Wayne County tax sales, Michigan

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Wayne County is the exception in Michigan: it does not use the state's contracted vendor. The Treasurer runs its own online auction in two rounds, a September minimum bid round priced at all delinquent taxes, penalties and interest, and an October round where unsold properties are re-offered at a fixed minimum bid built to cover the Treasurer's foreclosure and auction expenses. The Treasurer reported median opening bids of $7,500 for September 2026 and $900 for October 2026, and about 3,700 properties foreclosed in the 2026 cycle, nearly half of them vacant lots. Government buyers take their right of first refusal before the public rounds, and winning bidders receive a quit claim deed that the Treasurer records within 30 days of closing, so title work sits on the buyer's list after the sale. A foreclosed owner cannot buy the property back at auction for less than the taxes, fees and interest outstanding at foreclosure.

Selling office: Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree, as foreclosing governmental unit

Next sale: The 2026 rounds have run: September 2026 minimum bid auction and October 2026 re-offer. The next cycle's dated rounds are not yet published. Wayne auctions are held in September and October of the foreclosure year per the Treasurer's Claims and Auctions page. The Treasurer has posted the sold list for the 2026 September auction; a 2026 October sold list was not posted on the page as read. Auction questions go to WCTAuction@waynecountymi.gov.

About 3,700 properties were foreclosed in the 2026 cycle, per the Treasurer's office, nearly half of them vacant lots. Former owners and interest holders who foreclosed in March 2026 had to file the Form 5743 notice of intent to claim remaining proceeds by July 1, 2026; the Treasurer answers by January 31, 2027.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	The 2026 rounds have run: September 2026 minimum bid auction and October 2026 re-offer. The next cycle's dated rounds are not yet published
Rounds	September: the minimum bid is all delinquent taxes, penalties and interest. October: unsold properties are re-offered at a fixed minimum bid that includes the Treasurer's foreclosure and auction expenses. In 2026, 99.3 percent of the October listings had already been listed in September. Reported median opening bids: $7,500 (September 2026) and $900 (October 2026).
Registration	Online before bidding, at waynecountytreasurermi.com: create the account, read the Auction Bidding Rules and the Auction Affidavit, upload an image of a driver's license (front and back) or passport, and e-sign both documents.
Deposits	$1,000 to bid on one property, $10,000 for more than one property, and $25,000 for a premium property, each plus a $50 non-refundable registration fee. Deposits are paid through JPMorgan Chase by ACH (no fee) or card (a 2.49 percent bank fee); prepaid cards are not accepted, and verification can take up to two business days. Unsuccessful bidders are refunded within 21 business days of the close (October non-winners within 15 days).
Payment	Final payment is due within 72 hours of the auction closing. For purchases totaling over $100,000, 25 percent of the purchase price is due as a non-refundable down payment within the same 72 hours, unless the deposit already satisfies it.
The deed	The Treasurer records a quit claim deed within 30 days of the auction closing, on the deed information the winner supplies. The property is sold as is.
Format	Online only, on the Treasurer's own auction site: The Treasurer's own online auction at waynecountytreasurermi.com (Wayne does not use tax-sale.info)
Selling office	Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree, as foreclosing governmental unit

Sources: Wayne County Treasurer, Claims and Auctions. Wayne County Treasurer's Auction, FAQ. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research Wayne County parcels before you bid

A sale list gives you the parcels, the date, and the opening terms. It does not give you the owner, the value, or the rest of the picture: liens, foreclosure status, and parcel history. PropertyRadar is the data platform for that layer. It carries owner records, assessed and market values, foreclosure and tax data, and property history for parcels across Wayne County, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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How Michigan tax foreclosure sales work

