10 minute tax lien investing success

1000

10 Minute Tax Lien Investing Success

Andrew Ikeda Areared bw:

http://www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com

An AJAX Properties, LLC Publication

www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com

___________________________________________________________________

Copyright Information:

Copyright 2011 by Andrew Ikeda, AJAX Properties &www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com - All rights reserved

Thank you for downloading this FREE e-book.

The authors of this e-book have the right to sell this e-book if they like, or offer it as a bonus for purchasing another one of their products or services.

If you paid for this e-book from someone other than the authors of this e-book, please report this immediately to either: [email protected] [email protected].

You are free to share this e-book with anyone you’d like.

However, no part of this publication maybe altered or changed in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including recording of audio or video, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to: AJAX Properties, LLC, Attn: Andrew Ikeda, 606 South Pekin Road, Woodland, WA 98674. You can also email requests to: [email protected]. Phone: (360) 989 – 9900.

Legal Notice:

While attempts have been made to verify information provided in this e-book publication, neither the author nor the Publisher assume any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of the subject matter.

This publication is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. The Publisher wants to stress that the information continued herein may be subject to varying state and/or local laws or regulations. All users are advised to retain competent counsel to determine what state and/or local laws or regulations may be applicable to the user’s particular business.

The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations of both federal, state and local governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising and all other aspects of doing business in the United States or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser, user or reader.

___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page1


___________________________________________________________________

The author and Publisher assume no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials.

Any perceived slight of specific people or organization is unintentional.

(This space intentionally left blank)


Page2


___________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . 5

CHAPTER ONE Tax Lien Investing Basics - Six Things You Need To Know … … … … … … … … … … … . 7

CHAPTER TWO Robbie Davis Questions and Answers - Investing in Florida … … … … … … … … … … .. 10

CHAPTER THREE Darius Barazandeh Questions and Answers - Investing in Texas … … … … … … … … .. 12

CHAPTER FOUR Performing Due Diligence Online … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 18



Page3


___________________________________________________________________

Introduction By Andrew Ikeda

Many people out there are still suffering from the financial collapse of late 2007 and early 2008. Perhaps you are one of them?

In March and April of 2011, I called on over 15 tax lien/deed experts to help me write this e-book. The reason? Because several lien/deed investors plus myself have had success making money in this highly lucrative and yet somewhat obscure genre of real estate investing. Yes; this was before, during and after the financial collapse.

As you’ve noticed, only three of the experts responded. You must be wondering why. I’ll get to that in a moment, but first …

The real estate gurus out there are pitching you the latest flavor of the day, like wholesaling, buying in bulk, foreclosures, etc. If you do your due diligence however, you will see that very few, if any of the students of these programs make money using these courses. Why is that you may ask? It’s a bona fide and great question.

While I don’t claim to have the ‘answer’ to that, allow me to speculate here for just a moment …

They don’t have money to buy the properties required. (Do you have money for fix-up costs, closing fees, title search, advertising, legal, etc?)

They don’t have decent credit – no credit, no problem? (Try telling that to your banker and see what happens).

They don’t have a lot of time or patience. (The average foreclosure takes what …six months or more to negotiate and close?)

And this is just the beginning. I could continue for a short while but I think you get the picture here.

What I have found is a low-cost, fairly easy to learn, and quick way to get started earning money ... and that is investing in tax liens and deeds.

In 1996 I got started investing in stocks with my dad, who has been doing that since the stock market began (ok, almost, but well over 40 years). We’ve had moderate success: watching Pfizer double and then split and double up in price yet again, and we’ve seen our investment in World Com go down to nothing.

In 2002 I started investing on my own. I was fortunate to have owned Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY), which at the time was paying a hefty $0.65/share every quarter


Page4


___________________________________________________________________

for a 17% yield. I’ve also had some very nice returns and income from high-yielding dividend stocks since the financial meltdown of 2007.

However, in 2009 I attended a tax lien seminar and learned all about the world of tax lien and deed investing. Like investing in stocks, I basically jumped right in and made a few mistakes. I made corrections and was then on my merry way to profitability and haven’t looked back since. While I am currently in the stock market and precious metals, I have to say that tax liens & deeds are the best way to go for investors, especially new real estate investors.

After trying lease options (I had 5 l/o contracts in the summer/fall of 2009 and all went the way of the Dodo), foreclosures, buying in bulk, rehab, etc, I can confidently say that tax lien and deed investing is the way to go.

There is nothing … and I say again, nothing, that is easier and faster to learn, takes less money to start, and gives you better than stock market returns in faster time than tax liens and deeds. (If there was, I’d be writing about that instead).

Of course, like any mode of investing, you need to know what you are doing or else you will lose not only your shirt but your shorts as well.

Back to the earlier question about why only three tax lien investors contributed to this e-book. The reason why is very simple and there are actually three reasons:

1) These professionals are experienced and not a bunch of guru wannabe’s or ‘self-made’Experts and …

2) This is big so DON’T miss this … THEY GENUINELY CARE about your success and financial wealth. I very much believe this to be so because like me, they know their success depends on what they do and not on how many books and courses they/I/wesell.

3) We really believe and stand behind our investing philosophy and products.

