The Best Tax Lien Investing Books of 2024

One of the best parts about real estate investing is being able to choose the types of deals you do, right?

Did someone say à la carte? Or perhaps, choose your own adventure?

So, you’ve got wholesaling, rehab, buy & hold, among other REI strategies.

But have you considered tax lien investing?

Although there’s a bit of a learning curve to fully understand all the moving parts of this method, tax lien investing can certainly be profitable if you take the right approach. 

That’s where the best tax lien investing books come into play. By reading today’s top tax lien books, you can hear from today’s experts, what they did well as well as their mistakes, as you build your own knowledge of this real estate strategy.

Let’s get started!

What Is Tax Lien Investing & Tax Lien Certificates?

Okie dokie, tax liens are legal claims that governments can make against property owners if they don’t pay their taxes. These liens can be placed by the county or city. Once a lien is placed on a home, the government has a claim to the property in question. 

So, if a homeowner tries to sell their property, the total lien amount will need to be repaid before it can be transferred to the buyer. After a tax lien is initiated, a certificate is created that highlights the amount owed. Certificates are auctioned off to tax lien investors… which is where you come in. 

Currently, there are around 28 states that allow tax lien certificates to be sold to investors. There’s more than $20 billion — with a B! — in unpaid property taxes every year, which is why this strategy can be extremely profitable. 

To better understand how tax lien investing works, look at the step-by-step process:

• Local municipality creates a tax lien certificate
• Tax lien certificate is auctioned off to the best bidder
• Winning bid can be based on interest rate or amount the investor wishes to pay
• Investor pays the amount of money owed on the tax lien
• Homeowner must repay investor during a specific period or risk foreclosure
• Either you receive the payment or foreclosure occurs
• When taxes are repaid, the investor receives the initial investment plus interest rate
• If a foreclosure is initiated, you can earn money from the sale of the property

How to Profit from Tax Liens?

Now, this strategy might seem complicated at first glance. In reality, understanding the basic principles, though, should be enough for you to start making profits from your tax lien investments. 

Check this out…

First, learn about the real estate auction process. You don’t want to make a bad bid just because you didn’t understand the fundamentals. Learning the complexities of tax lien investing should give you consistent success. 

Then, focus on a target area for your investments. Since different areas and states have different laws, this choice matters. Always keep your investment goals in mind. 

Now, once you identify possible properties to invest in, make a list that you can reference when you attend tax lien auctions. Unless you want to spend far too much, you need a strict budget to stick to. Know your numbers!

After you buy a tax lien certificate, notify the homeowners immediately. This part of the process is often required, which means that forgetting to do it could cause you to lose all your money. Yikes.

If the debt ends up being unpaid, you can get the profits from the sale of the home, which can be highly lucrative. 

Final Notes: The Best Tax Lien Investing Books

With these books in hand, and the support of us here at Awesomely, you now have pretty much everything you need to dip your toes into tax lien investing. 

Since this strategy isn’t widely used by investors, you should take all the help you can get to become acclimated to this investment method. 

And BTW, there’s less competition with this niche, which makes it all the more enticing for you to jump into!

So… how’s about you make your first tax lien investment!?