Tax sale glossary
Lands available for taxes
A Florida list of parcels that received no bid at a tax deed sale. The county has a 90-day first-purchase right; after that any buyer can purchase the parcel from the Clerk. Unsold parcels escheat to the county after three years.
Go deeper: Over-the-counter tax liens.
Related terms
- Tax deed
- The instrument that conveys a property sold at a tax deed auction. Winning a tax deed can give you ownership, but it does not come with clean, insurable title, so a quiet title action is often needed before resale.
- Escheat
- The transfer of unclaimed property to the government. In Florida, a tax deed parcel that stays unsold on the Lands Available list escheats to the county three years after it was first offered for sale.
- ACH (bank transfer)
- Automated Clearing House: the electronic bank-to-bank transfer most auction sites use to collect deposits and final payments. ACH is not instant. Counties typically require your deposit to clear several business days before the sale, so funding late can lock you out of bidding.
- Bid-down-interest
- A lien-sale auction format where bidders compete by accepting a lower interest rate rather than paying more. The auction starts at the statutory maximum and the rate is bid down; the lowest rate wins. Florida uses this method, starting at 18 percent.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
See the term in a real sale
Open a state to watch these concepts play out in an actual sale calendar and rule set.