Course · Lesson 1 of 8
What you're actually buying
Tell a tax certificate from a tax deed, and know which one you want.
Florida sells two different things that people call the same name. A tax certificate is a lien. You pay someone's unpaid property tax, and you earn interest if they redeem. The Tax Collector sells these on or before June 1 each year. A tax deed is the property itself, sold by the Clerk of Court after a certificate holder applies.
One is a loan against land. The other is ownership. The research is completely different, so decide which business you're in before you fund an account.
Why I work on the deed side
Tax deeds are how I built my holdings. I ended up with land I can use or sell, not an interest payment. That also means every problem with the land is now mine, which is what the rest of this course is for.
Sold as is
The St. Johns County Clerk says tax deeds are sold as is, on a buyer beware basis. Nobody at the clerk's office will tell you whether a parcel is any good. Their job is to run the sale. Yours is to know what you're bidding on.
Do this now
Write one sentence on why you want deeds and not certificates. If you can't, stop here and work that out first.
Check yourself
Who sells a tax deed in Florida?
The Clerk of Court. The Tax Collector sells tax certificates.
What do you get if a certificate's owner redeems?
Your money back with interest. You don't get the property.