What can I do if there was a tax certificate sale on my home?

If there has been a tax certificate sale, you must redeem the certificate to save your home.

To redeem the certificate, you pay your county tax collector the late taxes, interest, and fees. After you pay, the tax collector reimburses the certificate holder. Then the lien against your property is removed.

Two years after the date of your delinquency, your home is at risk of sale. (The date of delinquency is when your property taxes became late.) The tax certificate holder can submit a Tax Deed Application. This allows the property to be sold at a public auction by the Clerk of Court.

This is your last chance to save the home by paying the tax debt plus accrued interest, advertising costs, and fees. You should act quickly, as the amount owed can increase rapidly.

You may be able to pay back taxes over an affordable period of at least three years through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan to keep your home.