To buy tax lien properties in Mobile, AL, you register with GovEase before the county’s annual online auction, review the delinquent parcel list the Mobile County Revenue Commissioner publishes by March 30, and bid down the interest rate on the liens you want. The winning bidder pays the delinquent taxes plus a $45 administrative fee and any accrued interest, penalties, and costs, then receives a tax lien certificate. That certificate earns interest until the owner redeems, and after four years it can be converted to ownership through a court action.
What You Are Actually Buying
You are not buying the property at the auction. You are paying off someone else’s delinquent property tax bill in exchange for a certificate that entitles you to collect interest if they repay, with a long-term path to ownership if they never do.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-182 – Tax Liens Subject to Public Auction or Sale; Notice The certificate gives you no right to enter the parcel, use it, or remove anyone living there. It is a financial claim secured by real estate.
Deed restrictions, covenants, and easements attached to the property before the auction stay attached after it.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-184 – Auction Procedures; Winning Bids; No Extinguishment of Restrictions, Covenants, Etc. A tax lien purchase does not wipe the title clean.
Finding Mobile County’s Delinquent Property List
The Mobile County Revenue Commissioner publishes the list of parcels subject to the tax lien auction on its official website no later than March 30 of the auction year. Each listing shows the owner’s name, a property description, the delinquent tax years, and the total owed, including interest, penalties, fees, and costs calculated as of the auction date. The county also advertises the auction in the Call News.3Mobile County Revenue Commission. Tax Lien Sale
Each parcel has a unique parcel identification number that serves as the primary reference during bidding. Use that number to research the property before auction day. Check for existing encumbrances, environmental issues, and anything else that might affect value. Skipping this homework is where most new investors lose money.
Registering and Paying Through GovEase
Mobile County runs its tax lien auction online through GovEase. You register on the GovEase website before the auction and provide taxpayer identification information, including a completed W-9 so the county can report your interest income to the IRS. GovEase issues login credentials that tie your bids to your registered payment method.
Winning payments go through GovEase and can be made by ACH transfer, debit or credit card, or wire transfer.3Mobile County Revenue Commission. Tax Lien Sale Each lien’s total cost is the delinquent taxes plus a $45 administrative fee, along with any accrued interest, penalties, and costs.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-184 – Auction Procedures; Winning Bids; No Extinguishment of Restrictions, Covenants, Etc. Some Alabama counties also require a bank statement or balance letter showing you can cover projected purchases, so confirm Mobile County’s current proof-of-funds requirements when you register.
How the Bid-Down Interest Rate Auction Works
Bidding on each lien opens at a maximum annual interest rate of 12%, and investors compete by offering to accept lower rates. Each new bid must be lower than the one before it, and the investor willing to accept the lowest rate wins.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-184 – Auction Procedures; Winning Bids; No Extinguishment of Restrictions, Covenants, Etc. On a competitive parcel, the rate can drop all the way to zero. A lower winning rate means less return if the owner redeems, but it is the price of securing the lien over other bidders. If an online auction ends in a tie, the platform selects the winner using its own tiebreaker.
Once the platform declares you the winner, you must finalize payment for the full delinquent amount plus all fees. Fail to pay and you forfeit the lien, and the county moves to the next eligible bidder.
The Tax Lien Certificate
After payment, the Revenue Commissioner issues a tax lien certificate recording the auction date, the interest rate you bid, the property details, and the amount paid.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-187 – Tax Lien Certificate The certificate earns interest at your bid rate until the owner redeems or you foreclose. It can be sold or transferred to another investor, so the certificate itself is a tradeable asset.
Protecting Your Position in Later Years
If the same owner falls behind again the following year, a new lien for that year’s delinquency will go to auction. As the existing certificate holder, you have first right to purchase it at the same interest rate as your original certificate. You must exercise that right between five and 30 days before the next auction date.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-191 – Holder of Certificate to Have First Right to Purchase Tax Lien; Transfer of Tax Lien Certificate; Abandonment of Certificate
Miss that window and the subsequent lien goes to auction. The new winning bidder takes over your original certificate as part of the deal, your old certificate is canceled, and you receive only its redemption value. You lose your position on the property entirely.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-191 – Holder of Certificate to Have First Right to Purchase Tax Lien; Transfer of Tax Lien Certificate; Abandonment of Certificate If you plan to hold long-term, track the county’s annual delinquency notices.
Getting Paid When the Owner Redeems
To redeem, the owner pays the Revenue Commissioner the full amount on the certificate: delinquent taxes, interest at your bid rate, penalties, fees, and costs. Any statutory fees you paid in connection with the lien also get added to the redemption amount and earn interest at the same rate.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-193 – Redemption
Redemption is not limited to the original owner. Mortgage holders, judgment creditors, partial owners, and anyone else with a legal or equitable interest in the property can pay to redeem.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-193 – Redemption Often the money comes from a bank protecting its mortgage rather than the homeowner. When funds arrive, the Revenue Commissioner distributes them to you, and your involvement ends.
Taking Ownership Through Court Foreclosure
If no one redeems, you can pursue ownership, but only after a wait. You cannot take action until at least four years after the auction date, and you have until 10 years after the auction before the certificate expires and becomes void.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem and to Quiet Title
This is not a form you file at the Revenue Commissioner’s office. You file a lawsuit in Mobile County Circuit Court to foreclose the owner’s right to redeem and to quiet title. Before filing, you must hold all outstanding tax lien certificates on the parcel and pay any unsold tax liens still owed.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem and to Quiet Title
At least 30 days before filing, and no more than 180 days before, send notice of your intent to foreclose by certified mail or first-class mail to the property owner, all mortgage holders and lienholders of record, the county tax collecting official, and anyone else you reasonably believe has an interest. File an affidavit with the court proving you sent the notices.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem and to Quiet Title
If the court finds the auction was valid, proper notice was given, no one redeemed, and no one demanded a public auction of the property, the judge enters a judgment that forecloses everyone else’s redemption rights and vests fee simple title in you. The circuit clerk then executes and delivers a deed.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem and to Quiet Title Judgment cannot be granted until at least 30 days after service of the default judgment application or 90 days after filing, whichever is later.
Risks to Weigh Before You Bid
The Alabama Department of Revenue warns that neither an assignment nor a tax deed gives the holder clear title to the parcel.8Alabama Department of Revenue. Tax Delinquent Property and Land Sales The ยง40-10-197 foreclosure is meant to quiet title, but any procedural defect in the notice process or the original auction can leave the door open to a legal challenge. Foreclosure also does not extinguish easements, rights-of-way, public utility interests, governmental interests, or the rights of holders of prior tax lien certificates.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-10-197 – Action to Foreclose the Right to Redeem and to Quiet Title
Title insurance companies are generally reluctant to insure tax deed titles without a clean court judgment, and some may require additional proceedings. Without title insurance, selling to a conventional buyer or using the property as collateral becomes difficult. Budget for attorney fees and additional court costs when deciding whether the investment pencils out.
Two other situations can stall your plans. If the owner files for bankruptcy at any point while you hold the certificate, a federal automatic stay freezes your ability to foreclose or collect until the bankruptcy court lifts the stay or the case concludes.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay The lien is not wiped out, but the timeline stretches. Properties with serious environmental contamination can become liabilities rather than assets, and a deceased owner may trigger probate that delays redemption and complicates the notice requirements. The four-year minimum wait before foreclosure gives these problems plenty of time to surface. If you plan to pursue ownership rather than simply collect interest, talk to a real estate attorney before you bid.