Tax Liens VS Tax Deeds – Which One Should You Invest In?

Because you’re reading this article I will assume you’re already somewhat familiar with tax liens and tax deeds. You also probably know that these are two of the most lucrative and rewarding investments available anywhere in the world. They’re in a class of their own.

The question is, which one takes the throne as the king of investments? Are tax liens better than deeds or is it the other way around? Let’s find out! But first, I need to ask you a couple of questions.

1. Are you willing to travel to invest or do you strictly want to invest from home?
2. Are you competent at selling a property?
3. Do you want a hands-off investment that requires little of your time, or are you willing to be more active with your investing?
4. Do you want to grow your wealth as quickly as possible, or are you ok with somewhat slower growth?

The ABCs of Tax Lien Investing

Are you interested in yields of 6 percent to 50 percent on your money, secured by a property tax lien against real estate?

Author Joel S. Moskowitz explains how investors can buy little known tax lien certificates that pay high yields in his book, “The 16 Percent Solution”

As a bonus, although the author warns it rarely happens, the investor might get kicky and foreclose on the property. However, he cautions that property owners usually redeem, so investors must be content with just high yields.

Tax Lien Investing – Keeping Your Exit Strategy In Mind

When investing in Tax Liens you need to first STOP and think about what you want to accomplish. Too many people just run to a Tax Lien Sale intrigued by the prospect of a very high interest rate (which they will get) only to realize after they bought some good tax liens, that

1. The interest payments are not monthly or yearly but only when and IF the property owner redeems the Tax Lien on the property.

2. There is no way of knowing when and if the redemption will happen, and therefore there is not way of knowing when the investor will get his initial capital plus interest will be paid back.

3. It is possible to want to just get a high interest rate and then end up with the actual property (usually though that is a good thing and I call it “hitting the jack pot”)

Purchasing Tax Lien Certificates

It is never a pleasant experience when a property owner loses the ability to pay their annual property taxes. However, when a property owner does becomes a delinquent taxpayer, it is up to the municipal government to collect owed property taxes. As such, the local government initiates a tax sale where a tax lien certificate, representing your unpaid taxes, can be auctioned off to the highest (or lowest) bidder.

Tax lien auctions work like this: A jurisdictional court orders a tax lien auction to sell tax lien certificates representing all the unpaid property taxes in the county. Depending upon the state, and the nature of the tax sale (it can be an auction for Tax Deed Sales or Tax Lien Certificates), you can buy a tax lien at these tax sale auctions held once a year by the taxing authority. Depending upon your operating jurisdiction, there may be several types of auction bidding. Sometimes, not all Tax Liens are sold at the auction. This could be because of either a lack of bidding or because there were no acceptable bids. In this type of scenario, the Tax Lien can be purchased over the counter at a later date.

Invest in Tax Lien Certificates and Tax Deeds Tax Free

Did you know that you could use money from a self-directed IRA account to invest in tax lien certificates or tax deeds? I’ve interviewed retirement account specialists from two different self-directed IRA companies; EntrustCAMA and Equity Trust Company, and I’ve learned that it is possible to invest tax free in tax lien certificates and tax deeds with a self-directed IRA.

If you use money from a regular self-directed IRA account to invest in tax lien certificates or tax deeds, than your money grows tax free until you withdraw from your account after retirement. But, if you use money from a Roth self-directed IRA, and you do not take any withdrawals until retirement age – you do not pay any taxes on your profits! So if you are using tax lien or tax deed investing as a way to save for your retirement, you need to look into this.