Ok, I’ll stop chewing on your ear and let you get on with reading this e-book. When you are ready to make money in the most risk-free genre of real estate investing with little start-up capital, feel free to contact me or any of the experts in this article for more help and information. Our contact information can be found at the end of each chapter.

On behalf of Joanne Musa, Robbie Davis, Darius Barazandeh, J.D and myself, we would like to wish you all the success in your investing and road to wealth.

Andrew Ikeda May 2011


Page5


___________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER ONE: Tax Lien Investing Basics - Six Things You Need To KnowBy Joanne Musa (The Tax Lien Lady)

If you believe the hype that you hear about tax lien investing, you would think that you just go to a tax sale, buy some liens and make loads of money in a few months. But if that were true than everybody would be doing it! If you’ve actually started to invest in tax liens then you know that there is some work involved in order to be successful. You know that you have to do your due diligence on tax sales properties. And you know that those double digit interest rates that everyone talks about can be bid down at the tax sale.

There are actually 6 things that you need to know about the state and/or county that you are investing in when you’re starting out in tax lien investing.

The default interest rate The bidding process The redemption period The tax lien expiration period How subsequent taxes are handled Additional Penalties

These six things make a huge difference in your profit and make tax lien investing very different in different states. Let me give you three examples from states that are all bid down the interest states, but because of the other 5 factors that we mentioned, investing in each of these states is quite different.

In New Jersey the default interest rate is 18% and the interest rate is bid down at the sale. But it is quite a different process from other bid down states because in NJ the interest rate can be bid down to 0% and then premium is bid for liens. That means that you do not get any interest on the certificate amount and you do not get any interest on your premium. The redemption period is 2 years and the lien expires in 20 years.

So why would investors pay premium for liens and not get any interest on the lien amount? Investors are willing to pay premium for tax liens in New Jersey because once you are a lien holder you have the right to pay the subsequent taxes on the property if the owner doesn’t pay them. And you get the default interest rate (18%) on your subsequent tax payments. You also do get a penalty of anywhere from 2-6% on the lien amount when the tax lien is redeemed, depending on the amount of the lien. I’ve simplified the process a little, but that’s basically how it works in NJ.

Florida is similar to New Jersey in that the default rate and the redemption period are the same. But bidding in Florida is a little different than in NJ. In Florida you do not get to pay the subsequent taxes on your lien. If the owner doesn’t pay the taxes, the property will wind up


Page6


___________________________________________________________________

in next year’s tax sale. The interest rate is bid down at the tax sale, and the lien expires in 7 years. Bidders will not bid the interest down to zero, but will frequently bid down to .25%. They do this because they will get the 5% minimum penalty when the lien redeems.

In Arizona, the default interest rate is 16%, and the interest is bid down like in Florida and New Jersey. But the interest is rarely bid down to 0%. The redemption period is three years and the lien expires in 10 years. You can pay the subsequent taxes but you only get the interest rate that you bid at the tax sale on your subsequent tax payments.

Some counties in Arizona actually force you to pay the subsequent taxes in that if you don’t pay them they will sell your lien with the current lien in the next tax sale. The interest rate in Arizona counties is rarely bid down to lower than 6% and most bids (at least in the online tax sales) are awarded at or close to double digits.

Part of the reason that investors in Arizona are not willing to bid down to very low interest rates, like in Florida, or 0% as in New Jersey is that unlike Florida and New Jersey, there is no penalty in Arizona. And there are additional costs for purchasing liens and for paying subsequent taxes, which you do not get back when the lien redeems. It’s the cost of doing business with the county tax office.

So you see that tax lien investing, even among, these states which have similar interest rates, bidding procedures, and redemption periods is very different do to how they treat subsequent tax payments, and whether they have penalties or not. There are also states that have very different bidding procedures, redemption periods, expiration periods and treatment of subsequent tax payments, which can change the game quite a bit.

In Maryland for instance, the default interest rate varies with the county. Premium is bid at the tax sale but it doesn’t all have to be paid unless you actually get to foreclose on the property.

The redemption period in some counties is only 6 months, and the lien expires in 2 years. You do not pay the subsequent taxes unless you foreclose on the property. There are no additional penalties that the investor will receive when the lien redeems except for payment of some legal costs if the foreclosure has been started.So you can see that it is really important to know about these 6 factors in the state and county that you are investing in. Know the rules before you bid and you will be able to build a profitable tax lien portfolio!

Special Note: If you purchase any of Joanne’s products through my affiliate link: http://taxlienlady.com/cmd.php?af=1338302, send me a copy of your receipt for a FREE half-hour consultation with me via skype and/or phone plus two FREE bonus reports. One is on buying silver, which is going up in value as we speak and the second one is on what,


Page7


___________________________________________________________________

where, and how to buy REIT stocks paying over 10% in dividends for as little as $4/share. Both are valued at $19 each.

About the Author: Joanne Musa is also known as “The Tax Lien Lady.” Find out more about the basics of tax lien investing, like what is the difference between a tax lien and a tax deed, where’s the best place to invest is, and how to get the tax sale information in the Tax Lien Investing Basics course at www.TaxLienInvestingBasics.com



Page8


___________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER TWO: Robbie Davis Questions and Answers - Investing in Florida

I have invited Robbie to contribute to this e-book. Before I continue, there is a disclaimer that I have to make: I have not done business with Mr. Davis. The reason I invited Mr. Davis to contribute to this e-book/publication is that he has extensive knowledge of investing in Florida, which is a popular state for lien investing.

