Tax Sale: How To Exploit For Profit

In today’s society, the margins are getting tighter and tighter across the board, making it increasingly difficult for the average person to ever get ahead. Even those who can satisfactorily say that they aren’t living paycheck to paycheck probably aren’t saving as much as they should, nor are they able to spend as much as they would like. If you’re in such a position, the concept of a tax sale may appeal to you greatly. With the right information and opportunities, these sales can be your ticket to increased wealth.

What is a Tax Sale?
In most places in America, a real estate owner owes the government a yearly tax on their property. If this is not paid in a timely manner, the IRS has the authority to issue a lien on that property until the balance is paid in full. If this doesn’t happen by a specified time, the government is within their rights to seize the property and sell to the public. In almost all of these circumstances, the prices on the estate will be rock bottom, allowing a wise investor to come in and buy low, letting them sell high at a future date.

Tax Sale (Lien)
This is where the government simply auctions off the debt itself to a third party investor. In many cases, the investor can get a good price on the debt, which the government is eager to wipe from the books. The previous owner will then be responsible to pay back the debt, plus interest, to the new owner of the debt. They will have a certain amount of time in which to do this, or the property itself will go straight to the owner of the debt. It’s easy to see that by being the investor, you’re giving yourself two opportunities to make money off this one transaction. You can get paid through high interest rates or you can become the owner of an expensive piece of property for what could only be called pennies on the dollar.

Tax Sale (Deed)
The other opportunity to make money is by purchasing the deed to the property itself. This is a rather uncommon situation, but it still comes up from time to time. On the other hand, these sales typically go through an auction process, and the properties themselves are usually on rather questionable value. Buying deeds in this way is a highly speculative way to make money, but it can be profitable for someone with the right expertise.