Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Five Things to Look for in a Tax Lien Investing Coach

No doubt you've heard the saying "buyer beware." You've probably heard me apply it in one of my teleseminars, articles, or e-books to buying tax liens or tax deeds. Well it also applies to buying information and coaching for tax lien investing. I just heard from one of my subscribers who was looking for information online on how to get started with tax lien and tax deed investing. She came across a company that was supposedly had a 12 week coaching program on how to buy tax deeds. They wouldn't give her any details about the program until she gave them a credit card number and paid the $4000.00 up front for the course.

Fortunately she didn't have her credit card with her and when she got off the phone with them she sent me an e-mail. After some e-mailing back and forth I asked for her phone number and gave her a call. On further investigation of this companies web site, it was evident to her that they really do not teach you how to buy properties at tax sales. Instead they coach you on how to approach owners of properties that are in the tax sale and try to get them to "sell" their property to you at a discount. In some states, this could be illegal! Though the tax sale list is published in the local paper and is public information, in many states it is published with a caveat that says that the list is not to be used for solicitation. Many states are trying to stop loan sharks from taking advantage of the delinquent tax payers.

I happened to get her e-mail right after doing a teleseminar/interview with Steve Waters, a well known tax lien investor and coach. He has a great coaching program for tax lien investing and tax deed investing. His program delivers results. I know because I am one of his former students. His program is also very affordable ($197.00). The value that his program delivers is worth more than 10 times the price!

Please don't pay thousands of dollars for information on how to invest in tax lien certificates and tax deeds unless the coach that your working with is actually going to take that money and invest it for you! This is money that you can use to invest. I've interviewed some of the best tax lien and tax deed coaches in the country. They have great home study programs that come with coaching and they're always available to help you and answer your questions. Here are five things that you should know before hiring a tax lien or tax deed investing coach.


5 Things You Should Know Before You Buy a Coaching Program
  • Identify who you will be working with and what their experience is

Every state is very different in the way that tax sales are held. some states sell tax liens and some sell deeds and some sell redeemable deeds. Each of these are completely different. Lien States have different bidding procedures. There are at least 5 different bidding procedures with variations on each. It is important that you have a coach or mentor that is familiar with the bidding procedures in your state. Deed states differ in how the deed is conveyed and in what liens survive a tax sale. This is important information that could be the difference between buying a profitable deed and loosing money on your investment. Make sure that your coach has experience in the state that you are investing in.

  • Know what you are paying for - Will you get ongoing support?

Just one coaching session is not likely to be enough to get you started purchasing tax lien and/or tax deeds. How many sessions will you get? Will you get any support materials such as access to a web site with resources that will help you with due diligence, or an e-book, or audios? You should. In my experience phone in teleseminars where anyone can call in and ask a question is not enough to give you the information that you need to get going and take some action. You either need some one-on-one consultation or some type of intruction (like a course or e-book) in addition to the opportunity to ask questions.

  • Will your coach or mentor be available to answer your questions?

Once you have enough information to get out there and start doing it, your going to come accross situations that bring up questions that you haven't thought of before. You want someone who will be available to answer your questions as they come up. Make sure that your coach or mentor will be available to you, either by phone or by e-mail, and that they will get back to you in a reasonable amount of time. I think that within 24 hours is reasonable.

  • Beware of guarantees that promise you will make a certain amount of money in a short time.

Nothing in life is guaranteed, especially high yeilding investments. There has to be some risk involved or the return wouldn't be as good. Completely safe investments do not deliver high returns, and they are not as safe as we think they are either. Your mentor might be able to guarantee that the information that they give you is good information, but they cannot guarantee that you will make a profit on your investment. So much of that is up to you, the one who is doing the investing! I to suspect high priced coaching programs with outrageous claims - for instance, that gaurantee that you will make $10,000 in a few months or they'll return your money. Make sure you get that in writing!

Tax liens and tax deeds are not a get rich quick type of investment. You may have to wait a few months before you see any return at all, and in some states you may have to wait two or three years to see a return on your investment.

  • Does your coaches reputation depend on your success?

If it does then you have a better chance of succeeding. Someone who works for a large organizatiton may not have their reputation at stake. When you work with someone who has a reputation to protect as a tax lien or tax deed investing coach that gets results, they will work harder to insure your success. But ultimately it's up to you. Are you really ready to put in the time and money necessary to succeed at tax lien investing. If not, don't hire a coach or mentor because that would just be a waist of both of your time. To find out if you're ready read my article Tax Lien Investing: Are You Ready to Get Started?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Tax Lien Investing Secrets Revealed!

