Bay County, MI tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Bay County Treasurer is the foreclosing governmental unit and, per the department page, "conducts the annual delinquent tax sale." The Treasurer at the time of review is Weston Prince. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• •County-published delinquency timeline: unpaid taxes transfer from the city or township treasurer to the County Treasurer on March 1 with a 4% administrative fee and 12% annual interest. On March 1 of the following year the property forfeits to the County Treasurer and a lien is recorded, minimum fees of about $235 are added, and interest rises to 18% per year retroactive to March 1. A foreclosure petition is filed in circuit court in June, a show cause hearing and the circuit court hearing are held in February, and redemption rights expire March 31 when ownership transfers to the County Treasurer. The property is then sold at public auction in August.
• •Excess proceeds: for foreclosures from 2021 forward the county follows MCL 211.78t, with former owners filing form 5743 with the foreclosing governmental unit by July 1 of the foreclosure year, the county responding on form 5744 by January 31, a court motion window of February 1 through May 15, and a circuit court hearing in June. Bay County also participates in the pre-2021 surplus proceeds class settlement in Fox v. Saginaw County, Case No. 1:19-cv-11887, covering properties sold above the taxes owed between 2013 and 2020.
• •The Bay County Land Bank Authority was created by the Board of Commissioners on August 11, 2009 under Michigan Public Act 258, MCL 124.773(4), to handle properties with unique issues or to dispose of properties that may not sell at public auction. Investors tracking Bay County inventory should watch both the auction and the Land Bank.
• •Verification note: the platform's homepage county directory did not list Bay at the time of review, but the auction schedule and the Arenac / Bay / Gladwin parcel listing both name Bay County explicitly, and the Treasurer's own page names tax-sale.info as the auction site. Treat the auction schedule page as the reliable index for Bay.

Michigan rules

Redemption

Michigan has no post-sale redemption. The right to redeem runs during the forfeiture year and ends when the foreclosure judgment takes effect. Property forfeited to the county treasurer may be redeemed at any time on or before the March 31 immediately succeeding entry of a judgment foreclosing it, or within 21 days of entry in a contested case. On that date all redemption rights expire and fee simple title vests absolutely in the foreclosing governmental unit. Measured from the March 1 the taxes were returned as delinquent, that is about 25 months, and roughly three years from the year the taxes were levied. A circuit court may withhold a property from foreclosure for one year, or enter an order extending the redemption period as it finds equitable, if the owner is a minor heir, is incompetent, is without means of support, or is undergoing substantial financial hardship, so a parcel can drop off an auction list late.MCL 211.78g - forfeiture to the county treasurer on March 1 after 12 months delinquent, the $175 fee, the additional 1/2 percent per month, and what it costs to redeemMCL 211.78gVerified Aug 6, 2026

Deed deposit

Michigan fixes no statutory deposit. The foreclosing governmental unit may adopt its own procedures governing the conduct of the sale and payment for conveyance, so registration deposits, refunds, and any bidding caps are set county by county and by the auction platform. On Tax-Sale.info, the platform most Michigan counties use, bidding requires a $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card rather than a cash deposit. Confirm the figure in the county's published auction terms before registering.MCL 211.78m - the auction itself: right of first refusal ladder, the July to November sale window, minimum bid, bidder affidavit, payment, deed, and unsold propertyMCL 211.78mVerified Aug 6, 2026

Surplus proceeds

A person who held a legal interest in the property immediately before the judgment of foreclosure became effective may claim the remaining proceeds. Remaining proceeds are the amount paid to the foreclosing governmental unit for the property, minus the minimum bid, minus other fees and expenses of forfeiture, foreclosure, sale, maintenance, repair, and remediation not already inside the minimum bid, minus a sale commission payable to the unit equal to 5 percent of the amount paid for the property. The claimant must submit a notice of intention on a Department of Treasury form by the July 1 immediately following the effective date of the foreclosure, then file a motion in the same circuit court proceeding in which the foreclosure judgment was effective, during the period beginning February 1 immediately after the property was sold and ending the following May 15. The court sets a hearing, decides the relative priority and value of each claimant's interest, and orders payment. Once the order enters, any further claim relating to that property is barred.MCL 211.78t - claims to remaining proceeds after a tax foreclosure sale, the definition of remaining proceeds, and the 5 percent sale commissionMCL 211.78tVerified Aug 6, 2026

Governing statute

MCL 211.78 to 211.78oMCL 211.78 - legislative intent for the return, forfeiture, and foreclosure system, a county's election to have the state foreclose, and the definition of foreclosing governmental unitMCL 211.78Verified Aug 6, 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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