Start with the Basics
You have to know what a tax lien is and how it works before you start investing
your money in it. So let's start with the basics and work from there. What is a tax
lien, and how can you buy one?
Homeowners have to pay taxes on their home to the county in which the property
is located. When property owners don’t pay these taxes, they become
delinquent, and the county places a tax lien on the property as a way of collecting
the debt.
This gives the county two ways to collect the debt. If the property is sold, the
proceeds from the sale are used to pay off any liens on the property—and tax
liens take precedence over other types of liens like mortgages and home equity
loans.
Second, the county has the ability to sell the tax lien certificate to collect their
debt, and the buyer of the certificate—you—gets ownership of the property as
part of the deal (if the tax lien isn't redeemed by the owner of the property—find
out more about this later on in this book).
Tax lien amounts can range from hundreds of dollars to hundreds of thousands
of dollars, but you can pick up a property for a lot less than market value, so it’s a
win-win for you and the county where the taxes are owed.
Shipping included in price
