Grundy County, IA tax sales
How tax lien certificate sales work in Grundy County, seat of Grundy Center: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 29, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Iowa tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Grundy County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Grundy County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June at 9:00 a.m. The county states: "The annual tax sale is held the third Monday in June at 9:00 a.m. Any delinquency must be offered for sale at the Regular or Public Bidder Tax Sale." For 2026 the Treasurer set the sale for Monday, June 15, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. An adjourned sale may be held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain unsold.
- Next expected
- on the third Monday in June, 2027 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Registration and deposit
Register online at GovEase. The Treasurer states "Register online at www.govease.com No mail or email registrations will be accepted." For 2026, registration opened Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CST and closed Friday, June 5, 2026, with all steps completed by 5:00 p.m. Registration requires a non-refundable $45 fee paid by ACH or e-check, an online W-9, acknowledgement of GovEase payment instructions, and, if applicable, an Iowa Secretary of State certificate of existence or designation of agent plus a verified statement of trade name filed with the Grundy County Recorder. Bidders must be 18 or older as of the sale date. GovEase bidder support is (769) 208-5050, ext 2, or [email protected].
Bidding is online only. The Treasurer runs the sale from the Treasurer's office but takes bids through GovEase: "Bidders will place their bids online. The auction site can be accessed by going to www.govease.com If you wish to attend the sale in person, you must supply your own computer. Wireless internet access will be available for bidders using their own laptop. Live bids will not be accepted." Bidding is the Iowa bid-down-ownership method: each parcel opens at a 100% undivided interest and bids step down in whole percentage points from 99% to 1%, with ties resolved by random selection. Grundy County does not use batches. Pre-bids can be uploaded before the sale but are not applied until 9:00 a.m. on sale day. Payment is due immediately after the sale and includes delinquent taxes, special assessments, interest, collection fees, publishing costs, and a $20 certificate fee per certificate. Redemption carries 2% per month on the certificate amount and on recorded subsequent tax payments, with each fraction of a month counted as a whole month. Parcels flagged with an asterisk on the published list are public bidder items. A separate Public Nuisance Tax Sale is held in person at the Grundy County Courthouse on the third Monday in June at 10:30 a.m. Subsequent tax payments are made through the Iowa treasurers portal after registering the buyer tax ID at the state tax auction site.
Register on GovEaseFrom lien to deed
- Run by
- County Treasurer
- Frequency
- none
- Typical timing
- Iowa holds no tax deed auction. The treasurer makes out a treasurer's deed to the certificate holder immediately after 90 days have expired from completed service of the notice of expiration of the right of redemption, once the holder returns the certificate and pays the deed and recording fees.
There is nothing for an investor to bid on at the deed stage in Iowa. The only auction is the June certificate sale. The certificate holder must return the certificate of purchase and remit the deed and recording fees within 90 calendar days after the redemption period expires, or the treasurer cancels the certificate.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Two routes reach parcels after the June sale. Parcels that remain unsold for want of bidders are carried to adjourned sales, which the treasurer sets at intervals of not more than two months until the next annual sale. Separately, certificates struck to the county at the public bidder sale may be assigned by the county for the total amount due on the date of assignment, or for a compromised amount, under a written agreement filed with the treasurer and a 10 dollar assignment transaction fee. Ask the county treasurer which county-held certificates are available for assignment.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Grundy County
- Lori K. Kruse is the Grundy County Treasurer as of the 2026 sale cycle, per both the county site and the signed tax sale notice.
- Tax department line is 319-824-3108; the office fax listed on the tax sale terms is 319-824-6358. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
- Delinquent notices go out to owners with unpaid taxes as of November 1 and April 30. Delinquencies still open on May 1 draw a processing fee and are advertised for the June sale.
- The delinquent tax list is published in The Grundy Register. For 2026 the county said publication ran the week of June 3, with parcels viewable on the auction site no later than Monday, June 1.
- The tax sale list PDF is posted under Treasurer, About Property Tax as the Tax Sale Publication List link, and the URL carries the sale year, so it changes each cycle.
- Certificates do not convey title. The 90-day notice of right of redemption may be issued after one year and nine months from a regular tax sale, or after nine months for a public bidder sale. The Treasurer's tax sale deed fee is $25 per parcel.
- Certificates are assignable by endorsement with a $100 assignment transaction fee, and the assignment is not valid until the Treasurer posts it to the county system.
- If a certificate holder has not filed an affidavit of service within three years of the sale, the Treasurer cancels the sale from the county system and no refund is issued.
Iowa statewide rules
- Minimum return
- No statutory minimum return; what you earn is set by the share of ownership taken at the sale
- Redemption
- A parcel may be redeemed at any time before the right of redemption expires. After one year and nine months from the date of sale, the certificate holder may serve a notice of expiration of the right of redemption on the person in possession, the person in whose name the parcel is taxed, and every mortgagee, contract vendor, recorded lessor, and other party of record. The right of redemption then ends 90 days after that service is complete, which means the affidavit of service has been filed with the county treasurer. Three shortened tracks exist: nine months from a public bidder sale under section 446.18, and three months from an abandoned-property or public nuisance sale under section 446.19A or 446.19B. After the treasurer delivers the deed, redemption is possible only through an equitable action in district court, and only by a person who could have redeemed during the 90-day window.
- Surplus proceeds
- No surplus arises. The deed conveys the parcel to the certificate holder rather than selling it to the highest bidder, so there are no excess proceeds to distribute. Where the winning bid was less than 100 percent, the deed conveys only that undivided percentage interest in the parcel.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Grundy County, Iowa sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Grundy County follows Iowa's tax lien state system.
When is the Grundy County tax certificate sale?
- Annual sale on the third Monday in June at 9:00 a.m. The county states: "The annual tax sale is held the third Monday in June at 9:00 a.m. Any delinquency must be offered for sale at the Regular or Public Bidder Tax Sale." For 2026 the Treasurer set the sale for Monday, June 15, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. An adjourned sale may be held on any business day after the annual sale when bidders are present and parcels remain unsold.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does Grundy County hold tax deed sales?
- none. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
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.
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