for later
You may be able to get 10-16% interest. The lien is usually in first position because liens from property tax have seniority.
You can buy around the country. Each county has their own procedure. Check the county web sites.
If you're interested in a property, maybe a local realtor will snap some pictures and send them to you for a commitment to list with them if you sell.
Most liens do not result in you owning the property. But you will get your interest from paying off the property tax. On some occasions you will get the deed.
I think the key is volume buying. There are websites and seminars for how to do this. I suggest you attend one of them.
Best wishes.
I know that you can pay the taxes on delinquent properties, But as long as the taxes are kept up then there is no reason for the taxer to foreclose. If the owner decides to sell, he can't transfer title without paying you. I don't know if I would want to be in that position.
To gain title to a delinquent property by paying the back taxes is do-able. But IMO you're better off waiting and buying the foreclosed property at auction.
FYI
Law concerning this varies greatly from state to state. If you know what you are doing, can make some money at it. If you don't you can get screwed over big time.
I did it here in Utah about 11 years ago just to see if it really worked. At the time, the auction was run on "feet off the X side of the property", where X was N, S, E or W, and you had to pay the entire amount owing, then you got title to the piece of the property that was left over after the bidding.
I ended up paying $150 for a tiny quarter-acre strip on the back side of some farmer's field. I tried to sell it to the old guy for what I paid for it, but he thought it was humorous and said no thanks. I abandoned the idea, and never paid the taxes, and it was sold again in 2001 without my knowledge. I found out about it when my name popped up on the list of unclaimed money that the state publishes every year - turns out some moron had paid $1000 or so for it, leaving me $450 in cash for my trouble after the back taxes were paid :)
The answers to your questions regarding the process, as well as whether you can get the property deeded to you free and clear, depend on the state. Essentially there are two types of property tax regimes, tax lien states and tax deed states. The laws regulating the returns, bidding, and lien redemption process differ from state to state.
In tax deed states it is indeed possible (though very rare) to pick up a property by paying back taxes, waiting for the claim period to pass, and having legal counsel go through the legal motions necessary to get the deed and clear the title. But this is a very rare event. Typically by just buying the lien and having the property owner redeem the lien, you can expect an 8-25% return on your investment depending on the state tax laws.
The risk inherent in tax lien investing, like any other investing, is in not doing sufficient research. You should never buy tax liens on property that is unmarketable or which no one wants. Examples of this include brownfield property, or unusable property (such as a median strip or ditch that a municipality may own - they would love for you to get the deed to the unusable property and squeeze you for the taxes indefinitely).
Let me recommend a good book that helped me get started:
http://www.amazon.com/Profit-Investing-Real-Estate-Liens/dp/0793195179/sr=8-1/qid=1165248035/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3810643-7809660?ie=UTF8&s=books
No BS, and much cheaper than a seminar - and Loftis' advice is better/safer than what most seminars advise.
Remeber, if you place a lien on a property and the owner learns of it, he can send a property tax bill to you for the % that you are liening. It is a good way to get someone to take a tax lien off your own house should one show up.
I have a lot of experience in the factoring business. You really need to have a quick check with a lawyer just to understand the relevant statutes in your particular jurisdiction. (Shoudln't take more than a half hour or less to explain it).
But in general, a lien does not automatically transfer ownership of property to the lienholder. Instead, it simply evidences that the leinholder has a superior security interest to the asset against all other parties, so that it cannot be sold by the original owner.
Once the lienholder forecloses on the property under law or in accordance with the original owner's contract obligations, then the lienholder takes title and is free to sell the asset without the approval of the original owner.
But you can't just make an offer to pay the taxes and take the property from the owner unless the taxing authority has first foreclosed and taken title.