Delinquent, then forfeited. Unpaid taxes are returned delinquent to the county treasurer on March 1 of the year after they were levied. If they are still unpaid a year later, the property is forfeited to the treasurer on March 1 (Section 211.78g), with forfeiture fees and interest added; Oakland County's page states the shape of it: a $235 minimum fee and interest at 18 percent per year running back to the delinquency date. Forfeiture is not yet foreclosure: the owner can still pay and clear the property.
Foreclosure is a court case, and it ends redemption. The foreclosing governmental unit, in these counties the county treasurer, petitions the circuit court (by June 15), and after the show cause and foreclosure hearings the court enters judgment. The owner and interest holders can redeem until March 31 following the judgment; on April 1, title vests absolutely in the FGU (Section 211.78k). The foreclosure judgment cancels prior liens by court order, with limited exceptions. After vesting there is no redemption, by anyone, at any price.
Governments pick first. Before any public auction, the property runs the right of first refusal sequence in Section 211.78m(1): the State may buy by the first Tuesday in July at the greater of the minimum bid or fair market value, then the local units where the property sits, then the county or its land bank. What reaches the public auction is what government buyers passed on.
Auctions run in rounds, and the round sets the floor. Sales are held between the third Tuesday in July and the first Tuesday in November, on at least 30 days published notice, and may be held online (Section 211.78m). At the first offering the minimum bid is all delinquent taxes, interest, penalties and fees. A later offering, held at least 28 days after a prior sale, may carry no minimum bid, though the FGU can set a reasonable opening bid to cover costs. Most counties in this set sell through the state's contracted vendor, Title Check, LLC at tax-sale.info, in three rounds: a minimum bid auction, a minimum bid re-offer, and a no reserve sealed bid round. Wayne and Macomb counties run their own online auctions instead, and Washtenaw sells on Auction.com.
Payment is fast, and the deed follows. The statute makes the FGU require full payment at the close of the sale day or by a date not more than 21 days after the sale; vendor terms are shorter (Title Check: 5 business days; Wayne: 72 hours; Macomb: by 4:00 PM the next day). The buyer must also show the taxes owed on the property at the time of sale are paid within 21 days, or the sale is canceled. The FGU then issues the deed under Section 211.78m. There is no redemption tail behind a Michigan tax deed; the homework is the property itself, sold as is.

How bidding works in Wayne County

Register online at the Treasurer's auction site before bidding: account, the Bidding Rules and Affidavit read and e-signed, government ID uploaded, deposit paid and verified. Do not leave it to the last day; deposit verification can take up to two business days, and an unverified deposit means no bidding.

The deposit gate is real. Title Check takes no bids without the $1,000 hold posted at least 48 hours ahead; Wayne verifies deposits over up to two business days; Macomb closes registration the day before. An unfunded account on auction morning is a spectator account.
Payment clocks are short and enforced. Five business days on tax-sale.info, 72 hours in Wayne, 4:00 PM the next day in Macomb. A missed clock cancels the sale, and the statute backs the FGU on it. Fund the full bid before the round opens, not after it closes.

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Wayne County	$1,000 (one property), $10,000 (more than one) or $25,000 (premium property), each plus a $50 non-refundable registration fee, paid through JPMorgan Chase. ACH carries no fee; cards add a 2.49 percent bank fee; prepaid cards are refused.
Payment, Wayne County	In full within 72 hours of the auction closing. Purchases over $100,000 in total require 25 percent down, non-refundable, within the same 72 hours unless the deposit covers it.
What is sold	The property itself, by deed from the foreclosing governmental unit after a completed court foreclosure. Michigan sells no tax liens to the public, and there is no certificate stage for a buyer to hold.
Minimum bid (first round)	All delinquent taxes, interest, penalties and fees, under Section 211.78m (plus sale costs the FGU includes). A final round, held at least 28 days after a prior sale, may carry no minimum bid; the FGU may still set a reasonable opening bid to cover its costs, and vendor catalogs print a minimum per lot.
Redemption	None after the sale, because redemption already ended before it: owners may redeem until March 31 following the foreclosure judgment, and title vests in the FGU on April 1 (Section 211.78k). Nothing a buyer does at auction reopens it.
Title	A deed issued under Section 211.78m. The foreclosure judgment cancels prior liens by court order, with limited exceptions, but the deed is not a title policy and properties are sold as is; Wayne County issues a quit claim deed. Condition, access, occupancy and zoning remain the buyer's homework.
Costs on top of the bid	The payment clock and any platform terms the vendor publishes, deed and recording charges, and the current taxes owed on the property, which the buyer must show paid within 21 days of the sale or the sale is canceled.

After the October round

Properties that clear neither round stay with the Treasurer and move through the county's disposition channels under the Section 211.78m(1) sequence, including offers to the State, the City of Detroit and other local units, and the land bank. The Treasurer publishes sold lists for its rounds on the Claims and Auctions page; watch it for any later offerings rather than expecting a third public round.

Before you bid

Know which round you are in. The minimum bid round prices the full tax stack and draws the serious list; the no reserve round is a different market with different competition, and in Genesee's case no 24 bid cap. The same parcel is two different buys in two different rounds.
As is means as is. No interior access is guaranteed, occupants may be in place, and the foreclosure judgment's lien cancellation is a court order, not a title policy. Drive the property, read the catalog disclosures, and budget the cleanup.
Budget the current taxes. The buyer must show the taxes owed on the property at the time of sale are paid within 21 days, or the sale is canceled. That money is on top of the bid, and it is due fast.
Set the maximum before the sale opens. The free Max-Bid Calculator below works backwards from your resale or hold value to the highest bid you can pay, with the costs shown.

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New York tax sales · Florida tax deed sales · Texas tax sales · Pennsylvania tax sales · Georgia tax sales · North Carolina tax foreclosure sales · Ohio tax foreclosure sales · Illinois tax lien sales