Hi everyone and thank you in advance for your advice. I have been researching property tax lien sales for a few years and I think I have all the information needed except for the last part. Once I know which properties may go up for auction, how do I go about researching the property to make sure it is not a lemon without spending a lot of money? It doesn't seem smart to just drive by and look at it. I don't want to get something that will not re-sell because of any number of conditions it may be in. I firmly believe this is a golden opportunity but I always seem to chicken out because I don't know anyone who has ever done this. Any advice would be helpful, especially if someone reading this has already done it.

Do you mean you want to buy to flip ?

I'm not sure what a flip is. I'm interested in homes where the owners have not paid their property taxes for several years and the county puts it up for auction.

A flip is where you buy a house for back taxes, forclosures, run down properties and fix them up for a profit.

Ok, I'm afraid you haven't done enough research if you don't know the term "flip". I've done almost no research in this area and know what tickle meant.

Check with the county, there may be a period between when the list is published and the actual auction that prospective bidders can inspect the property.