Sell a House With Back Taxes or a Tax Sale on the Calendar

Each state's tax-sale process is different

Indiana sells tax-lien certificates that investors can convert to deeds after a redemption period; Ohio sells tax certificates and forecloses on delinquent parcels through the county prosecutor; Michigan runs the country's largest tax-foreclosure auction through Wayne County (and similar auctions through other counties); Alabama sells tax liens annually and the original owner has up to three years to redeem. The redemption window is your sale window.

• Indiana: tax-sale certificate, ~1 year redemption before deed
• Ohio: tax-certificate sale or county foreclosure
• Michigan: 3-year delinquency before tax-foreclosure auction
• Alabama: annual tax-lien sale; up to 3 years to redeem

How payoff at closing works

The title company gets an up-to-date tax payoff (and, if applicable, the redemption amount from the lien holder) and pays it out of the closing proceeds. You sign the deed; the taxes are cleared; we take title. Any equity left after taxes, the mortgage, and other liens comes to you.

When this is the right call

If the taxes plus the mortgage plus any other liens are less than the property's as-is value, selling now usually beats waiting for the tax-sale clock to run out. If you are already past the redemption period or the lien investor has converted the certificate to a deed, you may not have the property to sell anymore — that's the first thing we check.

How Tax lien & tax sale sales work in Indiana

Indiana uses a judicial foreclosure process that typically runs 9 to 12 months from the first missed payment to sheriff's sale, with a redemption window before the sale is confirmed. For tax lien & tax sale sellers specifically, that timing matters: the longer the legal window, the more flexibility you have to plan a sale instead of reacting to a court date. Indiana sellers should be aware of the state's 12-month average foreclosure window and the fact that deficiency judgments are allowed. We see tax lien & tax sale sales most often in Anderson, Gary, Hammond, Muncie, but we buy anywhere in Indiana. The mechanics of the sale itself — the offer, the inspection walk-through, and the title-company closing — stay the same across our four-state footprint, but the timeline you're working against and the line items that show up on the settlement statement can look different in Indiana than they do elsewhere, so the first thing we do on an intake call is figure out where you actually are in the Indiana process.

How Tax lien & tax sale sales work in Ohio

Ohio is a judicial foreclosure state and the process typically takes 6 to 12 months, with a sheriff's sale and a confirmation hearing before title transfers. For tax lien & tax sale sellers specifically, that timing matters: the longer the legal window, the more flexibility you have to plan a sale instead of reacting to a court date. Ohio allows deficiency judgments and the redemption period ends when the sheriff's sale is confirmed. We see tax lien & tax sale sales most often in Cleveland, Dayton, Lima, Mansfield, but we buy anywhere in Ohio. The mechanics of the sale itself — the offer, the inspection walk-through, and the title-company closing — stay the same across our four-state footprint, but the timeline you're working against and the line items that show up on the settlement statement can look different in Ohio than they do elsewhere, so the first thing we do on an intake call is figure out where you actually are in the Ohio process.

How Tax lien & tax sale sales work in Michigan

Michigan most commonly uses non-judicial foreclosure by advertisement, which typically takes 60 to 90 days to the sheriff's sale, followed by a 6-month statutory redemption period for most owner-occupied properties. For tax lien & tax sale sellers specifically, that timing matters: the longer the legal window, the more flexibility you have to plan a sale instead of reacting to a court date. Michigan's 6-month redemption period after the sheriff's sale gives sellers extra time to sell or refinance before losing title. We see tax lien & tax sale sales most often in Dearborn, Detroit, Flint, Pontiac, but we buy anywhere in Michigan. The mechanics of the sale itself — the offer, the inspection walk-through, and the title-company closing — stay the same across our four-state footprint, but the timeline you're working against and the line items that show up on the settlement statement can look different in Michigan than they do elsewhere, so the first thing we do on an intake call is figure out where you actually are in the Michigan process.

How Tax lien & tax sale sales work in Alabama

Alabama is a non-judicial foreclosure state and the process can move quickly — often 30 to 60 days from notice to sale — with a one-year statutory right of redemption after the sale. For tax lien & tax sale sellers specifically, that timing matters: the longer the legal window, the more flexibility you have to plan a sale instead of reacting to a court date. Alabama's fast non-judicial timeline means sellers should act early; the one-year post-sale redemption right is a partial safety net but does not stop the sale itself. We see tax lien & tax sale sales most often in Bessemer, Birmingham, Gadsden, but we buy anywhere in Alabama. The mechanics of the sale itself — the offer, the inspection walk-through, and the title-company closing — stay the same across our four-state footprint, but the timeline you're working against and the line items that show up on the settlement statement can look different in Alabama than they do elsewhere, so the first thing we do on an intake call is figure out where you actually are in the Alabama process.

What to have ready on the first call

When you're ready to talk through a tax lien & tax sale sale, having a few basics handy makes the first conversation much shorter. We will want the property address so we can pull county records, a rough sense of condition (we don't need a list, just "needs a roof", "lived in", "fire damage in the back bedroom" is fine), the loan balance and roughly how far behind if any, and whether anyone else is on title — a co-owner, an heir, an ex-spouse, a trust, or an estate. We do not need photos, repair estimates, an inspection, an appraisal, or a clean house. Most calls run 10–15 minutes; if a quick walk-through is the next step, we can usually have a written offer back to you within a couple of business days.