The collection of property taxes is a huge priority in every county in the United States.  Literally, if the county cannot collect property taxes, they go broke.  

To make sure this does not happen, the county places a lien on any property owner with delinquent property taxes and sells the tax debt to investors.  This creates a win-win situation for everyone, the county gets their money, the delinquent property tax owners get a little extra time to pay their overdue property taxes and the investor gets a low risk, high return investment.  

How high is the rate of return on tax lien certificates?

The annual returns you can make buying tax lien certificates are unbelievable,

• Arizona tax lien certificates pay an annual return of 16 percent per year
• Arizona tax lien certificates pay an annual return of 16 percent per year
• Iowa tax lien certificates pay an annual return of 24 percent per year
• Illinois tax lien certificates pay an annual return of 36 percent per year
• Georgia offers a redemption fee to investors of 20%, if redeemed within one year. If the property owner redeems in one month, the effective annual interest rate is 240%.
• Texas offers a redemption fee to investors of 25% for most properties, when redeemed within 6 months. If the property owner redeems in one month, the effective annual interest rate is 300%.

But what about investment safety, are tax lien certificates a safe investment?

Investing in tax lien certificates is ultra-safe!

Why?

1. State governments control the entire tax lien process so it is very safe and fair.  The last thing the state wants is unsatisfied tax lien investors. Without the investors, counties would not be able to collect the money they need to keep the county government operating.

2. If delinquent property tax owners fail to pay their back taxes plus interest, they lose their entire property to the investor for the property taxes owed. 

Now do you understand why tax lien certificates are an incredible investment with a great built in safety factor?

If the delinquent property tax owners pay their tax bill, you, the investor, make an extremely high rate of return on your money.   

If the property owners do not pay their tax bill, you, the investor, get to keep the entire property for the taxes and penalties owed, often pennies on the dollar.

And the best part, tax lien investing does not depend on the economy, so there is zero investment volatility when you invest in tax liens.  

Instead of going up and down like the stock market, tax lien certificates just rise in value.  

Overall, you cannot find a higher return/lower risk investment than tax lien certificates.