Investing In Tax Liens

Tax liens can be a relatively safe investment. A good return on your money is also possible. The catch? Everyone knows about this now, and the bids are pushing down rates of returns.

When we went to the local tax lien properties sale here in Fremont County Colorado, we were amazed that a little community like this could have so many investors wanting to buy tax liens. This is good for the county, but not for an investor.

Tax liens are handled a little differently in each state, but they are essentially the debt that a property owner owes for late taxes. Investors buy these, and to pay them off and so not lose their property, an owner must pay whatever fees and interest rate the law specifies. Here in Colorado, that is 15%. We liked the idea of a 15% return on our money.

How to Do a Title Search on Tax Lien and Tax Deed Properties

When you do a title search basically what you are looking for is Marketable Title. Marketable title is really the absence of liens and clouds, the absence of IRS liens, and the absence of missing links in the chain of title.

Missing links in the chain of title could be for example when the original a person owned a property for 40 years and then passed away and his kids started paying the taxes and eventually they want to sell the property. Well if there was no probate or no will or anything like that, then there is no indication of who should receive this property. It might be that the deceased’s will was to give it to his church. It might be that he mentioned to somebody, “You know what, when I die you’ll get this property,” and this person might even have a witness. Nobody can prove anything and the only solution here is to have the heirs go through a probate procedure to clear the title. For that you or they will most likely need to hire an attorney and it will take a few months.