As Mr. Davis will reveal … and I concur, teaming up with someone knowledgeable in the field of tax liens and deeds is crucial to success in this genre of real estate investing. If you are new to tax lien/deed investing, you will soon learn that each state and even counties have different operating procedures and guidelines, making it that much more important to learn and understand the methods and procedures.

Andrew: What are some of the advantages of investing in FL over other states?

Robbie: The biggest advantage investing in Florida is people usually retire to Florida ---not up North. There will always be ups and downs in the real estate market but ultimately more people move to Florida than from Florida. This means more people buying housing.

Andrew: What one key thing would you tell a beginning tax lien investor about investing inFlorida?

Robbie: Investing in Florida (or anywhere) is getting educated; preferably with someone in the business. Books and DVDs cover much of what is needed, but does not cover needed practical and/or "hands on" knowledge.

Andrew: Are all the liens you sell in Florida only?

Robbie: I only buy and sell tax certificates in the counties I have lived in -- Polk, Hillsborough, Pasco & Hernando Counties. I am very familiar with these four counties and I also own real estate (Tax Deeds) in all four counties.

Andrew: I've heard that FL is a part lien, and part deed state? Is that true? Can you explain that a little?

Robbie: Initially tax certificates are needed to be bought and held for at least 22 months. After this time the tax certificate holder can apply for the Tax Deed to the property.

Andrew: Can you tell us more about your mentoring?

Robbie: I literally have "schooled" my tax certificate buyers -- at my home, on the phone and by email. All of my tax certificate buyers get a letter with current information about the


Page9


___________________________________________________________________

tax certificates bought, the contact names, phone numbers and website for the Tax Collector office. The letter also explains from the initial purchase of my tax certificates through the Tax Deed Application process. After that I am available to attend the auction(s) with my buyers (and have done so). Many of my tax certificate buyers are now Tax Deed owners with my help. I also have a crew to help with the repair, clean up and marketing of Tax Deed properties acquired. My business partner was initially one of my tax certificate buyers and we are at every Tax Deeds auction getting real estate for my tax certificate buyers.

Andrew: You mentioned in the FAQs on your website that anyone with a SS number or tax ID number can invest. Can a foreign investor (assuming they have an SS# or tax ID) buy tax certificates from you without having a US (based) bank account? If so, how?

Robbie: Not that I am aware of. Many of my buyers are from other countries and when tax certificates are redeemed by the property owner the funds need to be disbursed in dollars by the county, either ach or by check.

Andrew: Is there any special 'need-to-know' or pitfalls or warnings about investing in Florida liens/deeds?

Robbie: Research is the key. Myself, Joe Ball (my business partner), my wife Juli and Joe's son Mark, all research everything pertaining to the properties coming up for Tax Deed sale three days per week, every week, because it is not what you know that can hurt but also what you don't know.

Andrew: Is there anything you would like to add?

Robbie: Always follow the advice of someone that is successful in the business. There is a reason that person is successful.

Andrew: Thanks Robbie for sharing valuable information. This definitely sheds some good and new light on investing in Florida liens & deeds.

About the Author: Robbie Davis is an active tax lien/deed investor in Florida. You can learn more about him and his services by going to: www.taxcertificates4sale.com or email him at: [email protected] or [email protected]


Page10


___________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER THREE: Darius Barazandeh Questions and Answers - Investing in Texas By Darius Barazandeh, J.D. and Andrew Ikeda

The following is from a conversation Darius and I had over the telephone. Mr. Barazandeh is a practicing attorney and real estate investor in Texas and specializes in investing in liens/deeds.

Continuing on after our introductions …

Andrew: Alright then, so we’re talking about Texas and we’re going to continue on with that … Yes, well, you’re the expert so I thought I’d leave it kind of up to you what you want to talk about … if there’s anything in particular that you want to talk about or mention about that state (TX). Are there any quirks or any kind of specialized knowledge or any kind of hints you could give to us ... as far as investing in the state?

Darius: Yes, why don’t I just go ahead and get started and give you all the meat that I can. Basically Texas is a state that sells a tax deed and the distinction between a tax deed being sold and a tax deed certificate is that the tax deed gives you the right of possessory interest in the property … and that possession also carries the right to enter the property, the right to rent out the property .. and some duty of basic care and maintaining the property against what we call statutory waste, which is the legal definition for … just like wear and tear, decay, for example the person who wins the property at the tax sale sees that the roof is broken, there’s a hole in the roof, then the investor has some responsibility under the current legal scheme to fix the roof and those amount that are done by the investor to prevent waste, those dollars put in by the investor also are rolled up as part of the redemption and they actually do earn that additional interest penalty that we talked about of 25% or 50% depending on when it happens. But basically … you do get actual title, there is no foreclosure that you have to go through after the sale because the sale itself is a foreclosure!

