| Each year, property taxes are due on April 1. If they remain unpaid, the county puts them into a Tax Lien Certificate Auction. |
| In May or June, the county will hold the auction. Bidders bid on a percentage of interest they are willing to accept. The winning bidder pays the late property taxes. When/If the property owner redeems (pays their late taxes), the Certificate Holder receives their original investment plus the percentage points they bid. Once a Tax Lien Certificate is issued, the certificate holder has to wait at least 2 years (but no longer than 7 years) to file an Application For Tax Deed. |
| If the property taxes remain unpaid in those years, a Certificate Auction is held each year and there are new high bidders, so there are typically multiple Certificate Holders. Any one of them can file the Application For Tax Deed, which will force the county to schedule a Tax Deed Auction for that property. |
| The starting bid of the property includes all of the property taxes owed, plus various fees from the county. If the property has a Homestead Exemption (the property owner actually lives in the home), then half of the assessed value is also added to the starting bid. |
| If there are No Bids in the 1st auction, the Certificate Holder has the option to pay the starting bid and receive a Tax Deed for the property (they would now own the property). They have 30 days in which to do this. If they do not pay, the county will schedule a 2nd auction within the next 30 days) |
| If there are No Bids in the 2nd auction, again the Certificate Holder has the option to pay the starting bid and receive a Tax Deed for the property (they would now own the property). They have 30 days in which to do this. If they do not pay, the property goes to the “Lands Available”. |
| Each county maintains a “List of Lands” or “Lands Available for Taxes” where anyone can purchase it for the amount of taxes owed, plus various fees. The property will remain on the List of Lands for 3 years before it is escheated (handed over) to the County. |
| Now the county owns the property free and clear. Typically property that made it this far in the cycle is undesirable. No one bid on it, no one wanted it. |
| If there are bids on the property in the Tax Deed Auction, the high bidder receives a Tax Deed to the property, they now own it. They are a “3rd Party Bidder”. Any amount the high bid is over the amount of the starting bid is called Excess Proceeds, Surplus or Overages. This money is due back to the property owner. |
 The website you are on (TaxAuctionSurplus.com) supplies property records that are here within the cycle. The Tax Deed Auction ended. There are successful bids with excess proceeds available to the previous property owner. Any liens that may be on the property need to be researched by you to decide if the record is worth pursuing.As a client, you can use our Liens & Owners Lookup Tool to view the research we performed. |
| Any lien holders can file a claim for that surplus within 120 days after the county mails the Surplus Notice out to the interested parties. These liens can include Mortgages, Government Fines, IRS Liens, Judgments and HOA Fees. If they do not make a timely claim, then they are barred forever from making a claim (except the IRS, they do not have a deadline) |
