profile 1: Tax lien certificate investor. These investors try to generate high-interest returns through tax liens. You can invest through live or online auctions. Travel is unnecessary. This investor can use their self-directed IRA or 401k accounts to invest. Tax liens will not take too much time to invest; they are simple and do not require much research. Liens require you know the basics of each investment before bidding. You do not have to fly anywhere to evaluate tax liens since most redeem and tax liens are usually less expensive than tax deeds so that investors can get started with little capital.

A tax lien certificate is a lien placed on your property for not paying your taxes. Every time your property taxes come due, the state will issue what is known as a tax lien. If you pay your taxes on time, the lien is removed. If you don't pay your taxes or pay them on time, the town or county will auction off the tax lien certificate to investors. That investor will then pay the taxes to the property tax owner.

The county or state of the home's location usually conducts tax lien sales auctions. For a home to qualify, it must be considered tax-defaulted for a minimum period of time, depending on local laws. Instead of bidding on an amount for the home, the interested parties can bid on the interest rate. The investor who bids the lowest rate wins the auction and is issued the tax lien certificate.

After an investor wins a bid for a specific tax lien certificate, a lien is placed on the property. A certificate is issued to the investor detailing the outstanding taxes and penalties on the property. But it's worth noting that not all states and counties have tax liens. Some states, only perform tax sales on a defaulted property, resulting in the winning bidder becoming the property's legal owner in question. The term of tax lien certificates typically ranges from one to three years. The certification process allows the investor to collect unpaid taxes plus the applicable prevailing rate of interest, ranging from 8 to more than 30 percent, depending on the jurisdiction.

Profile 2: Tax deed investor. Most tax deed investors will have to travel to evaluate properties and make purchases at the auction. Most tax deed states require the investor to attend the auction to make a purchase. Tax deeds can be purchased through self-directed IRA accounts, and typically require more money and time than tax liens. It is essential to evaluate each investment before pulling the trigger since you will own the property shortly, so they require more time. 

A property tax is any tax paid on a piece of property. Taxes are paid by the owners of real estate—individuals or corporate entities—and are assessed by the municipal government in which the property is located. The taxes collected are used to fund various municipal programs, such as water and sewer improvements, law enforcement and fire service, education, road and highway construction, public servants, and other services.

Property tax rates vary by jurisdiction. When property taxes are left unpaid, the taxing authority may sell the property's deed or title—and therefore, the property—to recover the outstanding taxes. The taxing authority—usually a county government—must go through a series of legal steps to acquire a tax deed. These include notifying the property owner, applying for the tax deed, posting a notice at the property, and posting a public notice of sale. The exact steps that must be taken generally vary following local and municipal laws.

Profile 3: Over-the-counter tax lien investor means the investor is buying tax liens after the auction. This investor spends most of their time doing online research and finding deals. This investor is not interested in attending auctions to bid against other investors and is content with the opportunities left post-auction. This investor is also interested in the full promised interest rate since some auctions require investors to bid down the interest rate. An investment that starts at 18% may end up much lower if buying at the auction. When buying over-the-counter, the investor gets the full interest rate every time. Time and money constraints are similar to Profile 1.

Profile 4: Over-the-counter tax deed investor. This investor is constrained by similar things as Profile 2 and is interested in building lots, vacant land, raw land, etc. With the struggling economy and lack of investors, investors see more over-the-counter single-family homes, so those do not get excluded completely. Most new and advanced investors look for single-family homes, which is wise. Down the road, please do not pass up great deals because it lacks a white picket fence. For example: Building lots can be fantastic investments; it is possible to make significant profits. They usually require less capital but can be flipped easily. You could buy a lot between two homes with power and sewer set up for one of the property owners.

Tax liens are similar to tax deeds, but there are some subtle differences. While tax deeds transfer ownership of the property itself to a new party, tax liens are a legal claim against the property when the taxes aren't paid. Tax liens provide a relatively cheap investment for investors with a guaranteed return. Liens can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars and pay simple interest that accrues monthly. Here's how the process works. A government body places a lien against a property if its owner defaults on their property taxes. These liens, which prevent owners from doing anything with the property, including refinancing or selling it, are sold off at auction rather than the property itself. Interested parties can invest in these tax liens by bidding for them. The return is based on a maximum rate of interest allowed by the municipality.

When a property owner defaults on their property, the municipality sends a notice advising them of the upcoming tax lien. If the owner doesn't bring the taxes up to date, the tax lien is then put up for auction. The lien is transferred to the highest bidder, who pays the outstanding tax amount to the municipality. To remove the lien, the property owner must pay the new lien owner the due amount plus interest.

Profile 5: Pre-sale tax deed investor, or short sale tax deed investors. This is illegal in some states, so check before you do it. These investors are aggressive with significant investment funds. They are short-term investors who look for quick returns. When the tax sale list releases a couple of weeks for the tax deed sale, the investor contacts property owners to offer another solution. If the property owner is interested, the investor evaluates the property and offers cash for the property owner, and the county for the delinquent property taxes and fees. If the market value and payment to the property owner and county is valid, go for it. This could be an excellent solution for popular or competitive tax deed counties.

Profile 6: Limited time and resources investor. For investors that lack time and money. This process starts small and slow. These investors look for tax liens to go to foreclosure and make a lot of money from a small investment. There are ways to do that, that takes a little more time and research.

Profile 7: Redemption deed investor. This investor has time, money, and travel ability. This investor has an interest in large returns and potential ownership but is willing to wait if needed. This investor must do a lot of due diligence to ensure good investments. This is a great strategy.

You do not need to focus on just one strategy or profile since you might fit into more than one and do more than one. You will need to adjust your time and money to accommodate. Think about these profiles concerning the answers you gave to the questions earlier. Where do you fit and what do you want to do. If you have constraints, raise money, save money, free up time, etc. to fit another profile.

After finding what profile you are and the investment you want to make, go through the reference materials for states on our website to see what states you can invest in and how they work. After you know which states, you can download the lists from the website.