Andrew: Oh wow! … cool

Darius: You are buying an actual foreclosure in Texas so there’s really nothing else. What happens is that the … the right of redemption that’s held by the delinquent property owner simply falls away. It’s as if something kind of happens in the mythical world as the law and there is no longer a redemption right and it becomes a deed absolute with no statutory or redemption rights so there is nothing to do after the six months or we really call it basically, what would that be … 180 days, so… I suppose that I should go through the statutory rules is that you have two redemption classifications: 180 days or 24 months and days are important because of the way the law is broken out … it’s actually the days and not the months because you can have a scenario where there’s six months that have passed and you think “Oh, the property is all mine. The person hasn’t come back”but really the trigger is 180 days - it may or may not fall on the same day as the six months if you’re calculating it by month. ___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page11


___________________________________________________________________

Andrew: Ok …

Darius: Now, it’s not 180 days from the date of the sale … these are all little bitty nuggets that most people don’t include and they get people into trouble. It’s not 180 days from the date of the sale or even the day you buy the property. So, let’s say that you don’t buy it at the sale and then a week passes, you go to the county, you purchase the property through the county after the sale, well, it’s not even that, it’s the date that you file the deed. So, the day that you actually file the deed is the date that the redemption period begins to tick. So, you want to file the deed as soon as possible and because people buy up a property and they get the share of deed, they take the deed home, put it in their filing cabinet, and say “Oh wow, we’ve got a deed and let’s see, I’m getting there, six months have almost past, it’s gonna be mine.”They never filed the deed! They never filed the deed that they got from the auction and assumed that the county did that for them but that is not the case – you have to file it yourself. And, you file it in the county where the property is located. You get the property from where you did the sale.

Andrew: Ok … so we need to file …

Darius: Yes, on the owner …

Darius: It’s on the owner. And so we have two different redemptions … classifications here in Texas: 180 days and we also have 24 months. The kicker for the redemption period is generally a few different things … mineral interest property, which has what we call a severance – that is a right to the minerals, like oil, gas, things like that. Those types of properties have a two-year redemption. And also homestead properties have a two-year redemption. The first point about … I’ll start with the homestead because it’s probably the most important. The homestead right is something that really kicks in if a person is living there, in their house as their primary homestead. And, the law is a little bit blurry here …generally, they are required to file something to claim that homestead exemption – it’s a tax discount and basically what it means is that it’s your primary residence or you are really primarily living there and it’s not the place you go on weekends. When you file that homestead, you get a tax discount but it would also extend the redemption for 24 months in the event of a tax foreclosure.

Andrew: That makes sense.

Darius: But there is some … just real quick … there is some specialized … rulings that is one of the reasons we have our program … has some special rulings and distinctions that people need to know about that could cause that to … for homestead to apply even if the person never filed the homestead. So we take people through some of the legal mazes within our program because there are some exceptions to that, but for now, we don’t need to get too deep. But I would let them know that there are some exceptions and we cover that in our program and that’s why … the details cost you a lot of money when you make a mistake. ___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page12


___________________________________________________________________

Andrew: Ok, right! Sure!

Darius: The other … the other side is that … if it’s not homesteaded, meaning that if it’s an apartment building or a vacation property or if it’s a rental property or an investment property or maybe it’s that they really didn’t file the document that they lived there, chances are it’s probably not going to be homesteaded. So that would be the 180 day redemption, which would be roughly six months but we don’t want to really say that because it’s really 180 days from the date you file the deed.

Andrew: Ok, so it’s all key on the date that you file the deed.

Darius: Yes!

Andrew: Ok, that would be important to know … yes … ok.

Darius: Yup, so … the other thing is that is pretty interesting for people to know is that the tax foreclosure sale is itself a process that wipes out many of the other liens … for the most part almost everything is wiped out in terms of liens and debt and the only other thing that Iwant to make sure of, however, is that investors do some title background check because in Texas, unlike a lot of other states, you actually have a pretty good chance of getting the property. And because … what’s going to happen is … the second you buy the property at the auction, the owner that wants to come back, the delinquent party, the person who didn’t pay, they are actually going to have to pay 25% rate of return on that property.

Andrew: Very interesting.

Darius: Immediately!

Andrew: Ok.

Darius: Immediately! The second they want to get it back, it costs them a 25% penalty. So that means theoretically and I’ve had this happen in three weeks … I haven’t had it in an hour. But in theory, and according to the black letter of the law, if they redeem one hour after you bought the property and they found you … and let’s say you got your deed, you’re sitting there and … you filed it and you’re sitting there at the little coffee shop in the courthouse and they come up to you and say “Oh man, you know, it’s been an hour … and I want to get my property back,” they have to tender to you the full 25%!

Andrew: Ok.

Darius: So unlike Arizona, I guess the key distinction is the profit potential … I mean on an annualized basis, is tremendous.


Page13


___________________________________________________________________

Andrew: Oh absolutely!

Darius: Yes, but unlike Arizona or other states, it doesn’t accrue – it’s pretty much a flat penalty. That’s why we don’t really call it an interest rate because there is no accruing of interest it’s really a penalty that’s paid. If you’re late by one minute, you’ve got a penalty. We don’t care if you’re one minute or five months and 29 days. You know, you’re late and so … .

