Tax Lien and Tax Deed Information

Weld County Colorado Auction Results

2006-11-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the Weld County results are in. It was an internet auction held by RealAuctions.Com and the results are very interesting.

First thing to keep in mind is that a lien in Colorado that is sold this year and redeems on the last day of the redemption period (three years) would earn a total of 45% on the taxes owed ($450 on a $1,000 lien). Also keep in mind that the premium you bid you don't get back. With those thoughts in mind, here are the results.

There were 1,462 liens sold and 165 liens struck off to the county (no bids).

The sane people:
1,280 liens were sold at an average premium bid of 5.80% of the lien amount, i.e. if the lien was $1,000 it took an average bid of $58.00 to buy the liens.

50 liens were sold at no premium whatsoever.

The escapees from the "Happy Dale Home for the Mentally Bewildered":
132 liens were sold at a an average premium of 75.50%, in other words on a $1,000 lien they bid a premium of $750.50! Remember, if the liens redeem the last day they would make a total of $450 on that lien or, in other words, they would lose $300.50. The only chance they have to make any money on these liens is if they don't redeem and Weld has a very high redemption rate.

And the prize goes to a bidder who bid a premium of $600.00 on a lien that was $28.99 or a premium of 2,069%!!! - what were you thinging? Or were you thinking at all?

South Dakota goes to tax deeds

2006-11-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

South Dakota has changed their tax sale laws, House Bill 1069 now requires the counties to keep all tax liens and not to sell them. What now happens is the county, after a period of 3 to 4 years (depends on city or county land) will be able to sell the property in a tax deed sale. Unfortunately, the time of the sale is a county option and no specific time for sale is set. We will get you more information over the next few weeks.

Colorado Internet Tax Lien Sale Training Dates

2006-10-10T13:01:00.000-06:00

There will be two new Internet sales this year in Colorado, Weld County and Denver County. Both are being run by RealAuction.com who has run the most successful Internet sales in Florida and Arizona. They will have training classes for any who want to attend. The schedule is as follows:

Weld County the site is http://www.weldtaxsale.com/

October 11th 2006 at 3:30 PM MSTOctober 25th 2006 at 6:30 PM MST
Weld County Training Center 1104 H StreetGreeley, Co 80631

Denver County the site is http://www.denvertaxsale.com/

October 12th 2006 at 1:00 PM MSTOctober 26th 2006 at 5:30 PM MST
Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building201 West Colfax Avenue
Room 4.G.2Denver, CO 80202

Why care about a "Bulk" sale of tax liens?

2006-10-10T05:19:00.000-06:00

An example of a "Bulk" sale of tax liens is shown below. Why would you care if you don't have an extra $10 million hanging around to bid? The reason is the buyer of this package of liens may well have an interest in selling some of the liens to limit their risk.

The Lucas County Treasurer's Office expects to distribute payments totaling about $9.8 million to school districts, cities, and other taxing districts from the sale of liens on delinquent property taxes, Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz announced yesterday.

The money will come from the sale of liens on about 4,800 tax-delinquent parcels to a New Jersey collection company.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz said Lucas County is the seventh county in the state to take advantage of the power approved in 1997 to sell liens on parcels with delinquent taxes to a collection agency.

He said his office awarded the tax-lien sales to Xpand, of Morristown, N.J., a subsidiary of Bear Stearns Cos. Inc., for $9.8 million, which gives it the right to collect on the delinquent parcels and to charge interest rates of up to 18 percent.

The lien sales will take effect Nov. 30, unless the owners of the 4,800 properties pay their bills in full or qualify to be put on a payment plan.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz campaigned in 2004 on a promise to try the tax-lien sale, which he said would help dislodge millions of unpaid taxes that were not being collected by his predecessor, Ray Kest.

"This program does not target anyone who is making a good-faith attempt to pay their taxes," Mr. Kapszukiewicz said. (this is from the Toledo Blade)

Interest Rate versus a Penalty Rate - You need to know the difference

2006-10-04T08:42:00.000-06:00

One thing that seems to catch some people unawares is the interest rate that is quoted for a tax sale. There are two types of interest rates - one is an interest rate and one is a penalty. Why do you care? Because it can make a substantial difference in your return on investment.

Lets assume there are two different tax lien sales, one has a 10% interest rate and the other has a 10% penalty. You buy a $1,000 lien in both sales and both liens redeem exactly 90 days later. Which one was the better investment? Let's do the numbers.

