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Well, I have some great news for you. There are a total of five states that sell tax liens online. They are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana and Maryland. Even in those states though, not all counties conduct tax lien sales online. You can easily find a list of the counties that do sell tax liens online by checking out Joanne Musa, the Tax Lien Lady’s new program called Buying Tax Liens Online at http://bit.ly/3G3Ac. Online tax sales are different in each state, but they do have a few things in common.

You need to register for online tax sales days, or in some cases weeks, ahead of the actual sale date. You can register entirely online, and once you are registered can browse and bid on properties online as well.

When you bid on a tax lien online, you are not bidding on the actual property itself, but on the tax lien certificate that is being auctioned by the county. These online tax sales usually require a deposit, which is usually a portion of the amount you plan to spend on tax lien certificates. This deposit is usually refundable after the sale if you don’t win any certificates, but some sites have a nonrefundable registration fee.

In auctions that use wire transfers for payments, payment for the liens which you win is usually required within 24 or 48 hours after the close of the sale. For sales that use ACH Debit as the method of payment, payment for your liens is usually due the day the tax sale closes. For these online tax sales, you agree beforehand to allow the county treasurer to debit your account for the amount of the tax liens that you win.

The counties that do have online tax sales make it very easy for you to register and bid online. The most difficult part is doing your due diligence for the properties. Unless you purchase a tax sale list from the county or from a third party list provider, you don’t always get to see the list of properties that are . In some cases, there is very little information available on the properties. This is where buying a detailed or enhanced list can be extremely helpful in doing remote due diligence prior to bidding in an online tax sale.

For more information on buying tax liens online, check out the Tax Lien Lady’s new program on Buying Tax Liens Online: http://bit.ly/3G3Ac

Many people want to invest in tax lien certificates but don’t have the time freedom to
physically attend the tax sales, so they want to do it online or by mail. A couple of tax
lien states do hold online tax sales, and a few will allow you to mail in your bid. I don’t,
however, recommend investing in tax lien certificates by mail or online unless you can
look at the properties or have someone else look at them for you.

First let’s talk about online tax sales. As tax lien investing has become more popular with
the average person (it’s not just the secret of the wealthy anymore), it’s also become more
competitive. Over the last three or four years, in states where the interest rate is bid down,
the bidding has been going lower and lower – as low at .25% in some sates. And in states
where the amount of the lien is bid up prices have been bid higher and higher. Online
auctions increase the competition even more. Now instead of bidding against every
interested party who can come to the sale, you’re competing with every interested party
with a computer.

Three things happen at these online tax sales. First of all a lot more bidders show up
because all they have to do is get to their computer to register for the sale. Secondly,
more money – or lower interest rates are bid for tax lien certificates because there are an
increased amount of bidders. And thirdly more properties are sold at these sales. You see,
at most tax sales there are “left-over” liens that no one bids on that go to the county. A lot
of these properties are junk properties. They are really not worth anything and that’s why
the owner stopped paying the taxes. Any bidders that have done their due diligence will
know this and will not bid on these properties. But when sales are held online these
properties will typically be sold. Don’t you be one of those online bidders who buys a tax
lien on a worthless piece of property!

Would you purchase real estate that you didn’t look at first? Even though you are not
purchasing the property when you buy a tax lien (you are only paying the past due taxes
and penalties and putting a lien on the property), you still need to make sure that the
property is valuable. There is always the chance that the lien will not be redeemed and
that you will wind up with the property. And if you do have to foreclose on the property,
you want it to be worth much more than you have invested in it. Your investment isn’t
only the amount that you paid at the sale, but all of the subsequent taxes that you paid,
any legal fees and foreclosure costs, and any costs that you incur to fix up the property
before you sell it.

Here is something else to consider if you decide to go ahead and tax lien certificates
online anyway. You will pay more money for tax lien certificates online than you would
at a regular tax sale. First of all you will have to have a hefty deposit just to register for only the amount tha
the sale. If you do not purchase any liens your deposit will be refunded. If you do make a
purchase it money will be deducted from your deposit. Even if you make a purchase by
mistake, the money will be deducted and it will not be returned. If you do not complete
the transaction you could be banned from any future sales. In addition to that you will
have to pay the online auction company a commission, which could be as high as 10% of
the purchase price of the lien(s) that you buy.

What about purchasing tax lien certificates through the mail? Many states do allow for
purchasing of tax lien certificates through the mail. Most states allow this for their “left-
over” liens and a couple of states will even allow mailed in bids for their tax sales.
Buying tax lien certificates through the mail does not have all the problems that I
described for online tax sales, especially if you are able to do your due diligence on the
properties before placing your bid. You are, however, at a disadvantage when you mail in
your bid for a tax sale. I suggest that you find out what the procedure is at the sale. If
your bid is read out loud at the sale and those present at the sale have the opportunity to
out bid you, than you are at a disadvantage. It is the investors who are present at the sale
that have the advantage over you.

There are opportunities in some states that sell leftover liens (sometimes these are
referred to as “over-the-counter” liens or “assignment” liens) that are available for
purchase through the mail. Be very careful though to do your due diligence on these
properties before you placing a bid. Very often, as I mentioned earlier, there is a reason
that these liens were not purchased by other investors. If no-body else wanted it maybe
there is something wrong with it! Check the property out before you buy. With tax lien
investing, there are no refunds!