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Additional Information — Key Officers in local jurisdictions

Appraiser: The official who sets a value on the property. In the United States, the most common usage relates to real estate appraisals. This is an estimated guess of the value of the property.

Assessor: An assessor is the specialist who calculates the value of property. The value calculated by the assessor is then used as the basis for determining the amounts to be paid or assessed for tax or insurance purposes. In local government an assessor is an appointed or elected official charged with determining the value of each taxable property.

The Difference between and Appraiser and an Assessor is: An assessment is a tool used by a municipal government to determine the average value of a property and is used for levying property taxes in a fair manner. Assessors may be licensed appraisers, but for assessment purposes, no license is actually required. Most of an assessor’s research and findings are taken from public records on a property. Much of the information used in the taxable assessed value of property is out of date, and in some cases, just plain wrong. Property assessments for tax purposes are ordinarily undertaken during specific time periods, with 5-10 years being the average amount of time between assessments.

Auditor: A county auditor is a person primarily responsible for preparing county budgets and assigning taxes to properties. The auditor also performs other duties including general accounting tasks and issuing vendor licenses. In most counties, residents appoint a person for this position during elections. Most county auditors are certified public accountants with a degree in accounting or finance and have years of related experience. Tasks related to real estate are some of the main services a county auditor has to provide for the county. The auditor figures tax rates for properties so that when someone buys or sells the property, the owner will know how much tax to pay. Auditors base these rates on factors such as whether or not the property has a building on it, as well as the location and size of the property. The auditor also has to perform a property appraisal and assessment to make a final determination on the tax value.

Tax Collector: A county tax collector is someone who collects taxes on behalf of a county. Counties are units of local government which typically encompass an area containing several cities while being smaller than provinces or states. The taxes collected are used to fund a variety of activities, including maintaining county roads, supporting county schools, funding county police and fire services, and running county courts. In small counties, it is not uncommon to see the county treasurer, tax collector, and assessor working out of the same office. Sometimes one person performs two or all three of these jobs, and may be known as the “treasurer and tax collector” or “tax collector and assessor.” In all cases, support personnel assist with keeping records, issuing correspondence, and other tasks which are designed to assist with the process of collecting taxes and confirming that citizens are paying appropriate taxes. The county tax collector can collect property taxes and any other types of taxes the county has established. Typically people are issued tax statements which they are expected to pay unless the statement is erroneous, in which it can be appealed by the citizen. If a citizen does not pay county taxes as required, the county tax collector can begin collection activities, which can include ultimate sale of assets in order to satisfy tax debts. Tax collectors can work with personnel such as assessors and county sheriffs to do their jobs.

Treasurer: A treasurer is a person who oversees the treasury, or monetary stores, of a government or other body. In the original use of the term, a treasurer was the person entrusted with the oversight of a noble’s wealth, or treasure. A treasurer is responsible for economic and financial matters, such as the maintenance and administration of funds, generating revenue, and keeping financial records. Treasurers create financial reports for their employers and analyze past financial records in order to predict future trends and plan appropriate budgets. Sometimes the treasurer and tax collector handle both jobs.

Commissioner of Revenue: The Commissioner of the Revenue is one of five locally elected “constitutional officers” whose authority is conveyed in some states. The other four are Clerk of the Court, Commonwealth’s Attorney, Sheriff, and Treasurer. The principal reason constitutional officers are elected is also a basic principle of our democratic form of government – the separation of powers. In general, the local governing body (i.e. City Council, Board of Supervisors) establishes tax policy and sets all tax rates. The Commissioner of the Revenue implements and administers these policies by establishing assessments and determining what is taxable. The Treasurer then collects the tax revenue. The Commissioner of the Revenue is the chief tax-assessing official of the locality. The responsibilities of Commissioners vary from office to office across the State. Commissioners also assist taxpayers in completing all state tax returns and filing forms.

Understanding and Limiting Risk

1- Redemption: If the certificate or deed is not redeemed within this designated period of time the investor may then proceed with collection of property by legal means.

2- First Position: Tax liens are in the first or priority position to benefit from any liquidation of the collateral. They are a priority to mortgages, mechanical liens, judgments etc.

3- Environmental: Congress passed the ‘Superfund Act’ which made every landowner liable for previous environmental contamination. It is required to be recorded on the title if found.

4- Bankruptcy: Doesn’t eliminate tax liens, but may delay payment or reduce interest paid. Check the rules of that jurisdiction.

5- Surviving Liens: Some federal, state & city liens remain and must be paid for clear title. Most other liens are wiped out at foreclosure. In many cases the Federal liens will remain only 120 days after foreclosure.

(Tax liens are very safe, but you should seek legal advice before you purchase and check the title of the property)

You Need A List.

The States by Tax Lien States, Tax Deed States, Redemption Deed States, and Dual Tax Lien/Tax Deed States.
Hover over a state to see a quick view. Click a state to get the State Guidebook details. When the page from the State Guidebook opens, you can scroll through the counties, and click on the sites that have links to the list sources. (If when clicking a state below, the State Guidebook does not open below, click here to open it.