Andrew: Yes, right, right! Oh very interesting, I’m glad you brought that up. Yes - because that was my experience with Arizona too because on the website, I’ve been over the counter liens and left-overs. That’s how I got started here a couple of years ago and I’ve been fortunate because all the liens that I purchased were redeemed … I think all but one. But …yes, on the website they said that everything that’s left over is 16% but when they started cutting me my checks, I noticed that it was only 8%. So I called the secretary … the treasurer … the treasurer’s office and I asked them ‘What’s going on? You said on the internet that it’s 16%,”and then the receptionist told me, she goes “Well, that’s if it’s a year or more, if it’s under a year, then it’s just 8%,”and I said, “Well, you guys … ahem, something’s not right here … because on the internet, you guys stated that it was 16%,”so … but I understand how the interest rate and the penalties … I see now, that’s now as clear as day now how you explained it … how that works. So I guess then that the 8% was a minimum and you know … like you said, it was a minimum and accrues over time so if it goes over one year then yes, it’s 16%. One of my recent checks from Maricopa was 16% but I noticed that some of other ones that were under one year … they were at all at 8%, so … yeah, I don’t know …

Darius: Yes, it may be that they have … I think they have some sort of statute that will either accrue monthly on those or maybe pay a flat rate of 8%. I’m not sure. Yes, that don’t know, I don’t remember that statute being in effect the last time I looked, but it could be what’s happening.

Andrew: Right, very interesting!

Darius: Yes, now, what’s included when we talk about Texas … I mean ultimately, I think the best thing going in Texas would be the redemptions. I mean the properties would be fine but holding the property in this market to hold a property would … that needs to be fixed up and get it ready for market and to deal with the titling issues and all of that … you know, I’d much rather get the redemption.

Andrew: Yes.

Darius: So, the next questions is … that’s kind of interesting and a lot of people miss this … is: Let’s say the property is worth $10,000 I end up seeing at the auction the starting bid is $10,000 let’s say, and I end up paying $20,000. What happens to that extra $10,000 that I paid? Do I get that returned back? Do I earn interest on that? Um, what’s the deal on that? ___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page14


___________________________________________________________________

And basically, the extra $10,000 becomes part of the penalty rate calculation. So because the property’s opening bid was $10,000 and it got bid up because in Texas, we use a bid up system, we do not bid down our interest like in Arizona, we just bid up on the price …that investors are willing to pay. Because it’s bid up, what happens next is that extra overage … that premium … as we call it actually gets computed when calculating interest … the total amount that’s going to be paid on the property.

Andrew: Ok.

Darius: So your interest calculation, you’re 25% penalty, I shouldn’t call it interest although I make that mistake too. You have that penalty be computed on that $20,000, not the opening bid.

Andrew: Ok … I see.

Darius: So here is an advantageous scenario. You’ve got a return on all the money you invested, which is a good thing, you’ve also got a little bit of a scenario which can be a little troubling unless people are ready to pull the trigger all the way because they imagine in thiseconomy right now that we have in the U.S. if someone couldn’t pay the property taxes before and [then] now we keep adding all these penalties and then they have to now pay a 25% penalty on top of what they owed before, but now the amount they have to pay [the penalty] is not the $10,000 now it’s $20,000, I mean … you know, you can see that it’s just basically goes from bad to much, much worse.

Andrew: Yes, now I a better picture of why Texas is so lucrative.

Darius: … for the delinquent property owner. So what can happen is that they may have a harder time actually coming up with this money. And that means the investor may very well get the property. You know, you have a high probability of getting the property. So you have to be prepared for that.

Andrew: Ok. Cool! Well, that’s some pretty good information! Wow! Thank you. Yes, I’m going to look more into buying some of these deeds in Texas.

Darius: Well, it’s not really recommended for people outside of Texas because you basically have to be at the courthouse to buy the property for one, and another is that you’ll want to be close to the property to manage it and prepare it for sale and that is difficult to do from out of state or country for that matter.

Andrew: Ah … good point. I got so excited, I didn’t even think of that. It just sounds so exciting. What about getting a team of real estate professionals to help me out? Maybe I could find a realtor to help me sell a property. ___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page15


___________________________________________________________________

Darius: Based on what I’ve seen and from experience, that doesn’t really work. There are people that say they will commit to that sort of thing but then they never follow through on it.

Andrew: I see. I can see how difficult this would be to pull off being that six months can go pretty fast and an investor may not have the time or resources to be prepared for all this, and things can get pretty hot, pretty quick if the investor has more than one property.

Darius: Yes, that is why we have a course/program just for Texas alone. You can learn more about our programs and services by visiting www.theinformedinvestor.com.

Special Note: If you purchase any one or more of Mr. Barazandeh’s courses through my affiliate link: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1335586, I will spend one hour with you on skype and/or telephone and answer any questions you may have OR if you send me the questions by email, I’ll make an ‘up-to-one-hour’video answering your questions and or demonstrating, where possible, any questions you may have on tax lien investing. I’ll also send you 2 FREE bonus reports. One is on buying silver, which is going up in value as we speak and the second one is on what, where, and how to buy REIT stocks paying over 10% in dividends for as little as $4/share. Both are valued at $19 each.

Andrew: Thank you, Mr. Barazandeh for your valuable time and for the valuable information. It’s been a pleasure talking with you.

Darius: Thank you for your consideration.

About the Author: Darius M. Barazandeh is a licensed attorney in the state of Texas - Bar Card Number ID 24038756.

In addition to his legal knowledge he has a Masters Degree (M.B.A.) in Business Finance and brings experience from numerous fields including real estate investment, corporate finance, and business consulting.

More information about his tax lien course and other real estate information can be found at: www.theinformedinvestor.com or at my affiliate link with him: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1335586. If you purchase any of his courses through my (Andrew Ikeda) link, please send me a receipt for up to one hour of free consulting and training with me and two free bonuses.