The 10% interest rate lien will earn the following: $1,000 times 10% for 90 days will earn $24.70 (1000 X .10/365*90)=24.70. A 10% percent penalty for 90 days (or 180, 0r 365) will earn $100.00 (1000 X .10)=100. Which would you rather have? The anualized return on the penalty is 40.6% (100 / 90 X 365 /1000). So, obviously 10% is not always 10%. You need to know if you are earning a penalty or an interest rate.

Some of the penalty states are SC, TX, IL and IN. there are others. Check it out and know what you are getting.

Three Colorado Sales on the Internet

2006-10-01T14:24:00.000-06:00

For the first time there will be three Colorado Tax Sales on the web. For the last couple of years Jefferson County has held a web sale, but this year they will be joined by both Denver County and Weld County. Jefferson County will be October 18th, Denver County will be November 6th, and Weld County will be November 1st.

These Colorado counties have pretty good real estate on their sales although the foreclosure rate in Colorado has been one of the highest in the nation, there should be some good values for tax lien sale investors.

One word of caution - remember that in Colorado the amount you bid above the taxes owed you do not get back, so make sure you have done your due diligence and that you don't get carried away. Also, don't forget that this is a three year redemption period so you have to be able to post subsequent taxes for the liens that have not redeemed.

Good luck and good bidding!

Colorado Tax Lien Sales

2006-09-21T17:58:00.000-06:00

This years Colorado Tax Lien sale will have the highest interest rate in six years. This years rate will be 15% (Colorado is the only state with a floating rate that is set each year based on the Federal Reserve Discount Rate). The sales will be in October, November and December, depending on the county.

Please remember that Colorado has a bid up system where most counties sell the lien to the bidder willing to bid the highest premium over the taxes owed. You DO NOT GET THIS PREMIUM BACK, so don't get carried away with your bidding. There are a number of counties that do sell some or all of their liens on a "round robin" bidding method without a premium. Keep this in mind as it eliminates the risk of a bid up system. As always, you can get the lists at www.TaxSaleLists.Com

Oklahoma Sales October Second

2006-09-21T17:37:00.000-06:00

The Oklahoma tax sales will be held the 2nd of October. The lists are being posted on www.TaxSaleLists.Com for those of you who are interested. Oklahoma has very substantial lists, for example - Oklahoma County has over 10,000 parcels on their sale list this year.

The state is a lien state and pays 8% interest.

Monroe County PA tax deed sale this week

2006-09-11T14:53:00.000-06:00

STROUDSBURG, PA — About 500 properties are scheduled to go on the Monroe County auction block Wednesday to satisfy back-tax bills, although the number continues to decline. That's because some individual buyers are paying off their outstanding county and municipal tax bills as the auction draws near.

"We've actually had quite a few stop by today," Greg Christine, director of the Monroe County Tax Claim Bureau, said Friday. "Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we'll probably have people come in right up to the sale."

Properties from every municipality are on the sales list. The minimum bid price — typically a few hundred dollars — covers the back taxes and administrative costs associated with the sale.

But successful buyers are responsible for paying any outstanding mortgages and other private liens on the properties. Sometimes lenders bid to buy back the properties to protect their investments.

New Virginia sale

2006-09-08T11:36:00.000-06:00

Accomack County, Virginia, will clear some of the the hundreds of thousands of dollars in delinquent real-estate taxes from its books tomorrow in a massive auction of property in one of the Eastern Shore's most talked-about developments.

At noon on the steps of the circuit courthouse, a Yorktown attorney hired by the county who specializes in tax collections will sell 32 lots in Captain's Cove, which features 4,800 lots, a redesigned nine-hole golf course, community pool and plans for other amenities, including a new clubhouse.

It's the first Accomack County delinquent tax land sale in recent memory.

Tennessee county to hold first tax sale in four years

2006-09-08T11:30:00.000-06:00

Coffee County, Tennessee's first delinquent tax property sale in at least four years is being prepared, a county panel was told Tuesday.

A representative for county delinquent tax attorney Mark Williams was present at the meeting of the Purchasing Commission at Coffee County Administrative Plaza. The commission was informed a tax sale will take place later this year, and commissioner Sam Rittenberry said after the meeting that they should be held more often.

Also after the meeting, Attorney Williams said the planned sale would involve properties for which taxes first became delinquent between 1995 and 1999.

Tennessee county schedules first sale in four years.

