Genesee County Tax Auction: Rounds, Fees, and Deed Process

The Genesee County tax auction is an online sale of tax-foreclosed properties run by the County Treasurer each fall through the Tax-Sale.info platform. For 2026, three sales are scheduled: a minimum bid sale on September 3, a re-offer sale on September 25 for parcels where the first sale didn’t finalize, and a no-reserve sale on October 30.¹ You can bid from anywhere with an internet connection, but the rules change between rounds, the final price is more than your bid, and the property comes with no guarantees of any kind.

The Three Rounds and How They Differ

Genesee County runs three separate sales under different rules. Knowing which round you’re in determines how you bid and how much risk you’re taking.

First Round: Minimum Bid Sale

The September 3, 2026 sale is a minimum bid auction. Each parcel’s starting price reflects the delinquent taxes, accumulated interest, administrative fees, and legal costs from the foreclosure. You cannot bid below that floor.

Bidding uses a proxy system similar to eBay. You enter the maximum you’re willing to pay, and the platform bids the minimum needed to keep you in the lead, up to your cap.² Set a max of $10,000 against a competing bid of $6,000, and you win at $6,100, not $10,000.

There are two phases. Advance bidding opens about 30 days before the auction; during this phase you can place, raise, lower, or delete your maximum, and you cannot see other bids. On auction day, active bidding runs from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EDT. The current high bid becomes visible, you can see whether you’ve been outbid, and you can raise your maximum, but you can no longer lower or delete it.² When the timer expires, the high bidder wins and gets a confirmation email.

Re-Offer Sale

On September 25, 2026, parcels where the first-round winner failed to complete payment go back up under the same minimum bid rules. This round exists because a share of first-round winners don’t follow through.

Second Round: No-Reserve Sealed Bid

The October 30, 2026 sale is the one bargain hunters watch. Parcels still unsold are offered with no minimum and no reserve.³ The format is sealed-bid: you submit one best-and-final offer during the bidding window, with no live competition and no chance to adjust.⁴ Properties that reach this stage often have issues that scared off first-round buyers, so your diligence has to be sharper, not looser.

Registering to Bid

Registration happens through Tax-Sale.info and requires a valid government-issued photo ID and the auctioneer’s registration form with your name, address, and contact details.

One legal rule disqualifies many would-be bidders. Under MCL 211.78m, you must provide proof of payment of any property taxes owed on property in the same local tax collecting unit before the county will convey the deed.⁵ The restriction extends to anyone listed on the deed, anyone paying for the property, and anyone assisting the bidder.⁶ Using a friend or relative as a straw buyer gets everyone involved banned.

If you’re buying through a business, bring entity documents such as Articles of Organization or a Certificate of Good Standing. The name on your registration becomes the name on the deed. Getting it wrong is expensive to fix later.

Tax-Sale.info places a $1,000 hold on a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit card at registration. It isn’t a charge, but it counts against your available credit for roughly 30 days. The hold only becomes a charge if you win a parcel and fail to pay.⁴

What You’ll Actually Pay

Your winning bid is not the final price. The county and auctioneer add several charges on top:

Buyer’s premium: 10% of the winning bid.
Current-year property taxes: Summer taxes for the current year are added to your total.
Deed recording fee: A flat $30 charged by the Genesee County Register of Deeds.

Win a parcel at $5,000 and you’ll owe at least $5,530 before current-year taxes are added in.⁶ The recording fee is flat regardless of document length.⁷ Budget for these extras before you bid. Winning and then discovering you can’t cover the total costs you the $1,000 deposit and can get you banned.

Paying and Getting the Deed

Winners receive an email linking to the checkout system, where they download the required paperwork. That documentation must be notarized and submitted within five business days after the sale ends.⁶ Miss the deadline and you forfeit both the property and your security deposit, and the county may ban you from future sales.

Once payment clears and paperwork is accepted, the county issues a deed vesting fee simple title in the buyer’s name.⁵ The deed is recorded with the Genesee County Register of Deeds and the original is mailed to you afterward. The full process takes several weeks.

Due Diligence Before You Bid

Every property is sold as-is, with no warranty of any kind.⁶ The county and auctioneer rarely know a property’s physical condition, and in many cases no one has been inside the structure. You are not authorized to enter any building without the seller’s permission, and attempting to do so is trespassing. Some treasurers will open structures on request, but don’t count on it.

Before auction day, drive by the property, check zoning and code violation history with the county or municipality, search for environmental concerns, and order a title search. A professional title search runs a few hundred dollars and can reveal encumbrances or boundary issues the listing won’t mention. Floodplains, demolition orders, and environmental contamination can turn a bargain into a money pit, and the county has no obligation to tell you about any of it.

Property listings appear on the Genesee County Treasurer’s website and the Tax-Sale.info portal as each sale date approaches. Each parcel is identified by its Parcel Identification Number and legal description.

Title Problems After You Win

Owning the property and having marketable title are two different things. The deed from the county clears prior liens, but most title insurance companies won’t issue a policy on a tax-foreclosed property based on the auction deed alone. Without title insurance, selling the property or getting a mortgage on it becomes difficult.

The fix is a quiet title action in the circuit court for the county where the property sits.⁸ To qualify, you must have held the property for at least one year and made improvements to it. If the court grants the motion, the order bars all other persons from claiming an interest, declares your title marketable, and opens the door to title insurance. Attorney fees typically run $2,000 to $5,000. Factor that into your total before bidding.

If You Are a Former Owner, Not a Bidder

If your property is being sold and the sale price exceeds the delinquent taxes and fees owed, you may be entitled to the surplus, but only if you file a notarized Notice of Intention to Claim (Michigan Treasury Form 5743) with the foreclosing governmental unit by July 1 in the year of foreclosure.⁹ The notice must go by certified mail with return receipt requested, or by personal service. After the sale, only claimants who filed that notice may file a motion in circuit court, and only between February 1 and May 15 of the year following the sale.¹⁰ Miss either deadline and the right to surplus proceeds is permanently gone.

1
Genesee County Treasurer. Genesee County Treasurer
2
Tax-Sale.info. Online Sales
3
Michigan Department of Treasury. Frequently Asked Questions – Tax Foreclosed Real Property Auctions
4
Tax-Sale.info. Online Second-Round Sales
5
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.78m – The General Property Tax Act
6
Tax-Sale.info. Frequently Asked Questions
7
Genesee County, MI. Fee Schedule
8
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.79a – The General Property Tax Act
9
Michigan Department of Treasury. Notice of Intention to Claim Interest in Foreclosure Sales Proceeds
10
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.78t – The General Property Tax Act