Page16


___________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER FOUR: Performing Due Diligence Online By Andrew Ikeda

With the world of Internet come a lot of opportunities to not only learn but to become wealthy.

Add to that the current economic situation in the US and you’ve got a gold mine of hidden wealth waiting to be tapped.

Before I continue however, there is one potentially deadly mistake that rookie investors can and will make – not doing their due diligence. Therein lies the hazard and it can be summed up in one word: RISK.

When I purchased my first six tax liens, I bought them based on how much they were and got so excited that I dropped the due diligence in favor of jumping in, getting the momentum started and was blinded by big profits and fat checks.

Now that I’ve got my teeth cut and am an older, wiser tax lien investor, I can write to you with total confidence. If I can do this, so can you.

So then, how do you go about finding this ‘gold?’This is what this chapter is all about. It is written primarily for tax lien certificate investors but can be highly useful to real estate investors of all genres – wholesaling, lease-options, fixer-uppers, etc.

In this chapter, I’m going to show you how you can determine property values without having access to the MLS or being at the mercy of a realtor. However, let me clearly state that having a realtor (or any real estate professional for that matter) at your side and willing to assist you can make things a lot easier for you so by all means, make friends with realtors and other professionals.

You may not be in a position to invest a lot of money researching properties so I’ve done my best to provide easily accessible and free information. The drawback, I must concede, is that you’ll need to invest more time in lieu of money. But … this is good ‘training’and you should learn a ton – that’s the objective of this e-book.

Here are some tips with brief explanations on how to use them and take advantage of them.



Page17


___________________________________________________________________

Do not use the County Treasurer’s information when calculating a property’s value.

Reason: the figures may be old and out of date – like several years old. Also, the county’s assessor may come up with different values than that of what the current market conditions are commanding or getting.

Be sure to check the County Assessor’s website and look at the plat maps and all drawings, diagrams, and everything shown.

Reason: because you’ll want to ensure you are not buying a piece of raw land thinking that there is a house or some kind of valuable structure on it! Need I say more?

Don’t rely on www.zillow.com’s market values or zestimates, as they are called.

Reason: For some reason, zillow.com likes to stretch values. Perhaps they don’t maintain the website and the figures can be old and outdated, much like a County Treasurer’s site.

As a head’s up, you may not be able to see pictures of a subject property on Google Earth or Google Maps. In most cases, you can find pictures of both the inside and outside of a house for sale on realtor.com and also zillow.com.

Reason: I don’t know for sure (speaking of Google) but I believe that all pictures are contributory, meaning that users are free to contribute so unless a seller or realtor thinks of taking pictures and putting them up, there is no way to see what the subject property looks like. Remember too that realtor.com and zillow.com are going to display homes for sale and not tax lien properties. However, from time to time, I do get lucky and find a tax lien property on one of these sites.

Other good, free websites to utilize are: www.eppraiser.com; www.realtor.com and www.valuemyhouse.com are all decent ways to find property values.

Reason: these sites are updated a little more frequently than the aforementionedones.

I’d like to do a short illustration of Maricopa County Assessor’s website.

http://www.maricopa.gov/Assessor/Parcelapplication/ takes you to this page:


Page18


___________________________________________________________________

Which you cannot see well, so I’ve pasted the upper right side of the page as a smaller section of it below:

Alternatively, you can also enter the parcel in the boxes at the middle left side of the screen by parcel number, street address, subdivision or MCR number:



Page19


___________________________________________________________________

You’ll need to type in a parcel number, which you get from the County Treasurer. They sell a CD ROM with all the left-over tax lien parcels for $50.00. You will need to call them and


Page20


___________________________________________________________________

ask about it. The tax lien auction was held on Monday, February 7, 2011. They will announce on their website when it will be available. Again, contact the County Treasurer for details. You will want to ask about the STATE CD REPORT.

Be aware that the left over certificate sales have some small fees which are non-refundable and also non-interest bearing.

Continuing on, the next page shows the next screen after you’ve entered the parcel number.

The above illustration is too small and unclear so I’ve zoomed in on property information shown on the middle right side of the screen above:


Page21


___________________________________________________________________

I clicked on the “General Data” link shown in the last picture on the previous page to get to the “Characteristic Information”link you see above and what you see below appears after clicking the “Characteristic Information”link:



Page22


___________________________________________________________________

Again, this is too small so I’ve zoomed in on the map above and this is what you’ll see:



Page23


___________________________________________________________________

On the top left side of the above screenshot, you’ll see the parcel number 111-43-086A. That is a small easement that I purchased for under $100. It is hard to see, but it is that little tiny yellow triangle that you see at the bottom left-hand side of the parcel number box and at the tip of the blue arrow with the white border.

As you can already guess, I bought a useless property. Now you should be clear why due diligence is very important. You don’t want to be buying an easement, sidewalk, or a piece of property separating neighbors.

One more quick note; in the illustration above, you see the owner’s address in the ‘owner information’box. That is not necessarily the subject property’s address. You will want to look for a ‘situs’address – which is the address where the tax lien property is located. If you do not see a street address like 1234 NE Plum Ave, but rather something like: 0000 Plum Ave, then it is an easement or restriction or something you DON’T WANT!

