Tax liens offer guaranteed interest rates and potential property acquisition. Freddie calculates returns, redemption timelines, and the real numbers behind tax lien investing.
Dan White, 20-year fix-and-flip veteran in Northern Virginia, used FreeDealCalc to analyze a $130,000 wholetail opportunity in under 5 minutes. No spreadsheet. No paid software. Just Freddie.


"I've been flipping houses for 20 years and I built this tool because nothing free was actually good enough. Freddie does what I used to do with spreadsheets — but in seconds, for free, for every investor who needs it."
A buyer who purchases this property as a wholetail deal undertakes all renovation work at their own direction, cost, and risk. The seller makes no representations regarding property condition and all sales are as-is. Buyer is responsible for all due diligence, inspections, and compliance with local codes and regulations.
When a property owner doesn't pay property taxes, the county sells the tax debt as a certificate to investors. You pay the back taxes, the county is made whole, and you hold a lien on the property. The owner must repay you with interest (set by state law) or you can eventually foreclose.
Interest rates are set by state law and vary significantly: Arizona 16%, Florida 18%, Illinois 36% (per 6-month period), Iowa 24%, New Jersey 18%. The catch is that competitive auctions often drive bidding that reduces your effective yield — sometimes significantly.
Most tax lien auctions are competitive — either bid down the interest rate you'll accept or bid a premium over face value. In bid-down-interest auctions, you might accept 5% interest instead of the statutory 18% to win. In over-the-counter sales, you can buy leftover liens at face value with full statutory interest.
If the owner doesn't redeem within the redemption period (6 months to 3 years depending on state), you can foreclose and potentially acquire the property for just the back tax amount plus costs — often far below market value. This is the home run scenario that attracts investors to tax liens.
Environmental contamination, structural issues, title complications, liens senior to yours, and property values that don't support the taxes owed. Also, many tax lien holders never successfully foreclose because the property gets redeemed — you just earn the interest and move on.
More passive than direct property ownership but not entirely passive. You need to research liens before bidding, track redemption deadlines, file for foreclosure if not redeemed, and manage any acquired properties. But compared to active real estate investing, it's relatively low-management.
Free forever. No credit card. No spreadsheet. Just Freddie.