A lot has been said about tax sales recently. They seem to be all the rage in the real estate industry. Yet, many people don’t know what they are. They don’t know what they consist of, how to get involved, or if they even care to be involved with these tax sales. While tax sales are often mentioned in passing, not much is known about them.

Tax sales are auctions held by the county auditor where properties belonging to delinquent tax payers are bid upon. They come in two forms; tax lien certificates and tax deeds. With tax lien certificates the government gives you a percentage of interest (18+ %) upon your payment over the course of however many years are decided upon (varying by state) and with tax deeds the investor gains ownership over the property (sometimes with encumbrances attached, such as paying off the owed taxes).

As an investor you can also attempt to purchase properties before the tax sales even occur. If you want to do that you’ll need to get yourself a copy of the list of properties that will be put up for auction. By visiting your county auditor or accessing their website you will most likely be able to secure a copy. The next step would be doing a bit of research and contacting the current owners.

Contacting the owners of the properties can be intimidating, but just remember that they are in a pickle and will probably be grateful to get out of this tax nightmare without ever having their properties sent to tax sales. Deeds cannot be signed over without the payment of the delinquent taxes, because the government puts liens on these homes, so expect to pay at least what is owed including any fees that have been incurred.

It is really important that you do some research on the properties that you wish to buy. You can do this through contacting the owners, driving by the property for a once over, finding info off of the internet, etc. The money you spend at the tax sales or through direct contact with the owner is meant to be a financial investment for you, so you need to take the research part seriously.

Tax sales offer you an opportunity to make anywhere from 18 to 50 % in interest in only 1 to 5 years. They are a great way to get involved in the real estate industry for flipping, renting, leasing, or owning. You can also simply make some quick money by reselling the property to investors. Whatever your desires are, tax sales are definitely worth putting a little more time into learning about.

If you want to find out more about how a Tax Lien Certificates sale works, then visit No Risk Investor and see how to choose from among the best Tax Lien Certificates.