[.ca] Tax Lien Certificates: A Little Known Government Program ... (ISBN 1403308357)

Tax Lien review OK, but not everything:
I bought 6 books on real estate from Amazon; from basic to advanced level. I was hoping that this book would lean more towards the advanced side. For the first time learner of Tax Liens, this book was specific, informative, and written in Will-Rogers-style-plain-English. But, its not comprehensive enough to bet your new career on. It is written quite like a spoken TV-infomercial, with lots of "hard sell" of why you should be doing this, how returns are better than the stock market, how this is an undiscovered treasure...etc. Even if you filter thru the yatta yatta, it still subjects the reader to a sense of suspiciousness of the genuine opporunities in Tax Liens. After reading the book, I checked around on the internet regarding auctions of Tax Liens and linked websites. What I found was that this book missed a lot (not misinformed). For instance, California and Texas are States with Tax Deeds which are more complex and less likely to ROIs comparative to the examples in the book. Also, the complex foreclosure regulations in some States not covered can drag out the return horizon (the author only covers about 1/3 of the States). And, if you just take a look superficially at the auction results of any somewhat-populated area, you can clearly see that you are not the only one thinking about Tax Liens. Investment banks and institutional professionals have securitized Tax Liens and are a heck of a lot more informed than you or I. The Invisible Hand is already at work! The last comment is that the typefont in this book is HUGE. Literally, the book is triple the necessary thickness. I'm not a fast reader, however I read this book in one afternoon which implies to actual content...

Skip this one:
This book did not tell me anything about investing in tax sales. I liken it to one of those late-night infomercials about real estate or internet investing. The author gets off topic frequently and I don't think anyone has proof-read it. (i.e. There are two chapter 10's.) I feel ripped off.

Not as bad as it's been made to look:
Despite all the reviews to the contrary, I found this book to be an excellent introduction to tax lien certificates. I think the mistake that other reviewers have made is that they expect a book on tax liens to guide you by the hand to tell you step by step how to buy a tax lien in a particular county or state you're interested in. Well, sorry to burst your bubble but any book that would include all the possible variations in the procedures followed would probably be too big to fit on your book shelf! This is a point that Jim stresses several times throughout the book - call the county you're interested in and FIND OUT how that county does it. If you're expecting to be spoon fed on how to buy certificates you'll be sadly dissappointed...Anything you could write about how to do it will probably be out of date by the time the book is published because laws change practically every day. What's needed is a general guide with some examples and the necessary information on where to get the latest on how to go about buying a tax lien. Jim has done just that. Having read several other courses, books, etc. on tax liens myself (some of which left me wondering which way was up) I can honestly say that Jim's book has done the best job of explaining tax liens - a topic that varies so much from state to state and county to county. If you want an easy, no-thought-required, way to invest your money, look elsewhere - this method requires you to actually do some work, take time to read state and county policy, thoroughly investigate....all BEFORE you spend your first dime! But it can be highly lucrative if you do your homework. This book is the way to get started...

A good intro to the world of Tax Liens:
If you are new to the world of tax liens, this book will get you started.With tax liens you can earn 16% on average and up to 50% in some states, government guaranteed.Although banks are in the act (that should tell you how safe this investment really is) there NOT really that much competition for tax liens.Many people have heard about them, few are actually working the liens.This book is great as a primer, but you will need more information.

A big disappointment - Save your money:
I found it to be more of a sales hype of what you could do, or what has been done, and not much of anything that could be used with any particular direction. Most of the bulk of the book is a phone and address directory of about 3,000 counties.