Tax Lien Certificates

Hi,
I want to invest in Tax Lien Certificates, primarily for their good rate of interest. I came to know that there are companies such as Lennox Group which buy it for you (basically they do all the leg work). Does anybody has any experience in going thru them or any such company?
I feel that going to all these auctions & bidding for tax lien certificates may be too time consuming.

Please advise.
-AB

HI,
You are correct, if you have the time, you can go to the auctions. As a starting point, you might want to invest in certificates in your home state. I dont know what your level is but I buy tax certifiecates in both florida and Arizona. I actually buy them ‘over the counter’. This means I get a list of left over certificates which I research via the web at both the tax collectors office and property appraizer. If you need more information about tax lien investing. Search the web, ebay sometimes have sellers selling info about the tax lien certificates. I would point out that John Beck ‘had’ some good information. His program free and clear is decent. But ac couple of ears ago, he had a number of different books he was publishing which i noticed he discontinued. Hope this answers your questions. :slight_smile:

I attended a tax certificate sale in Voorhees NJ last week. Of approximately 200 certificates only 1 or 2 actually sold for a double digit interest rate, 1 ro 2 more sold between 0-%. Most sold not only at 0% interest but at a premium where the investors PAID EXTRA CASH for a certificate at 0%. One property sold for a $500K premium and preiums of $10K to $50K were common.

Although I admittedly am unfamiliar with Tax Lien Sales I just don’t see where they make any money.

JMD

Regarding JMDs last sentence. People are interested in it for the interest that is paid out on a monthly basis or they eventually get the house instead. When I focused on Arizona, I admit I was hoping they would not come up with the money and I would get the house free and clear. But they managed to come up with the money at the end of the 3 year period. FYI, if you invest in texas the tyle there is a little diffferent. It is a tax deed state, but the good news is they pay a flat fee of 25% the first year, the second year is 50 % should the homeowner decide to bring their taxes current.

I agree that the interest is the is the monthly interest. However, as I stated, most of the certificates were bid down to 0% and then premiums were paid for te certificate. In NJ the owners have 2 years to come up wwith the money or you can foreclose on the property.

I just don’t understand how they can pay $10K premium for the certifvicate and still make money with 0% interest.

JMD