I will get right to your question, but first let me clarify one point for you. In Texas the purchaser of tax defaulted property recieves what is called a tax deed or sheriff's deed. This is different than a tax lien certificate. In the case of a tax certificate, you are merely acquiring an interest in the lien which is attached to the property. In Texas you recieve an actual deed which does not have some of the warranties of a General Warranty Deed, but there is no need to foreclose on the lien like a common lienholder. If this does not make sense...just remeber that getting the deed is better then just getting a certificate showing you as a lienholder.

Generally, there are many states which are classified as tax certificates states (but Texas is not one of them) For a full discussion of investing in Tax Certificates without all the hype and crap like, "the government is dying to give these properties to you", anyone interested should see my new course which will be available in March.

Ok, now that I got that off my chest let me answer your questions. First, I told you that in Texas the winning bidder recieves a tax deed. The deed can be assigned to another party just as a regular deed can be assigned to another purchaser.

There are several ways to get copies of the tax defaulted properties which are going to sale in Texas. The easiest way is to go to the website of the one the largest collection agency/lawfirms in Texas: www.publicans.com. There you will find the lists for about 20 to 25 counties.

The next method I suggest is calling the Tax Assessor Collector for the county you are interested in. This will allow you to find out which firm handles collections and also get you in contact with people in the tax office. The establishment of connections will be very beneficial to you.

Lastly, you can always use a service like Foreclosure Listing Service. They are located in the Woodlands and have a website which can be found at most of the popular search engines, like Yahoo using key words: Foreclosure Listing Service Houston.

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking this is a game or the governement is just begging you to take these properties. Sadly, this area has become more of a marketing scam than a studied and learned effort in the law, economic, and procedural risks and aspects of buying tax defaulted property. Watch out for anyone who sounds like they are selling a 'Get Rich Quick Program'. You can make alot of money...but you have to know the RIGHT way. Sometimes the RIGHT way does not sell as easily as the late night informercial hype-filled method!

Best of Luck! Keep us posted on your success and questions!
Related link: Tax Sale Lists for Texas are Here