Tax Lien Certificates

Discover a Simple Ten-Step Process for Investing in High-Yielding, Government-Issued and Real Estate Secured Tax Liens And Tax Deeds

Like anything new, investing in tax liens and tax deeds might seem a little foreign at first. In addition, you may have a lot of fears holding you back. Don't panic, in this section you will learn a proven step-by-step system for investing in tax liens and tax deeds. This simple ten-step system is designed to move you through the three stages of the investment process:

Let's begin with a brief overview and introduction of the various steps in the investment process.

Stage 1: Preparing

Step 1: Identify your goals, budget and available resources

Identifying what you want to achieve is your first step in the investment process. When setting your goals, it is important to take inventory of your resources, particularly in relation to the time and money you can devote to this investment. In addition to being expensive, miscalculations can be disastrous.

Step 2: Formulate Your Investment Strategy

Your next step is to identify your investment strategy. A good investment strategy will help you to achieve your investment goals. I'll reveal a simple yet highly-effective process for uncovering your investment strategy.

Step 3: Select the Right State

Where do you begin? With so many states to choose from the task can seem a bit overwhelming. Over the years I've learned that there's a little more to selecting the right state than choosing the one that offers the highest rate of return. In this section, we'll cover everything you need to consider when selecting a state that fits into your investment goals and strategy.

Step 4: Select the Right County or Municipality

Once you've selected the right state, you should be ready to identify the right county or municipality. Initially, it can feel a bit overwhelming, especially if you've selected a state with a lot of counties. Georgia, for example, has over 159 counties while Texas, has over 254. Don't be discouraged, I'll share a simple process designed to make selecting the right county as painless as possible.

Step 5: Obtain A Current Tax Sale List

Your next step is to obtain a tax sale list. The tax sale list identifies those properties or tax liens available for purchase from the county or municipality. There are several ways of obtaining a tax sale list - some even free.

Step 6: Perform Your Due Diligence

A tax sale list provides the information needed to conduct your due-diligence prior to the purchase. Thorough due-diligence will enable you to narrow down the tax sale list to those listings that are mostly likely to help you achieve your investment goals and strategy.

Step 7: Reduce Your Risks

Although relatively small, tax liens still have some risks. In this step, you'll become aware of many of the investment pitfalls. Furthermore, you will learn how to deal with them. This will allow you to maximize your profits while minimizing your exposure to risk.

Stage 2: Purchasing

Step 8: Make the Purchase

At this point you will have completed your research and selected the tax liens/tax deeds that you'd like to purchase. In this step, we'll cover everything you need to know about the various was of purchasing tax liens and tax deeds.

Stage 3: Profiting

Step 9: Manage Your Investment

Having purchased your tax lien or tax deed doesn't mean you're done. Often, there are several tasks and/or deadlines you must meet. Failure to meet these requirements could prove costly. In this step, we'll cover what you must do to maintain your investment and prepare for a profitable ending.

Step 10: Realize Your Profits

Every step leading up to this point has been taken with the aim of making a significant profit or return on investment. In this step you'll learn the various ways to profit from a tax lien certificate or tax deed.

As you become familiar with the various steps of the investment process your confidence will grow and you will feel comfortable setting more challenging financial goals.

Steven E. Waters is an experienced and active investor of tax liens and tax deeds, author of "Creating Wealth Without Risk™" and acting president of Tax Lien University, Inc.