Invest in States with the Highest Return

Two of the three states that have the highest return on investment for tax lien investing are not even tax lien states. They are the redeemable deed states Georgia and Texas. What makes them so attractive to tax lien investors are the high interest rates and shorter redemption periods.

In these states the interest rate is not bid down, instead the price of the deed is bid up. And unlike tax lien states where if you do pay premium for the lien, you do not always get your premium back (this depends on the state). And if you do get your premium back when the lien redeems, in most tax lien states you do not receive interest on the premium. However in Texas and Georgia in order to redeem the deed the delinquent tax payer must pay the penalty on the total amount the investor paid for the deed. So the investor gets his or her original investment back plus 20% (in Georgia) or 25% (in Texas).

The redemption times are also shorter than most tax lien states. In Georgia the redemption time is one year and in Texas on non-homesteaded and non-agricultural properties the redemption time is only 6 months. Contrast that to the higher rate tax lien states - Illinois and Arizona have redemption periods of 3 years, and Florida and New Jersey have redemption periods of 2 years.

The drawback to investing in these states is that they do not have online tax sales. Unlike some Arizona counties and most Florida counties, you have to show up to bid at the tax sale. So how can you take part in these highly profitable tax sales without spending too much money on travel to do your due diligence and attend the tax sale? There are actually a couple of ways that you could invest in these states without having to travel to them.

While you have to physically show up at the tax sale, or have an agent show up for you, you can do most of your due diligence online for the properties in the tax sale. Many of the counties now have online resources that let you look up the tax assessment data online, do a title search online, and even get a description and picture of the property. You can also find a local realtor who knows the area and can drive by the properties and take pictures of them for you. They can even go to the tax sale and bid on the properties for you. You do have to have someone physically bid for you at the tax sale, but it doesn't have to be you that does the bidding. You can find a realtor who will do this for you with the understanding that if you purchase a deed and wind up with the property they will be the one that will get the listing.

Anther way to participate in these tax sales without traveling to Texas or Georgia is to use a tax lien investing agent who specializes in investing in these states. A tax lien investing agent will invest your money for you. They will set up an account for you, purchase the deeds in their name and then assign them to you. Some agents are able to do this with money from your self-directed IRA. When they use money from your retirement account there are more guidelines that they have to follow in order meet requirements from the IRS and your IRA custodian. They will have to submit a report at least annually showing where your money is invested and how much profit has been made.

Platinum Investment Properties West is a tax lien investing agent that specializes in investing in tax liens Illinois and redeemable tax deeds in Georgia and Texas. You can even specify which state or states you want to invest in. On Wednesday, March 9th I hosted a free webinar with Don Fullman and Charles Sells, co-founders of PIP West. Find out more about investing in the most profitable tax lien state and the 2 most profitable redeemable deed states with an experienced tax lien investing agent. Here is a link to the replay of this webinar: www.TaxLienLady.com/PIPwest.