How to find property tax lists on your own.

Call, write, or email 20- 30 Counties or Jurisdictions.To find the email or phone numbers look in your “State Guidebook”. The more counties you contact the quicker you’ll find a user friendly county that wants to do business with you. (Remember most tax property is sold through the county, or parish, or municipality, not the state website) Within that county jurisdiction the best offices to contact are the Treasurer, Tax Collector, Auditor or Sheriff. Every county or parish may use someone different, just ask.

When you email the county, you can ask something like the following. (I am a Real Estate Investor and I would like to invest in your county tax deed property. I want to have ownership of the property not just a lien on the property. When is your next auction scheduled and could you please send me or tell me how to get a list of these parcels. If you just recently had an auction, I would like to purchase any properties you may have available that didn’t sell at the auction). If you don’t get the response you’re looking for, ask again a different way, or ask for the department that may be in charge. Develop a good relationship with a key person at the proper jurisdiction.

Receive as many property lists as possible. (At least one)

You only need one list and 5-10 parcels to get started. Don’t worry about getting many lists. Start as soon as you can with the list you receive. The counties that respond to you quickly are “user friendly” and want your business. Those are the lists you want to review first for the obvious reason that they are responsive and you can buy deeds today. Just because they send you a list that you requested, it doesn’t mean it is the list you asked for. For example: You asked for properties left over and they may have sent you the list from before the auction, or the list from last year, you never know until you ask the right questions. County workers sometimes don’t understand what you want or don’t understand what you need; they just want to get the job done and forget about it. Begin a list of individual properties that meet your basic requirements and we will refine it from here.

Begin refining your list.

To begin refining your list, you need to know the approximate value of the property and or the minimum bid or minimum price the county is asking for the parcel. Many times the list that the county sends you will have a column that says “appraised value” or “fair market value” etc. Remember this is only someone’s guess, don’t take this as official and don’t take a website listing value as accurate (www.zillow.com), but it’s a good place to start. The list that the county sent you may have a column saying minimum bid or asking price etc. With the San Diego County list it has a column that says “Item: Total Assessed” that is the place to start. If the list doesn’t have what you need, call or email that county official back and ask for what you need. Don’t over-whelm the county as if you ask them too much information too quickly, they may feel you are bothering them, so know when to ask whom and when to ask someone else or when to continue to look on your own.

Make sure the property list they sent contains property that can be purchased today. In other words, don’t take for granted the property is available just because the county sent it to you or just because it is available on their website. Send the county a specific email giving them a parcel number and asking them if this parcel is available. Sometimes you can ask the county for “an assignment” of that parcel. That means they will assign that parcel to you for the next 30 days to research and you are the only one during that assignment time able to buy that parcel if you choose. You are not however obligated to purchase that parcel. The county might not call it assignment purchase but may do this procedure and they call it something different.

Understand our Ratio Rule.

As you are refining your list, compare the asking price to the assessed value. Don’t consider doing any research on a property unless it meets this Ratio Rule. For example, for every $1,000 you invest; make sure the property is worth at least $20,000 which is a 20 to 1 ratio or more. This is the key to beginning research, not to purchasing yet. If your property is a tax lien property, a 20-50 to 1 ratio is best. If your property is a tax deed property, make sure the ratio is at least 6-12 to 1 before you begin your research. In other words, for every $1,000 you invest in a tax deed, the property value should be at minimum, $6,000 to $12,000 before you begin research. Remember with a tax lien the higher ratio requirement is because you will probably never own the property, so you want the property owner to have a big incentive to pay you back with interest.

Look for tax lien or deed property that is within your budget. We suggest you begin with less expensive property first. If you have set a goal to invest in your first property of anything under $1,000 refine your list accordingly.

Now your list that the county sent consists of:

It’s a Tax Lien or Deed Property.

It’s available to purchase today.

It may be assigned to you so you may research it for 30 days. (Ask County)

It meets the Ratio Rule. 

It’s within your budget.

Make a list of the top ten properties that meet these 5 rules. Find more lists by contacting more jurisdictions and continue the process.

You now have a working list of properties that meet your initial investment goals. Now is the time to begin your due-diligence. You can get information from the jurisdictions website or call them. Check the Assessor or County Recorder, or Clerk of the Court etc to find additional information on that property. Remember these properties are all “public records” and available to the public at the county office or on their website. Just ask and the county should help.

Best of Success!

States and counties may from time to time change their rules and their way of doing business with investors. One month a jurisdiction may allow you to purchase Over-the-Counter (OTC) property and another month they don’t. It may also be a rule that the jurisdiction allows OTC investing, but not all workers understand the rules the same, and some workers will give you different answers. When all else fails, please call or email us, as we can save you a lot of time; but you need to ask.

To assist you in finding lists, it’s always good to know the name of the list that the jurisdiction uses. Remember an Over-the-Counter (OTC) list means the property is no longer available at auction, but it should be available on a first come first served basis. Some county and city workers may not know the name of the lists below, or may not even know if they sell OTC property. Be patient and polite and give us a call if you need help. We have experience in getting the list you desire.