2006-09-08T11:25:00.000-06:00

Some Web Sites that will help the Tax Lien and Tax Deed Buyer

2006-09-01T17:17:00.000-06:00

There are a number of web sites that I have found to be extremely helpful in my tax lien and tax deed due diligence process: Some are for due diligence and some are for research. We will go over the due diligence web sites first. All of these sites are free.

Google Earth, http://earth.google.com/ this is a great software tool that allows you to see overhead shots of almost all of the United States. We use it to get a feel for what a neighborhood is like before we ever start our due diligence.

Zillow, www.zillow.com, it doesn't cover everywhere, but where it covers it is fabulous. It shows you the property (using Google Earth), but then puts their estimates of market value in a tag above each property.

Domania, www.domania.com, Again, does not cover every place, but gives you a description of the properties (bedrooms, baths, sqft, etc.) and what it sold for. Another way to get an idea of values in an area.

Melissadata, http://www.melissadata.com//lists/ezlists/ezhomeowners.aspx this gives you average sale prices by zip code for most of the country and gives you enough history to establish price trends.

Yahoo home values, http://realestate.yahoo.com/Homevalues, this is another way of determining values in an area, again they don't cover everywhere but most of the country.

Search Systems, http://www.searchsystems.net/ I use this web site at least six to eight times a day. They have almost every governmental web site in the country, which means you can find, in one place, the Treasurer's web site, The Assessor's web site or the Tax Collector's web site. They do have a "for pay" version which makes the process a little quicker, but the free version gives you the same information.

TaxSaleLists.Com, www.taxsalelists.com, They sell tax sale lists, but the free information they have available is worth getting. They have tax sale calendars, and tax sale calendars for past years (which might give you a hint when they will be this year). They also have a page that shows all the lists they have posted in the past week.

GovEngine, www.govengine.com, I use this to see if there are any changes in the law for a state. They have links to almost all of the statutes in every state.

There is a great deal of work you can do from the "comfort of home", but, as you know, we still think you have to go look at the properties.

A Great Due Diligence Tool that can save time and money

2006-08-31T10:38:00.000-06:00

One of the problem a tax lien or tax deed investor is faced with is getting information on the properties since the taxing authority seldom publishes full information on the property. There are a number of solutions to this problem. You could go to one of the data providers, like First American, Dataquick, or Lexis, but they all tend to be fairly expensive, running from 20 cents to 60 cents a property.

I found a better solution! We use a software program that is a "internet macro" program. You put the property identification numbers into a csv file and the software goes to the assessor's web site and automatically enters the parcel identification number, pulls up the information on the web site, captures the information from the screen and writes it to a csv file. Net cost for the information? Zero! The process is fairly quick, we can do about 8 properties a minute. This software can be used for a lot of different applications besides real estate, for example we have book marked about 600 sites relating to tax sales and rather than go to favorites, find the site and click to open it, the macro program does all of that and we just look at the pages to see if there is any new information.

The software was developed by a company in Germany and I have used it for over three years now. For more information on this software and to see a video of it in action, go to this site

Risk Analysis of a Mississippi Tax Sale bid that took place yesterday

2006-08-30T06:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, in Desoto County, Mississippi one of the properties with a $600,000 dollar tax lien sold for a $30,000 premium or overbid (an amount the winning bidder was willing to pay above the taxes owed). As we said in yesterday's description of bidding methods, you do not get this premium back. So let's do some analysis of this bid. In Mississippi you get 1.5% per month, for any part of a month, that the lien is outstanding which means that on this lien you get $9,000 per month (600,000 times 1.5%)= $9,000. The premium paid was $30,000 so the lien must stay outstanding for ($30,000 divided by $9,000)= 3.33 months (actually it is just 3 months because you get $9,000 for each month or any part of a month).

If this lien redeems in the first month after the sale, the buyer will lose $21,000 ($9,000 earned minus $30,000 paid.)= -$21,000

If this lien redeems in the second month after the sale, the buyer will lose $12,000 ($18,000-$30,000)=-$12,000

If this lien redeems in the third month after the sale, the buyer will lose $3,000 ($27,000 earned minus $30,000 paid)=-$3,000

If this lien redeems in the fourth month after the sale, the buyer will make $6,000 ($36,000 earned minus $30,000 paid)=+$6,000, a 2.89% return.

If this lien redeems at the end of one year, the buyer will make $78,000 ($108,000 earned minus $30,000 paid)=+$78,000, a return of 12.38%.

