Are live public tax auctions on their way out?

Good question! The discussion of online vs. live is an important one for any modern business. As an investor it’s vital you remember you are a businessperson, first.

Famous investor Carlos Slim Helu said, “I think one of the big errors people are making right now is thinking old style businesses will be obsolete, when actually they will be an important part of this new civilization. Some retail groups are introducing e-commerce and think that the ‘bricks’ are no longer useful. But they will continue to be important.”

There’s not an industry on the planet that isn’t either online or dabbling with ideas about how they will meet a growing demand from consumers with e-commerce. Even tax lien certificates are being sold online in several states.

Will the day come when the Internet will be the only vehicle for tax defaulted property investing?

My answer is no; not for a very long time anyway. Just as in any other industry, there will always be consumers looking for something tangible.

For instance, even digital books don’t appeal to every reader. There will always be people who want to hold a printed book in their hands. And just like investors, there will always be county governments that prefer a hands-on approach to tax sales.

Online investing forums require a huge shift for counties, mentally and operationally.

Many have enough to do just managing the services they provide to their communities.

It will be a very long time—if ever—before the only option will be buying tax liens online.

Regardless, business is business, and as an investor you are a businessperson, first.

It won’t matter whether you invest online, at live auctions or both. Even if your money grows on trees and you have more than enough to invest in multiple purchases, buying properties will not make you rich. Making the best decisions around those investments is what will bring success.

Invest in your education. It’s vital to be aware of shifts and changes in the tax lien and tax deed investing business so you can make your choices accordingly.

That said, this year there will be over 5,000 tax defaulted property auctions in any of 3,200 counties and 1,400 municipalities around the country. Some will be online and others will be live auctions.

So if you thought that the market is getting over saturated, think again, there are enough properties defaulting for all of us.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post – I’d love to hear your thoughts, so comment below with wisdom you took out of this, and share this if you think someone could benefit from it!