UPDATED 12-04-2020
Property taxes on a real estate parcel must be delinquent for the prior year's first installment, or older before that parcel is declared eligible for tax sale. Grant County last held a tax sale on September 2020, and plans to hold the next tax sale with an exact date yet to be determined for 2021. A list of those parcels that will be eligible for the 2021 tax sale will be published three times in local newspapers after parcels have been certified as eligible in July 2021. At the point that a parcel is declared eligible for tax sale, all delinquent taxes, as well as a Tax Sale Fee, must be paid in order to remove the parcel from the tax sale. When a parcel goes to tax sale, however, the minimum bid that is required to purchase the parcel will be all of the delinquent taxes, plus the amount for the current tax year.
A winning bidder at the tax sale is actually buying a certificate of lien on the parcel, which entitles the buyer to request the court to issue a tax deed to the property within 180 days after the one-year redemption period has expired. There are some requirements that must be met in order for the court to grant this request. Please consult with an attorney to determine what these requirements are. After the requirements are met, all liens, including mortgage liens, but not including state or Federal tax liens, are removed from the parcel and the property will be transferred according to the directions of the tax sale lien holder. The Treasurer can only sell lien certificates at the annual tax sale, and not at any other time. Once bought from the Treasurer they may, however, be transferred between individual holders at any time.
During the redemption period, the lien buyer has no right to enter the property or make any changes to the property. Those rights are granted at the time that the court transfers the deed, as described above. The owner of the property during the redemption period continues to have the right to demolish buildings or take any other legally permissible action that he or she wishes to take.
Additional information can be found by visiting the SRI website at sriservices.com.