Another tip is if you go to these pages (i.e. the Assessor’s page/website) and under the property description and/or address, you see something like: N 30 degrees 100ft, S 150 degrees or anything that does not look like a mailing street address then it is raw land or an empty lot or something without a structure on it. In other words, something you do not want to buy.


Page24


___________________________________________________________________

Before I close, I’d like to leave you with a few more tips.

Tip #1: If you find a tax lien that is held by a bank, partnership, LLC or another business entity, you may want to consider purchasing the tax lien. Most banks and businesses bought the property for a specific reason, for example, to build on or to flip. If this is the case, there is a very strong possibility that they will pay the taxes (redeem) the property so you are almost guaranteed getting your principle with interest back.

Should the owners (delinquent tax payers) opt not to redeem or can’t, then you’ve just got yourself a potentially sweet deal. Even if it was raw land, it must have some value or else they would not have purchased it in the first place. If you should be able to obtain the deed to the property via foreclosure, you perhaps could renegotiate with the previous owners and sell it to them on a lease option or buy-back deal, but this time you are in control.

Tip #2: In Arizona, the redemption period starts on the date that you purchase the lien, not when the property owner becomes delinquent. I was taken aback when I learned this. Somehow I thought that it started when the tax payer was late but this is just not so.

Tip #3: Heads up! You must be informed that 95% of all liens are redeemed. But don’t become complacent and get caught by surprise if you should have an opportunity to foreclose and/or obtain a property. Should you find yourself in such a situation, please be aware that you will need to consider foreclosure costs. In Arizona, this will set you back around $1,500 ~ $2,500.

Tip #4: Is the property on the tax lien certificate that you are purchasing free and clear of any other liens, any encumbrances, has ‘clean’title, etc? How do you know? A good way to check is to contact a local (where the tax lien property is located) title company and ask. Many times you can get this information for free. You may need to pay a small fee but if the tax lien is worth it to you and you are interested in pursuing it, then consider paying for it.

In case you get the information for free, be sure to reciprocate and toss the title company a bone if you can and let them do the title search, recording, etc (give them the business) for any foreclosures that you are able to obtain. It’s good business and a good way to build a relationship with professionals who can be very beneficial to you.

Now you have some great information to get started on your own.

However, this is just the “tip of the iceberg”so to speak and you’ll want to get more help. You can do this by contacting me or any of the other authors of this e-book.

You can also watch and observe some videos on performing due diligence on my youtube.com channel: www.youtube.com/taxlienmentor. ___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page25


___________________________________________________________________

About the Author: Andrew Ikeda is an active tax lien and deed investor specializing in Arizona and Florida. His website is: www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com or email him at either: [email protected] or [email protected]

We hope that this e-book was both helpful and enjoyable for you.

Joanne, Darius, Robbie and I really care about your success and with all the thousands of available tax lien certificates at any given time we have no fear of competition. Having said that, we would be happy to welcome you into our fraternity of tax lien investors. So are you ready to make some seriously good money? You’ve got what it takes, right?

If you have any further questions, please contact Andrew Ikeda at the any of the following sources:

Email: [email protected]

http://www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.comEmail: [email protected] email: [email protected]

Find Andrew on Facebook:

Follow Andrew on Twitter:

Andrew’s Youtube channel:



Page26


________________________________________________________________

My e-book was written to be a ‘stand-alone’ or ‘do-it-yourself’ manual. It is a 120 page e-book loaded with information and comes with a 90-Day, 100% money-back guarantee. It is priced at $17.

To order the e-book, simply click on the link below:

http://tinyurl.com/4ydp7nh

Note: This will take you to Intuit/Homestead’s Credit Card processing page. The payee shown is AJAX Properties, which is my WA State Limited Liability Company so don’t be afraid or confused if you see both the above mentioned names on the screen.

"7 Easy Steps To Buying Tax Liens"

I’m confident that there are enough tidbits and information to get you going on your own. However, I do understand that you may be interested in other products or services or may want a personal touch and assistance.

Here’s what I have to offer you:

First, I'll introduce my personal mentorship program since I know about it the best.

My Mentorship Program

The Premier Super Lien Program:

30 Days Training30-Day, 100% money-back guaranteeCost: $397

*Up to six (6) hours worth of phone calls to me personally via www.skype.com


Page27


________________________________________________________________

*The phone calls can vary in length of time, i.e. they do not have to be exactly one hour long

*I'm flexible with the calls. I can call you at a designated time or you can call me*Five (5) demonstration videos. I'll custom make up to 5 personal tutorial videos

tailored just for you! *30 days unlimited e-mail *30 days of webinars *E-Book "7 Easy Steps To Buying Tax Liens & 62 Other Questions Answered"

with lifetime free updates*Lifetime subscription to “The Lien Investor” (published monthly)*Unlimited use of private videos NOT posted on youtube.com

Please note: This is a one-time charge. There are no membership or monthly fees and no other products or services to buy or subscribe to at this time. Feel free to watch and access our training and informational videos on www.youtube.com/taxlienquestions. And yes, even if you ask for a refund, you will

still receive the newsletter and updates to the e-book.

NOTE: All personal information is kept private. We will never sell, donate, or give away any of your information without first obtaining your permission. Payments will show ajaxpropertiesllc.com as the payee. This is our limited liability company established and based in the State of Washington.

