Where Do I Start Looking ?
I am a new investor and am interested in purchasing a tax deed but I do not know where to start looking. Could someone please help me with this? And further more how long does the process of purchasing a tax deed usually take? ( on average...)[/B] :-?
PS- I am not set on purchasing in California as I am aware that they do not offer tax deeds sales here. 
[ Edited by shygirl95927 on Date 08/12/2004 ]
Have you purchased a course on tax deed purchasing? Would be a great idea to start there.
In states that sell tax deeds, the owner has a stated amount of time to pay the delinquent property taxes and redeem the property. If the owner redeems, then he must pay interest, penalties and any other additional costs necessary to the state. If the owner does not redeem, the county treasurer's office attempts to sell the property at tax lien auctions.
The buyer who bids the most on the property would then receive the property. Unlike California tax deeds, tax liens let you earn a high rate of interest on the tax lien certificates. In addition, these tax lien certificates also give you the ability to collect the property for pennies on the dollar.
I suggest that you do the necessary research to determine the property's value and if there are any I.R.S. liens on it.
Remember that all sales are final and that you are responsible for your total bid amount.
See http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/modules.php?mop=modload&name=Forum&file=viewtopic&topic=31238&forum=16
shygirl95927--(CA)----------------
Where did you ever get this information: "PS- I am not set on purchasing in California as I am aware that they do not offer tax deeds sales here. "? This is wrong. CA has only tax deeds, not tax liens.
Written References to Study Tax Sale Investing
Free and Clear by John Beck Covers all states, possessions, territories, D.C., Canadian Provinces. Somewhat poorly organized, incomplete. Somewhat difficult for beginners. However, a superbargain. Selecting tax liens most likely to lead to deeds, those which will be redeemed. A new edition should be better. http://www.johnbeck.net $50
State Manuals by Roy Stubblefield. One volume for each state. Much repetition between volumes for techniques. Buy one to three books, forgo others. The only added benefits are getting state laws and addresses of tax collectors/treasurers, which you can get free, usually online. His addresses are not accurate anyway, looking like: “Treasurer, County of GoodCounty; County Courthouse; CountySeatCityName, State, ZIP” He is a professional of many years. http://www dot http://www.taxresearch.com $79 each, $10 more for CD or printed; discounts for buying several states at once
The 16% Solution by Joel S. Moskowitz. On tax lien investing, not tax sale deed investing. Getting a little out of date, but low cost, available from bookstores and online bookstores. A good basis reference for beginners. $25
Buying Real Estate Superbargains at California Tax Sales by Ronald Starr. I wrote this. An ok introduction to the topic. Some interesting information, but getting dated--nothing on using the internet. Available only directly from me. $20 plus $2.50 postage, handling
Buy Land at Tax Sales For Quick Cash Profits & How to Flip Tax Lien Certificates by Robert J. Abalos, Esq. I have not seen this book. However, I have read another book and advice to investors on internet sites. A good writer with sensible, valuable information and advice. I would expect it to be good. http://www.investinginland.com $50
Many other tax sales books are poor. One online writer recommends the manuals **Please See My Profile**axlienlists dot com I have not seen them. There are some books for specific states, if you plan to invest in other states, I recommend trying to find those books.
Investing in Vacant Land
Finding and Buying your Place in the Country by Les Scher. Older book by a non-CA investor.
How to Make a Fortune Investing in Real Estate: The Land Game by Albert Winnikoff Older book by a Southern CA investor.
Investing in Land by Robert J. Abalos A very good book by an expert. I like a lot of what he says about investing. I disagree only on a couple of theoretical matters. Advocates reselling soon. Somewhat high-priced I feel. http://www.investinginland.com $100
Country Property Dirt Cheap: How I Found My Piece of Inexpensive Rural Land...Plus My Adventures with a $300 Junk Antique Tractor by Ralph C. Turner $15 or so. An enjoyable, personal tale, with enough ideas to help you. Not a highly technical volume.
Good Investing*************Ron Starr***********
OK that Information was very helpfull. But is there some place in the local communities that I am interested in, that I should could look specifically for these type of listings ?
Yes there is a specific place to look, go to the county tax assessor's website that you are interested in....... here is the link for riverside county
http://www.treasurer-tax.co.riverside.ca.us/tax_sale_information.html
You can look up tax sale info here anytime.