Decatur County, KS tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Decatur County keeps no tax sale page and no standing bidder list. A sale becomes public when the sale bill is published ahead of the auction, so the way to track this county is to call the offices directly: the Treasurer at 785-475-8103 for what a parcel owes, the County Attorney at 785-475-2296 for whether a foreclosure case is moving, and the Sheriff's Office at 785-475-8100 for the auction date and terms.
• •The County Attorney is Steven W. Hirsch, at 104 S. Penn Avenue, Oberlin, KS 67749, phone 785-475-2296, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That office handles civil litigation on behalf of the county, which is where a tax foreclosure petition starts.
• •The Sheriff's Office is on the 4th floor of the Decatur County Courthouse, P.O. Box 89, 120 E. Hall St., Oberlin, KS 67749, phone 785-475-8100, staffed around the clock. It conducts the auction under the court's order of sale.
• •The case file and the confirmation order sit with the Clerk of the District Court on the 3rd floor of the courthouse, P.O. Box 89, 120 E. Hall St., Oberlin, phone 785-475-8107, open 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Decatur County is one of six counties in the 17th Judicial District, alongside Norton, Graham, Osborne, Phillips and Smith.
• •A sheriff's deed records with the Decatur County Register of Deeds on the 1st floor of the courthouse, P.O. Box 167, Oberlin, KS 67749, phone 785-475-8105.
• •For parcel research before bidding, the County Appraiser's office links the statewide Open Records for Kansas Appraisers search at kansasgis.org/orka and can confirm property classification, valuation and building characteristics.
• •Watch the local paper for the sale bill. The Oberlin Herald is published in the county seat at oberlinherald.com, and the county runs a Current Notices page at dccoks.org/current-notices where county announcements appear.
• •The Treasurer's office is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and links online property tax payment through kansas.gov/propertytax. Call 785-475-8103 to confirm the full delinquent balance on a parcel, including interest and costs, since that figure drives the opening bid at a foreclosure sale.
• •This is a small rural county. Oberlin is the county seat and the only town of size, with Jennings, Norcatur, Dresden, Kanona, Cedar Bluffs and Traer making up the rest. Expect farm ground and small town lots rather than a deep list of houses, and expect long gaps between foreclosure sales.

Kansas rules

Redemption

Kansas redemption has two stages, and both close before the auction. Stage one is K.S.A. 79-2401a: once the treasurer bids the parcel off to the county in September, the county holds it for three years for a homestead under section 9 of article 15 of the Kansas Constitution and for all real estate not described in K.S.A. 79-2401a(a), two years where the parcel was bid off for both delinquent taxes and special assessments, and one year for an abandoned building or structure and the land accommodating it, meaning one that has been unoccupied for at least a year with a failure to perform reasonable maintenance. During that window the owner pays the county treasurer directly. On the three-year track a PARTIAL redemption is allowed: paying the taxes for one or more years, starting with the earliest year the parcel was carried on the tax-sale book, plus interest at the K.S.A. 79-2004 rate, pushes back the date a foreclosure sale may be commenced by the number of years paid. The Johnson County paragraph applies the same partial payment to the most recent year instead of the earliest, and it does not carry the extension sentence. Stage two is K.S.A. 79-2803: after the petition is filed the treasurer may no longer take ordinary payments, but the owner or holder of record title, their heirs, devisees, executors, administrators, assigns, or any mortgagee or mortgagee's assigns may still redeem at any time BEFORE THE DAY OF SALE by filing an application to redeem with the clerk of the district court and paying the clerk a share of the costs, being whatever the court orders or, absent an order, 5 percent of the lien amount stated in the petition for that parcel plus any charges chargeable separately against it. The treasurer then computes the full taxes, charges, interest, and penalties, issues a redemption certificate in triplicate, and the sheriff strikes the parcel from the order of sale. Once the sale happens the right is gone. Kansas gives no post-sale redemption period and no right to buy the property back after the sheriff's deed. What exists after the sale is a twelve-month window under K.S.A. 79-2804b to open, vacate, modify, or set aside the judgment, the order of sale, or the sale. That is a title challenge, not redemption: it is available to parties attacking the proceedings, it requires grounds, and it does not let a former owner simply pay the taxes and take the parcel back.K.S.A. 79-2401a - Redemption of real estate bid off by county; period of redemptionK.S.A. 79-2401aVerified Aug 23, 2026

Deed deposit

Kansas fixes no statewide deposit percentage and no statutory bidder registration. K.S.A. 79-2804 is silent on deposits, so the terms are whatever the sheriff publishes for that sale. The statute does require one payment at the auction itself: the register of deeds filing fee for the sheriff's deed is collected from the successful bidder at the time of sale and deposited with the register of deeds at recording. Confirm the county's accepted funds, any registration step, and the payment deadline before bidding, and expect certified funds.K.S.A. 79-2804 - Order of sale; publication notice; sheriff's sale; deed, execution and recordationK.S.A. 79-2804Verified Aug 23, 2026

Surplus proceeds

If a parcel sells for more than the judgment lien for taxes, interest, penalty, and charges plus its share of the costs, charges, and expenses of the proceedings and sale, the court orders the excess paid, upon due proof, to the owner or the party entitled to it. The court apportions costs across the parcels sold as soon as practicable after the sale, deducts the total costs from the gross proceeds, and equitably apportions the balance to each parcel that sold for more than its share. The clerk pays that balance to the county treasurer, who prorates it among the state, city, township, school district, and other taxing units in proportion to their interest in the lien, and cancels the taxes charged against the parcel. Tax liens on every parcel sold or redeemed in the action are satisfied and discharged of record.K.S.A. 79-2803 - Judgment; redemption before day of sale; apportionment of costs and surplusK.S.A. 79-2803Verified Aug 23, 2026

Governing statute

K.S.A. Chapter 79, Article 28 (79-2801 et seq.)K.S.A. 79-2801 - Action to enforce lien for unredeemed real estate bid in by countyK.S.A. 79-2801Verified Aug 23, 2026

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.

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