Many people from all over the world ask this question, “Can anyone outside the United States invest in tax liens and tax deeds?”

Well, the answer is a yes.

All that person needs is a US TAX Identification or ID number, which is fairly easy to get from the IRS. What’s even great about it is – even foreigners have the opportunity to invest in tax liens and deeds. But of course, an investor not from the United States has to have all the needed due diligence in order to join the bidding. Here are a few samples of the most significant things one must have:

• Location
• Value
• Property Condition

Since international investors are away from the subject properties that are to be placed in auction, one cannot be in person near the site.

There are two choices that a potential buyer outside the country can do:

1. Have the due diligence through phone. With advanced software tools like Google Earth, counties can very well provide picture databases and map quests or MSN Live Search
2. Hire a Real Estate professional who can very well visit the property for you, take some pictures for you to check out, and do research for the investor.

Now, there are also cases wherein counties or states hold their auctions online and investors, inside or outside the country, can attend to. But again, the investor needs a real estate professional to check out the property or have the due diligence over the phone prior to bidding. Remember, it is always needed to see the property you plan to invest in.

The international investor can also just wait for the actual auction to be over and then ask for the list of the leftover properties known as over-the-counter tax liens. These tax liens are commonly available without the need to bid but by just mailing a cashier’s check with the details of the Tax Lien ID, the investor’s Tax ID, the Property ID, and Bidder ID. The county will then send the investor the Tax Lien Certificate of the property.

With today’s technology, investors from all over the world can now purchase tax liens and tax deeds in the United States.

We may wonder what could be the reasons why so many people these days want to buy Tax Liens. Though the United State’s economy is literally struggling, this does not stop citizens to look for ways to gain a substantial amount of money. And yes, most of these people are looking in the direction of buying tax liens. There are others who maybe missing out on the great opportunities available for them because of insufficient information. But with today’s available resources including tutorials, updated news, directories, and informational blogs, there is no reason why a person couldn’t start learning about the wonders of buying tax liens.

So what are some of the reasons why people buy homes? First and foremost, this could just be the perfect move for you when you need extra cash. If you think carefully, you are paying the property owner’s debt and because of this, most of the time you will be receiving it back with interest that is accrued from the unpaid taxes of the property. Not only that, there is always the possibility that you can eventually acquire the property itself.

When you intend to buy foreclosed homes and there is indeed a foreclosure on your chosen property, this will eventually lead you to actually owning the property itself.

What’s also great in buying tax liens is that you can just bid at auctions depending on how much you would want to spend. There is actually no specific minimum amount of cash needed to get you started.

So, what are you waiting for? Learn, learn, learn!

In every state, there are several counties that have tax lien properties for sale. Why? Basically, there are property owners who are not able to pay the property’s taxes within a specified time and what happens is that the government will then seize it and then have it auctioned in public. This way, the government will be able to recoup for the property taxes owed.

So where do we find such properties? The best way to find one is to contact the specific county you plan to buy from. You can go online and visit the county’s website or you can call their number. They will give you the best details on when or where the next auction is and they can even advise you where to get properties for sale listings. You might also want to try looking in the local newspapers as most counties published the up-for-grabs properties.

It’s also highly recommended to actually visit the properties before actually bidding on them. Remember, if you get to win such property, you can do anything with it. You can make improvements and then resell it or you can have it rented. Or you can even move in to the property yourself. So just make sure to plan ahead so you won’t have any regrets in the future.

What you can expect from a tax sale all depends on the state you are attending to. Just remember, counties and states have different processes in doing tax lien sales unlike tax deed sales wherein they are most likely to be the same.

Take Florida, Illinois, and Arizona for example, these states have interest rates that are bid down. Other states, on the other hand, have interest rates that are in constant and their lien prices are bids up. Now a premium is the fee that is bid up from the original amount due, it’s also called as overbid. And again, different states handle these things differently.

There are states that you can actually get an interest from the premium that is paid for tax liens such as Indiana and Alabama. While there are also states that you are not able to receive an interest on the premium like West Virginia. States that somehow don’t pay interest on the premium and don’t give back the premium to its investor include Vermont and Colorado. But there is one state wherein you can bid down its interest rate to zero and then to premium – New Jersey.

There are also states that use a random selection process and even the so-called round robin process to award the tax lien certificates during tax sales. In the first process, the person who conducts the auctions randomly chooses bidders. Oklahoma and Wyoming use this procedure.

The round robin process on the other hand, the auctioneer will offer a parcel according to the list to the next waiting bidder. The problem with this procedure is that you are not able to choose freely which properties you would somehow like to bid on to. So you will really have no idea which properties will be offered to you and the only thing you can do is to either accept the offer or decline it. Some counties in Colorado use this procedure to tax liens on certain amounts.

It is indeed important that if you decide to bid on a certain state or county, make sure to know the procedures so as not to be disappointed and to fully take advantage the great opportunities being offered in tax lien auctions.