Tax certificate auctions are a soul-sucking, head-banging, "smash and grab" event you should never attend again. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Truly though, with the influx of investors into the field, it's time to move a step ahead and let them all duke it out for those tax properties, while you quietly profit using a method they're unaware of.

There's another, much less risky, much more profitable way to make money off of tax properties, and tax certificate auctions are actually an essential part of it. However, this technique doesn't involve owning any property, at all (whew, right?), involves next to no money to do (we're taking less than $500 in most cases), and will allow you to profit within months-- not the year or so it takes to foreclose on those properties you get at tax certificate auctions.

It's really quite simple.

When investors bid at tax certificate auctions, frequently what's called an "overbid" occurs. That's when a property is worth far more than the taxes that are owed, and someone bids accordingly. Say a property is worth $50,000, the taxes owed are $5,000, and an investor bids $40,000. There's an "overbid" of $35,000... $35,000 of that poor homeowner's hard earned equity.

In many states, that overbid goes right into the government coffers. No recourse for the owner. You lose your property, you lose your property. It's not fair, but it's government for you.

But in about half of the states, those funds are held in trust for the former owner. Only slightly more fair, because those funds end up property of the state if the owner doesn't get down there right quick, and claim them. Usually they get 1-5 years to do that. Still not fair, but at least they have a chance.

The problem is, most have moved on, sometimes long ago. They assumed they've lost everything-- most people do assume that, ask around-- and they don't bother to update their contact info with the county, and never receive notice that that money is available for them to collect. The time passes and runs out, they get nothing, and the government swallows up yet another hefty sum from a hard working citizen.

That's where you come in.

Currently, most states have finder's fee limits on "unclaimed funds"- funds that are held at the state level. But these overages from tax certificate auctions are at the county level. Thus, during that period of time when the owner can collect, they are NOT subject to finder's fee caps.

You provide the extremely valuable service of reconnecting these owners with the money they're unaware of, and you're looking at a 40-50% finder's fee. That means five figure checks every time you make a deal... and in today's economy, they're everywhere.