With an increasing number or Phoenix foreclosures and short sales have you ever considered buying a tax lien? 

The source of this information is from http://treasurer.maricopa.gov/research/tutorial/tutorial.htm

Tax Lien Sale Guide - Introduction

"The Tax Lien Sale provides for the payment of delinquent property taxes by an investor. The tax on the property is auctioned in open competitive bidding based on the least percent of interest to be received by the investor.

Property taxes that are delinquent at the end of December are added to any previously uncollected taxes on a parcel for the Tax Lien Sale. The sale takes place in February of each year. Please read the disclaimer before deciding to bid, and see our lien FAQ page and lien history page.

Parcels whose taxes are subject to sale will be advertised, in January, in a Maricopa County newspaper of general circulation. They are listed by sequence number. Parcels fall into 1 of 2 groups. Each group is sorted by parcel number.

The advertisement appears about three weeks before the auction and is also posted on the internet.

Copies of the newspaper are usually available for purchase at Treasurer's Office. In addition a CD of those parcels can also be purchased.

The investor is responsible for all research on the parcels available for auction. County maps for research may be obtained by visiting the Maricopa County Assessor's Office."