Sell a House with Delinquent Taxes
The short answer.
Every state runs a clock, but the length differs. In Florida a certificate holder can apply for a tax deed after two years under § 197.502. Ohio forecloses delinquent parcels or sells tax certificates under Chapter 5721, with redemption until confirmation. Michigan's treasurer foreclosure under MCL 211.78a ends redemption on the March 31 after judgment. You can sell until the deed issues.
InTym Properties buys houses with delinquent property taxes nationwide. Tax certificate sold, tax deed application filed, auction date set: the payoff comes out of the proceeds at closing and you keep the remaining equity. Written offer usually within 48 hours. Email hello@intymproperties.com or call/text (650) 540-1854.
Certificate sold, lien foreclosed, forfeiture clock running. Equity captured before the gavel.
†every offer signed · proof of funds on request · no obligation, in writing
How it works.
- 01
Tell InTym Properties where the clock is
Two minutes. Taxes just delinquent, certificate already sold, or a tax deed application filed: each stage is priced differently and all three can sell.
- 02
Read the offer
Within 48 hours, signed. The payoff to the tax collector is a line item in the math, paid from proceeds at closing, not out of your pocket.
- 03
Close before the auction
Licensed title company. The title company pays the tax collector, the certificates are redeemed, and the remaining equity is yours.
Get your written offer.
How your offer gets built.
Value, repairs, costs, margin: the same lines your written offer is built on:
- ARV (fixed-up value)
- $285,000
- repairs
- −$51,500
- InTym Properties' costs
- −$28,500
- InTym Properties' margin
- −$17,000
- your offer
- = $188,000
illustrative · your offer uses your house, your comps, your repairs
Delinquent Taxes / Tax Deed in Broward County.
Florida does not foreclose on a house for unpaid property taxes the way a lender forecloses a mortgage; the whole process runs under Chapter 197 of the Florida Statutes, and the clock matters more than the amount. Taxes come due November 1 and go delinquent April 1, accruing 18 percent per year (§ 197.172). On or before June 1 the tax collector sells a tax certificate on the property, online in Broward, where investors bid the interest rate down from the 18 percent maximum (§§ 197.402, 197.432). Then two quiet, expensive years: you can redeem any time by paying the face amount plus interest and a 5 percent minimum charge, and every month the payoff grows (§ 197.472). Once two years have elapsed from that April 1, the certificate holder can file a tax deed application under § 197.502. The clerk then publishes notice for four consecutive weeks and mails certified notice to the owner (§§ 197.512, 197.522) before a public auction under § 197.542. Redemption ends when the deed is issued; if the winning bid exceeded the opening bid, the surplus goes first to recorded liens, then to the former owner, who must file a claim with the clerk within 120 days (§ 197.582). A homestead exemption does not stop the sale; it only raises the opening bid by half the assessed value. The point: you own the property until the deed issues, which means you can sell the whole time, and a voluntary sale captures the equity above the payoff that an auction starting at the debt amount does not.
Delinquent taxes in Idaho.
Idaho runs the same consequence through a different machine: there is no private certificate sale, because the county itself takes the property. Under Idaho Code § 63-1001 a tax delinquency acts as a sale of the property to the county tax collector in trust, accruing interest at 1 percent per month. If the delinquency is not redeemed within three years, the county must issue a tax deed under § 63-1005, after certified-mail notice to the record owner and parties in interest. Ada, Canyon, Twin Falls, and Bonneville counties all run this process. The practical math mirrors Florida's: the delinquency compounds at a statutory rate, the clock ends with a deed you cannot redeem against, and you own the property, and can sell it, until that deed issues. A cash sale pays the county out of the proceeds at closing through a licensed Idaho title company, and the equity above the payoff stays yours.
Statutes cited above: Idaho Legislature: Idaho Statutes
Delinquent taxes in Ohio.
Ohio gives the county two roads to your house, and both end at a foreclosure. First the delinquent land list: unpaid taxes are certified delinquent and published, and if they stay unpaid a year the state institutes foreclosure under R.C. 5721.10, a court action that ends in a sheriff's sale. Alternatively the county treasurer may sell a tax certificate on the lien under R.C. 5721.32 or 5721.33; Cuyahoga County sells certificates in bulk negotiated sales, and the certificate holder can file foreclosure once the lien has gone unredeemed twelve months. Ohio lets you redeem, or enter a redemption payment plan under R.C. 5721.38, right up until the court confirms the foreclosure sale. County land reutilization corporations run a third track on abandoned parcels. Through all of it you own the property until the decree and confirmation, which means you can sell the whole time: a voluntary sale pays the taxes and costs out of proceeds and captures the equity an auction bid would not.
