Arkansas conducts tax sales through an oral auction. Investors will need to register before the auction to participate in the auction. They will be given a bidder number, which they will use for the auction. The starting bid on most tax deeds will be the assessed value given of the property based on the county’s assessment. The assessment value is approximately 20% of the properties actual value. Deeds are bid up in price until a high bid has been established. The highest bidder is awarded the deed to the property.

Arkansas holds a Premium Bid method. The starting bid includes all delinquent taxes, penalties and administrative cost. The property is bid up in price until a high bid is established. The top bidder receives the deed to the property. Investors can also place bids through the mail by a sealed bid. All bids must be mailed to the commissioner of state lands.

Arkansas Counties

Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicot, Clark, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Grant, Greene, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Logan, Lonoke, Madison, Marion, Miller, Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Union, Van Buren, Washington, White, Woodruff, Yell County

Arizona Tax lien certificates are sold at tax lien sales which are held annually in the month of February. It is required that investors register before the auction starts, and in most cases the counties will allow you to register the day of the auction. When registered, the investors will be given a bidder number, which will be used to identify the investor during the tax lien sale.

The rate of return is 16% on Arizona tax lien certificates. Property owners have a 3 year period to repay the delinquent taxes and penalties. Any time after the redemption period, but not exceeding 10 years, the investor may initiate foreclosure with the superior court in the county that the property is located in.

Bidders compete through lowering their acceptable interest rate of return. Bidders will pay the combined total of all delinquent property taxes, penalties, and fees before receiving Arizona tax lien certificates.

Arizona Counties

Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, Yuma County

A list of properties available for the upcoming auction will be listed in the local newspaper prior to the sale. The property owners may redeem the property up to the day before the auction by paying all delinquent taxes, penalties and fees. The tax sale may be referred to as tax deed sales, land sales, or tax foreclosure sales, depending on the borough or city municipalities.

Alaska uses different methods within the state to conduct tax sale auctions. To determine the bidding method used, you will need to contact the borough municipalities. Many boroughs will allow you to register the day of the sale. Upon registering you will be given a bidding number which you will use to bid. Tax deeds are awarded to the highest bidder.

The two most commonly used methods of buying tax foreclosure deeds in the burroughs of Alaska are the “Premium Bid” and the “Sealed Bid”. The Premium Bid includes all delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and administrative costs. Property will be bid up in price until a high bid is established. The highest bidder is awarded the deed to the property. To use the Sealed Bid method, you must download or pick up the required county form and submit you bid. It must be received before the day of the sale to be valid.

Alaska Counties

Aleutians East Borough, Aleutians West Borough, Anchorage Borough, Bethel Census Area, Bristol Bay Borough, City & Borough of Juneau, Sitka Borough, Yakutat Borough, Denali Borough, Dillingham Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Haines Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Nome Borough, North Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic Borough, Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Borough, Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Borough, Southeast Fairbanks Borough, Valdez-Cordova Borough, Wade Hampton Borough, Wrangell-Petersburg Borough, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough.

Alabama uses the premium bidding method at the tax sale. Bidders compete by the amount they are willing to pay above the minimum bid. The total of the delinquent taxes, interest, costs, and penalties determine the minimum bid.

The redemption period for Alabama is 3 years from the date of the sale. Following the 3 year redemption period the county judge of probate awards the deed to the property to the tax lien holder.

Over-the-counter sales in Alabama are handled on the state level it is called “sold to state,” and they offer both tax lien certificates and tax deeds. You can also contact the Commissioner of Revenue for the state to see if there are any tax lien certificates that did not sell on the county level:

Alabama Department of Revenue
Property Tax Division
P.O. Box 327210
Mongomery, AL 36132-7210.

In Alabama the office responsible for collecting delinquent real property taxes is a state government office.

If the state has held a Certificate of Sale less than three years from the date of sale by the county tax collection official, the Certificate will be assigned to the purchaser. If the property is not redeemed by the three year anniversary of the sale to the State, the Certificate holder can surrender the original assigned Certificate to the county redemption official and receive a tax deed upon payment of a nominal issuance fee.

If the State has held a Certificate of Sale more than three years from the date of sale by the county tax collection official, a tax deed will be issued to the purchaser by the State. Tax deeds are given without warranty or covenant of any type; it is the purchaser’s responsibility to determine what, if any, interest in the property is actually being purchased. No refunds are made unless the State had no interest to sell, and then only within two years from the purchase date.

Alabama Counties

Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston.

Delinquent real estate taxes create a major problem for local governments. Without the income from property taxes local communities lack the funds needed to support police, fire, emergency and other public services. Taxing authorities recover delinquent property taxes by selling tax lien certificate to purchasers at the tax sale auction.

As proof-of-purchase winning bidders receive a tax lien certificate. Purchasers of tax lien certificate can expect that either 1.) the property owner will pay the delinquent taxes plus penalties and interest generating an annualized return of 16%, 18%, 24%, up to 300% or 2.) receive the property securing the tax lien certificate free and clear of mortgages and liens.

Tax lien certificates are the ideal investment because the interest rate is fixed by law and is not determined by the market. In addition, tax lien certificates are safe because they are secured by real estate. As a first-position lien tax lien certificates are senior to all other liens including mortgages. What this means is if the property owner does not pay what the investor paid to purchase the tax lien certificate plus penalties and interest before the expiration of the redemption period the investor gets the property free and clear of mortgages and liens.

Investing in tax lien certificates is getting easier every year with more and more governments holding their tax sales online.