The government collects taxes for a variety of reasons and services including providing for schools, police, roads etc. Governments have been doing this for well over 100 years in the U.S. alone and must do so to pay for operating expenses. One way to help make sure they receive these monies in a timely fashion is to offer real estate tax lien sales (lien certificates) in the event the owner of a property does not pay his taxes on time. This is not the only way for the government to ensure their collections; they may also offer tax deed sales in which the government will sell off the property with unpaid taxes to the highest bidder; turning full ownership and rights over to the winning investor at times for an incredible fraction of what the property is worth. (Ever heard of pennies on the dollar deals?).

Real estate lien sales (tax certificates) and tax deed sales; just short of 100% guarantees the government will get their money one way or another, that modes very well for an investor who is investing in lien or deed sales. Not all states offer one, the other or both at once; it depends on which state the property with taxes due is located in.

So lets say your state offers both tax lien sales and deed sales. A property owner who has not paid his taxes on time will have a lien (security interest) placed on the property he has not paid his bill on, this lean is called a tax lien certificate.

The government will then put up this lien for auction to the public, selling it to the highest bidder. After you win you agree to pay the delinquent property owners taxes for him, when you do this the government gets their money they need and you receive a lien certificate showing proof of payment plus this gives you rights to collect a debt and any interest owed from the delinquent non-payer. This does not give you rights to anyone's property!!

When a delinquent non-payer finally pays off his tax bill and over 98% do because they know if they do not they can have their land sold out from in underneath them, they will pay the government the total amount of the late bill due plus an additional interest on the amount owed that is a penalty imposed interest fee predetermined by the government. This interest fee can be 14%, 18%, and even 24% or more depending on specifics!

Now when the government collects the tax payment due plus the interest fee, they contact you the investor who holds the certificate, you then turn in the certificate for your initial investment plus the late interest penalty for a very nice return on your investment.

That in a nutshell is why real estate tax lien sales are one of the leading investment opportunities going today and the reason why investors do not like to share the wealth.

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