Guides
Buying land at tax sales and auctions
Short, plain guides for first-time buyers: how sales work in each state, what to check before you bid, and what happens to land nobody buys.
- Guide · Texas
How a Texas tax sale works
Auctions, usually the first Tuesday of the month · The court sets the opening bid · Owners can buy back: 180 days, or 2 years for homes and farmland - Guide · Before you bid
5 checks before you bid on land
Legal access from a road · Flood zone and liens that survive · Restrictions, then look at it - Guide · Auctions
The opening bid isn't the price
Bidding starts at the opening bid · Popular parcels get bid up · Set your maximum before the sale - Guide · Arkansas
How Arkansas state land auctions work
Sold by the Commissioner of State Lands · Sales are final: no buy-back · Limited warranty deed - Guide · Mississippi
Buying tax-forfeited land in Mississippi
Sold by the State, by application · The buy-back window has already passed · Price quoted when you apply - Guide · Second chances
What happens to land nobody bids on
Unsold land goes to the county or state · It can often be bought later · Each listing says how it is bought - Guide · New Mexico
How New Mexico tax sales work
Auctions run by the Property Tax Division · No buy-back, but 2 years to challenge the sale · Deed carries no warranty of title - Guide · Florida
Buying at a Florida tax deed sale
Sold as is · No warranty of clear title · Each county sets its own rules - Guide · Pennsylvania
How Pennsylvania tax sales work
Upset sales carry the liens · Judicial and repository sales clear them · Philadelphia: owners may redeem - Guide · California
How California tax-defaulted land sales work
Sales are final: no buy-back · Most old liens are cleared · Some taxes and easements survive