Statutes cited above: Ohio Laws: Ohio Revised Code
Delinquent taxes in Michigan.
Michigan runs the longest runway and the hardest wall, and there is no certificate sale. Delinquent taxes are returned to the county treasurer on March 1 of the year after they are due, picking up a 4% administration fee plus 1% interest a month. If they stay unpaid, the property forfeits to the county treasurer the following March 1, a $175 fee attaches, and the foreclosing governmental unit petitions the circuit court for foreclosure under MCL 211.78a and following sections. Judgment of foreclosure comes the next March, and redemption rights expire March 31 after judgment, absolute, with no redemption afterward; the property goes to auction in the fall. Since the Michigan Supreme Court's Rafaeli decision and the 2020 amendments, a former owner can claim the sale surplus, but only by filing a notarized notice of intent by the July 1 after foreclosure under MCL 211.78t; miss it and the equity is gone. You own, and can sell, the house through the whole runway: a voluntary sale pays the treasurer at closing and keeps the equity the timeline would take.
Statutes cited above: Michigan Legislature: Michigan Compiled Laws
“A tax deed auction starts at the debt. A voluntary sale captures the equity above it. Timing is the whole game.”
InTym Properties
Questions.
How long before the county sells my house for unpaid property taxes in Florida?
The minimum runway is about two and a half years from the first missed payment. Taxes go delinquent April 1, a tax certificate sells on or before June 1, and under Fla. Stat. § 197.502 the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed only after two years have elapsed since that April 1. Publication and notice add roughly one to two more months before the auction.
Can I sell my house after a tax certificate has been sold on it?
Yes. You own the property until the tax deed is actually issued, which means you can sell the entire time. At closing, the title company pays the tax collector everything owed out of the proceeds, the certificate is redeemed, and you keep the remaining equity.
What is a Florida tax certificate sale?
When property taxes go unpaid past April 1, the county tax collector auctions a tax certificate on the property on or before June 1 (Fla. Stat. §§ 197.402, 197.432). The investor who buys it pays your delinquent taxes and earns interest, up to 18 percent per year, until you redeem it.
Can I get my house back after a Florida tax deed sale?
No. The right to redeem ends once the tax deed is issued to the buyer (§ 197.472). If the auction price exceeded the opening bid, you can file a claim for the surplus proceeds, which the clerk holds and disburses under § 197.582 within 120 days of the surplus notice, but the property itself is gone.
Does a homestead exemption stop a tax deed sale?
No. Homestead shields a primary residence from most creditors, but not from unpaid property taxes. Homestead status only raises the opening bid at the auction: under § 197.542 it must include an amount equal to one-half of the property's assessed value.
How fast can you close when a tax deed auction is scheduled?
As little as 7 days if title work supports it. Tell InTym Properties the sale date early: the payoff to the tax collector is a line item in the written offer, and the title company handles redemption at closing.
How does Ohio collect delinquent property taxes?
Two roads, both ending in foreclosure. Unpaid taxes go on the county's delinquent land list and the state can institute foreclosure under R.C. 5721.10, or the treasurer can sell a tax certificate under R.C. 5721.32 or 5721.33, Cuyahoga sells them in bulk, and the certificate holder can foreclose once the lien has run unredeemed twelve months. Under R.C. 5721.38 you can redeem, or enter a payment plan, until the court confirms the sale; you can sell the whole time.
How does Michigan collect delinquent property taxes?
Through the county treasurer, with an absolute end. Taxes delinquent on March 1 of the year after they are due pick up a four percent fee plus one percent monthly interest, forfeit the following March 1 with a $175 fee, and are foreclosed in circuit court under MCL 211.78a; redemption ends March 31 after judgment. Since Rafaeli, a former owner can claim surplus proceeds only by filing notice by the July 1 after foreclosure under MCL 211.78t.
InTym Properties also handles.
Sell your house fast in Florida or Idaho.
Get your written offer.
Every offer signed. No obligation, in writing, usually within 48 hours.
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Reviewed October 15, 2026 · InTym Properties · Nationwide