The opening bid isn't the price

At a tax sale, the opening bid is where the bidding starts — not what the land will sell for.

Popular parcels get bid up, sometimes well past the opening number. Others sell right at the opening bid because nobody else showed up. And some don't sell at all, which can mean a second chance later.

Before any sale, decide your maximum for each parcel and stick to it. Where a state publishes its sale results, as Arkansas does, past prices show what similar land actually went for.