To sum up, the risk that the lien buyer is taking is that he gets a quick redemption in the first 90 days versus the lien staying outstanding for at least six months or so. This same system is used in a number of Colorado counties (their sales will be in October, November and December). Was this a prudent risk the lien buyer took? Only time will tell.

The Different Types of Tax Sale and Tax Deed Auctions

2006-08-29T11:45:00.000-06:00

There are a number of different ways that government tax sales are conducted, but almost all require some sort of auction mechanism. We will review them is this article:

1. Round Robin. They go around the room, in order, and ask you if you want it. Your response is yes or no. Benefit: You always get a chance to buy something. Disadvantage: You never get to pick the one you get a chance to buy.

2. Lottery: Similar to a round robin, but some mechanism is used to randomly pick a buyer. Can be a computer program, drawing straws, one county in Wyoming cuts cards. Benefit and Disadvantage are the same as in a round robin.

3. Bid down the interest rate: The person willing to take the lowest interest rate gets the lien. You hear Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and Arizona has high rates, but those are the starting bids. Florida last year started at 18% but averaged less than 5%.

4. Highest and Best Bid: This is used for all tax deed sales and quite a few tax lien sales. They sell the lien or deed to the highest bidder. The excess over the amount of taxes owed is called the "overbid or premium". The taxing authority holds this overbid and if the lien is redeemed it is returned to the lien buyer. In most deed sales the delinquent taxpayer is entitled to the overbid.

5. Percentage of Ownership: Here the lien buyer who is willing to accept the lowest percentage of ownership in the property (assuming the lien does not redeem) wins the bid. This is done in a number of states, but in almost all of them they use a different method since nobody wants to be a tenant in common. Most states that use this system end up using a round robin or lottery instead.

6. Highest and Best Bid with no return of the overbid: Colorado and Mississippi use this system in some counties. The overbid will be much smaller than in Highest and Best Bid system where you get the premium back. You have to be very careful that you do not bid too high a premium. For example: If you bid a premium that is larger than the amount you would earn from one month's interest and the lien redeems in the first month, you will actually lose money on the lien.

You want to make sure you understand exactly what happens in the bidding method used and if you get the premium back, make interest on the premium or if there are any other conditions you should be aware of. One source for more information on this subject can be found here.

Allen County Indiana sets new rules on some Tax Sale acquisitions.

2006-08-28T16:13:00.000-06:00

The Allen County Indiana Commissioners on Wednesday approved a financial-responsibility policy for people who do business with the county’s nonprofit development corporation, which tries to resell property the commissioners assume ownership of through tax sales.

What the policy says

Here are details of a financial-responsibility policy approved Wednesday by Allen County Commissioners that applies to people wishing to buy property from the Community Development Corp. of Northeast Indiana:
♦ For vacant lots: When buying two or more lots not adjacent to the purchaser’s own property within a one-year time period, the purchaser must provide a signed contract with a lawn-maintenance company for mowing. If the purchaser fails to pay taxes or assessments on the real estate within the first five years after the purchase, it reverts back to the community development corporation. No one who has delinquent property taxes or who has previously allowed property to go through the tax-sale process will be eligible to purchase property from the development corporation unless delinquent or previously delinquent taxes are paid in full.
♦ Residential and commercial/industrial properties: When purchasing two or more residential properties within one year or when buying any commercial/ industrial property, the buyer must provide evidence that approval has been sought and obtained to rehab the property. The buyer must provide an estimate on repair costs and must show proof that money is available to pay for the repairs. The buyer must start repairs or demolition within 12 months and must have them done within 24 months or the real estate will revert back to the community development corporation, unless a time period extension is granted. If the purchaser fails to pay taxes or assessments on the real estate within the first five years after the purchase, it reverts back to the community development corporation. No one who has delinquent property taxes or who has previously allowed property to go through the tax-sale process will be eligible to purchase property from the development corporation unless delinquent or previously delinquent taxes are paid in full.

Pennsylvania Tax Sales - some things you should know

2006-08-28T09:39:00.001-06:00

We will be posting tax sale properties from Mississippi and Pennsylvania today. The government tax sales for Pennsylvania will, for the most part, be in September. Pennsylvania does not sell tax liens, and the first sale is not really a tax deed sale, in that you buy the property subject to all encumbrances (mortgages, etc.). Any properties that don't sell in the September sale will be reoffered in the spring and at that sale they are sold free of all encumbrances. The lists are fairly large and are available at this site

The government tax sales in Pennsylvania are sold to the "highest and best bidder", meaning the person willing to pay the most for them. Since in the September upset sales (the term they use) you are buying subject to mortgages, etc., you want to do some good due diligence as you could end up paying more than you should if you don't know what the outstanding debt is.

