Many online listing services are providing information on various aspects of the real estate investing industry. Whether you are searching for more traditional routes of investing or are seeking more creative investing techniques there is a site for you.   These data providers include all types of distressed properties from foreclosures to tax leins, and just about any in-between.  Some sites such as Foreclosure.com even provide information on financially distressed homeowners by listing current bankruptcy fillings.  By providing these various property types, investors can be sure to have quite the diversified real estate portfolio right at there fingertips.

One trend within the industry is the rise in popularity of the illusive tax lien.  For the knowledgeable investor, tax liens can be quite the lucrative investment.  Of course this all depends on the state in which the investor resides.  Some U.S states are more conductive to tax lien profits than others.  Some of the more fruitful states for tax lien certificate investing include Illinois, Indiana, Florida, and Arizona.  These states have certain features that make them more appealing such as optimum allotted annual interest rates.

Illinois for example allows for a staggering 36% annual interest rate in addition to an added early redemption interest rate.   Indiana and Florida follow close behind with an annual interest rate of 15% and 18% respectively.

Along the same vein as Tax liens, tax deed investing can prove to be another advantageous route to consider for the creative investor.   These tax deed properties can be purchased (and owned) for as little as the taxes owned.  Although, some properties are redeemed during a pre-determined period there is still a high return to be made.  In states such as Georgia, Texas and Delaware, the tax deed investor is awarded a redemption fee (in addition to the final bid) if the owner reclaims the property post-auction.  This fee can be as much as 25% of the initial investment.

However, the real pennies-on-the-dollar return comes when the redemption period expires and the owner has free and clear title to the property.  Depending on the amount of the final bid, the new owner can now flip the deed property and sell it for fair market value and see quite a large profit margin depending on any repairs, etc.

One reason tax-defaulted properties have been quite the investor’s pot of gold, is due to the lack in accessibility of tax lien data.  Up until now researching properties with tax liens has required many-a-trips to the county courthouse and has required referencing several different resources.   Now there are several sites that provide tax lien data along with foreclosure data and other distressed property data.  One helpful site I have come across is taxliens.com, which provides a variety of tools and resources for the diversified investor.

Whichever route an investor chooses to take, they should surely take advantage of the age of technology where an arsenal of potential profit is only a mouse click away.