And now for my partner's products and services:

I've teamed up with both Joanne Musa (the Tax Lien Lady) and Darius Barazandeh (Texas Attorney & Real Estate Investor). Both of them have great products with tons of information. As a general statement and not 'rule- of-thumb' Joanne's courses are not as expensive as Mr. Barazandeh’s. However, Darius specializes in Texas and his "Texas Houses For Pennies II" course is the #1 selling real estate course on creonline.com. Joanne has a course titled, "Buying Tax Liens Online," which has my highest recommendation.

1. Both Joanne and Darius offer a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee.2. For any products of theirs that you purchase through my affiliate links, I will

give you:a) For products at or under $97: 1/2 hour phone consultation via Skype or

make you a 1/2 hour video___________________________________________________________________© AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.com – all rights reserved

Page28


________________________________________________________________

b) For products over $97: one (1) full hour of phone consultation via Skype or make you a one-hour customized video

Joanne Musa's Courses

Tax Foreclosure FortuneCashing in on tax deed properties without having to go to the tax sales.Price: $ 97More info & purchase go here: http://taxlienlady.com/cmd.php?Clk=4292594Buy this product through me and get 1/2 hour of FREE consultation from me personally or a 30-minute custom made video answering all your questions.

Tax Lien Investing Secrets IIA complete system that shows you how to invest in profitable tax liens and deeds.Price: $197 More info & purchase here:http://taxlienlady.com/cmd.php?Clk=4292627Buy this product through me and get one full hour of FREE consultation from me or a full one hour custom made video for you with all your questions answered.

Buying Tax Liens Online.Now you can make a fortune investing in tax liens from the comfort of your homePrice: $197More info & purchase here:http://taxlienlady.com/cmd.php?Clk=4292604Buy this product through me and get one hour of FREE consultation from me personally or a one hour custom made video answering all your questions.


Page29


________________________________________________________________

Darius Barazandeh's Courses

Darius Barazandeh is well known in the real estate investor's world. He's an attorney and investor in Texas.

His course "Texas Houses for Pennies" is wildly popular and so far in 2011, a best seller on creonline.com.

For more information on his courses and to buy through my affiliate link, please click on the link just below or copy and paste it into your browser: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1335586



Page30


________________________________________________________________

Texas Houses for Pennies IIPrice: $197

The most detailed product on Texas tax sale investment continues to get even better!

Texas Houses for Pennies has been updated to include recent changes to the Texas statutes, sample research projects, an updated review of surviving liens and sample investment strategies. Some updates include:

Updates for all investment counties in Texas!

Detailed analysis of court cases covering homestead exemptions and how to maximize your profits in the shortest period of time!

Updates on new bidding procedures and redemption laws

Updates on liens surviving foreclosure and how to absolutely avoid them

Sample investment strategies for 1 to 2 year redemption time periods and a 50% return in Year 2!

Full discussion on searching for liens and other interests which can survive foreclosure!


Page31


________________________________________________________________

Sample research projects and even more step-by-step illustrated examples!

Full access to our updated Texas Research Center!

8 Months Full Email consulting with author and attorney/M.B.A. Darius M. Barazandeh!

Updated layout and an even simpler step-by-step format!

More Forms, Document Reviews, and Complete Images of Key Court Documents and Tax Records!

The system continues to be the most up-to-date, complete, and easy to follow step-by-step program for investment in Texas tax sales.

This is a serious and detailed package that covers court cases, legislative updates and critical investment strategies. If you have ever wondered about Texas tax salesand how to take advantage of the tremendous returns available in Texas then read more about our program and the outstanding investment opportunities available:


Page32


________________________________________________________________

There are way too much information and way too many testimonials to post and display here. Below are some of Darius's other courses you may be interested in:

Attorney's Secrets to Investing in Tax Lien Certificates ~ includes due diligence, detailed legal and sales analysis for 28 states. This course is loaded with information and content. Price: $249.95

Quick Cash Wholesaling and Flipping Houses ~ start with as little as $50 and turn it into $5,000. A step-by-step course. Price: $249.99

Wealth Building LLC ~ protect your personal assets with a business entity. Pay less in taxes. It's all included in this self-study course. Price: $249.99


Page33


________________________________________________________________

1% Investor Mind Course ~ more than meets the eye. Darius has put together a course on the mental mind set of being a real estate investor. How to overcome fear of failure and much more. Price: $197

Retire Rich With Your IRA ~ tax-free real estate investing. Sound good? Reduce or eliminate taxes on your profits. Price: $139

Darius's courses have so many bullet points of features and goodies that each product by itself could be an entire website! Again, for more information and to purchase his products please go this link:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1335586

Please remember that when you buy Mr. Barazandeh’s or Joanne Musa’s products through my affiliate link that I will personally work with you at no extra charge to answer any and all questions you may have about tax lien investing.

I don’t have any affiliation with Robbie Davis but he has liens and deeds for sale in four counties in Florida. You can email him directly at: [email protected]

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

I wish you all the best to you in your investing endeavors. God bless.

AJAX Properties, LLC & www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.comPhone: 360-989-9900Andrew Ikeda (Owner/President) Skype ID: gr8investorWebsite: www.taxlieninvestingsimplified.comEmail: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Mailing Address:

606 South Pekin RoadWoodland, WA 98674


Page34