We will have more later......

Seminars are Sellinars

2006-08-27T10:10:00.000-06:00

One of my pet peeves is the "seminars" - most of which are an excuse to get you in a room, give you a little "knowledge", and spend the rest of the time trying to sell you something. One exception is the TaxSaleLists workshops (called that because you will have to work). They are fourteen hours, spread over four evenings on the web. Because they are live you can ask all the questions you want and then the workshops are recorded (both video and audio) so you can go back and review for the next year or two. They seem very reasonably priced. If you want more information go to Workshop Training. One thing I can tell you, they don't spend any of the time trying to sell you something.

Mississippi Tax Sales and Missouri Tax Sales

2006-08-27T09:54:00.000-06:00

Mississippi has their tax sales tomorrow (and here comes another hurricane). There are a couple of things to keep in mind with Mississippi sales - a number of counties still use the "bid up" method (although a fair number use the "round robin") of selling the liens. Just keep in mind if it is a bid up county that the premium you bid you do not get back. If you bid more than a couple of month's worth of interest as your bid and the lien redeems in the first month you can actually lose money - we do the same here in Colorado and every year a lot of "newbies" get caught in that trap.

Missouri also has a lot of their sales tomorrow. The one thing that seems to be a misconception for a lot of people is that you have to be a resident of Missouri to be. That is not true - but you do have to have a "registered representative" who is a resident of Missouri. Usually this will be your attorney. Not a bad state to bid in and a lot of people do not go to MO because of this misconception.

If you need lists for either Mississippi or Missouri we recommend this source.

Tips and Traps

2006-08-26T14:44:00.000-06:00

Periodically I will try and tell you some of the mistakes we made over the years in the hopes that you can avoid them. We all make mistakes - the key is try and not make them more than once (at times I think we made all of them at least once!). We will call these little discussions, Tips and Traps.

You will find I don't have a lot of love for some of the late night television gurus - the reason is fairly simple, they are wonderful salesmen, but most have been to very few, if any, tax sales. One of the current gurus loves to tell you about how to "buy tax liens from the comfort of your own home". What he is talking about is assignment lien purchases, often called OTC purchases. These are the liens that did not sell at the government tax sale. Fourteen years ago, when we started, this was a valid strategy - today it is a risky strategy. There are a number of national buyers who go to all of the big sales and nothing worthwhile is missed by them. The net effect is that when something is left and not purchased, IT WAS BECAUSE NOBODY WANTED IT! Now, are there exceptions - sure there are, but they are few are far between. If you want to go to a small rural county in Nebraska or Iowa or perhaps are looking for vacant land, industrial land (you're a braver man than I, Gunga Din) or agricultural land, you may find something worthwhile - but forget Arizona, Florida, New Jersey or most of the bigger sale states because that crop has been well harvested.

Second thing to remember, that these informercial people tell you, that I certainly don't agree with. They say you don't have to look at it. You should not buy a tax lien or a tax deed property without you putting your peepers on that land, or at least, somebody you really trust taking a look at it. Yes, you could get a "data enhanced" list from someplace like TaxSaleLists which could eliminate a lot of time in the court house, but the assessor may not know that it burned down last week or has become the local distrubtion center for certain "controlled substances". Perhaps it is now the local clubhouse for the Hells Angels (now you evict them - sorry, I won't be available that day). In other words - look at the property - let me repeat that - LOOK AT THE PROPERTY!

Weekly Tax Sale and Tax Deed update

2006-08-26T14:28:00.000-06:00

This next week both Mississippi, a tax lien state, and Missouri, also a tax lien state will have their sales - most on the same date which is the 28th of August. But they are far from alone. Ohio and Michigan will have a number of sheriff's sales (some of which will include tax deed sales). Other states having tax lien certificate sales soon are Indiana, New Jersey, and Wyoming. Tax Deed sales coming up include Pennsylvania, most of their sales will be in September. In addition, both Texas and Georgia will have a number of "redeemable deed" sales - these are a lot like a tax lien, but have less legal work to go through. Both Texas and Georgia have their tax sales on the first Tuesday of the month, which is the 5th of September.

We have posted 159 tax sale lists on, TaxSaleLists,this week for the states mentioned above, so if you are looking for them, come on by our site. They are all done in Excel.