You haven’t heard much from me lately. I’ve had my nose to the grindstone finishing a brand new product that is going to blow your socks off! You see, I’ve just finished revising my first ever all comprehensive home study course on investing in tax lien certificates and tax deeds.
Here are just a few of the things I’ve put into this course:
  • Four Audios – to take you through everything you need to know to go to your first tax sale, from the difference between tax liens and tax deeds to where to find out about tax sales, to how to do due diligence, how to prepare for the sale, various bidding procedures, and what you need to do after the sale to protect and maximize your investment.
  • A Manual to go along with the audios – with all the information that is given in the teleseminars plus resources, forms and articles to help you get ready for your first tax sale IN RECORD TIME.
  • Checklists - One for doing due diligence for tax liens and one for preparing for your first tax sale, step by step guides so that you know exactly what you have to do when.
  • A bonus teleseminar on the investing tax free through a self directed IRA. This is a recording of a teleseminar interview with Liz Koos, retirement plan specialist with Equity Trust Company. In this seminar Liz reviews the five steps that you need to take in order to invest in tax lien certificates or tax deeds using your IRA.
  • Even more resources in my State Guide – to make it easier for you to find the information that you need about tax sales in every state in the US.


And a lot of other additions that will explode your profits in tax lien investing!
Whether or not you’ve considered investing in tax lien certificates or tax deeds before, now is the time to take a look at this course. You won’t find a faster method for getting started! And with my new audios, manual, and other features you can be up and running, going to your first tax sale and purchasing profitable tax lien certificates or tax deeds IN ONE WEEK!
Get all the details at:
Tax Lien Investing Secrets II

Happy and Prosperous Investing,
Joanne

Tax Deed Investing: What is an “Upset” Sale?

In Pennsylvania, some counties have two different tax sales; the “upset” sale, and the “judicial” sale. If tax sale properties are not sold at either of these two sales, the property then goes on the “repository” list and can be sold by private bid. The upset sale is held every year in the fall. It’s called an “upset” sale because the minimum bid for the properties in this sale is known as the “upset” price; which includes any unpaid taxes from the county as well as any municipal liens. If a property is not sold in this sale, it is sold in the “judicial” tax sale in the spring. Not all Pennsylvania counties have judicial sales but they all have an upset sale.

What you may not know about the upset sale is that all properties are sold subject to any liens or judgments. That means that if you purchase a tax deed at this sale, you are responsible for any other unpaid liens or judgments on the property. Most people assume that when they buy a property at a tax sale, that they don’t have to worry about other liens such as a mortgage. This is not true at the upset sale. If you plan on bidding at any of these sales this fall, you’d better do your homework!

So how do you find out about other liens or judgments on tax sale properties? There are two ways that you could do this; one is going to cost you some money and the other is going to take some of your time. The first way is to hire a title search company to do a simple title search on all of the properties in the sale that you are interested in bidding on. This could turn out to be a little costly, so it’s not my method of choice. Another reason why I don’t hire a title search company to do title searches for me before the sale is that many of the properties will come off the sale list the day before or the morning of the sale. You may pay for a few title searches that you don’t even need because the properties that you wanted to bid on are not sold at the sale.

Last time I went to the Monroe County Upset Sale, I didn’t even bid on any properties. I researched about 10 of the properties in the sale that were in an area that I was interested in. Through my research I narrowed this down to only two properties that I wanted to bid on. I did all of my research the day before the sale and I had checked that morning to make sure that all of these properties were still in the sale. But by the next morning (the morning of the sale) the two properties that I was interested in had paid and were no longer included in the sale. I’m glad that I did my own research and did not pay a title company to do it!

That brings us to the second method for finding out about liens and judgments on tax lien properties, and that is to do it yourself. There is a little bit of education and some time involved, but it is well worth it. In most states, to do this type of research you would go to the County Hall of Records. In Pennsylvania the office that has the records that you need to search is the office of the Prothonotary. The people in this office are usually very helpful and will help you to look up what you need to know. You’ll have to look for liens and judgments by the name of the owner. If there are co-owners or joint owners, you will want to search under both names.

Keep in mind, however, that if new liens were not yet recorded they could slip through the cracks in the system and you won’t be able to find them. There is always some degree of risk when you buy a tax deed, even if you are careful and do your homework. This is why it is always recommended that you do not buy tax deeds in your own name, but in the name of a separate entity. It could be a corporation or an LLC. If you need help forming a corporation or LLC for the purpose of buying tax deeds, I know of two excellent programs to help you. They were both created by Darius Barazandeh, Texas attorney and tax deed expert. You can find out more about these programs, Incorporate for Wealth, and The Wealth Building LLC on the resources page of taxlienlady.com.



Happy and Prosperous Investing,
Joanne Musa