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Tax Sale Atlas

Grand Traverse County, MI tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Grand Traverse County, seat of Traverse City: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Michigan tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
Late summer.
Format
County site
Registration
Bidding is online.
County office
231-922-4735
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 7, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Grand Traverse County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

Michigan counties do not sell tax lien certificates to investors. For taxes levied after December 31, 1998, delinquent property is subject to forfeiture, foreclosure, and sale, so the county treasurer sells the property itself.

Tax deed sale

Online auction
Run by
Grand Traverse County Treasurer's Office, acting as the foreclosing governmental unit, with Title Check, LLC as the auctioneer and authorized agent
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Late summer.
Registration
Bidding is online.
Sale list
Grand Traverse County auction catalog
When it runs
Late summer. The county's tax foreclosure timeline shows redemption closing on "March 31 2026 @ 5:00pm" for 2023 taxes and an auction window of "July 1, 2026, November 30, 2026". The platform sale book heads the current sale "Public Land Auction, North Western Lower Peninsula, August 27th, 2026" and groups "Benzie, Grand Traverse, Lake, Lake (Dnr), Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, and Wexford Counties" together, running "10:00am EDT to 07:00pm EDT".
Registration and deposit

Bidding is online. Create a free account at tax-sale.info; the rules say you "should create such an account no less than 48 hours prior to the auction" so it is active in time to bid, and identity is verified against a government issued ID. Before bids are accepted you must post a deposit, either "a $1000 pre-authorization on a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit card or by tendering $1,000 in certified funds to the Auctioneer". The hold lasts 30 days and must be renewed after that. Advance bidding opens 30 days before the sale. Winners have 5 business days to send payment and notarized paperwork, and owe the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, current taxes, and a $30 deed recording fee. Bidders without computer access can arrange an absentee bid on the same $1,000 deposit terms.

Sale format and venue
Michigan sells the deed, not a lien. Grand Traverse County opted in, so the County Treasurer is the foreclosing governmental unit and sells parcels foreclosed under MCL 211.78m. The county describes Title Check, LLC as serving "Michigan County Treasurers with a variety of specialized Title Search, Certified Mail Notice, Property Sale and Information Services to meet the requirements of PA 123 of 1999". The Treasurer's own page says that after March 1 collection and title work, "a court order is issued which allows for the sale of properties which are more than 24 months delinquent". Grand Traverse does not get its own sale date; it shares a regional sale with seven neighboring counties, and each county catalog is released separately as property inspections finish. Confirm the date on the platform before planning a bid: the county's Properties Available For Sale page still points at the prior season, stating "Our 2025 public auction for foreclosed tax properties will be held on August 4th", while the platform calendar shows the current North Western Lower Peninsula sale on August 27, 2026. The platform calendar also lists a statewide minimum bid re-offer auction on September 25, 2026 and a no reserve auction on October 30, 2026. Parcels sell as is on the assessed legal description only, and prior liens are cancelled by the circuit court order apart from certain environmental liens and other limited exceptions. Buyers may not enter structures before taking a deed. Direct auction questions to Title Check at 1-800-259-7470 rather than to the county.
Register on Online auction

Grand Traverse County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Grand Traverse County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Grand Traverse County auction catalog for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Bidding is online. Full requirements are in the sale card above.
  3. Sale day

    Late summer. Bidding runs on Michigan public land auction schedule and parcel lists; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Grand Traverse County Treasurer's Office, acting as the foreclosing governmental unit, with Title Check, LLC as the auctioneer and authorized agent as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Grand Traverse County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Grand Traverse County auction catalog. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidding is online. Create a free account at tax-sale.info; the rules say you "should create such an account no less than 48 hours prior to the auction" so it is active in time to bid, and identity is verified against a government issued ID. Before bids are accepted you must post a deposit, either "a $1000 pre-authorization on a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit card or by tendering $1,000 in certified funds to the Auctioneer". The hold lasts 30 days and must be renewed after that. Advance bidding opens 30 days before the sale. Winners have 5 business days to send payment and notarized paperwork, and owe the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, current taxes, and a $30 deed recording fee. Bidders without computer access can arrange an absentee bid on the same $1,000 deposit terms.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Michigan due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.
  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

Grand Traverse County Treasurer's Office

231-922-4735

400 Boardman Avenue, Suite 104, Traverse City, MI 49684

Official website

County notes

  • Deed state. The Grand Traverse County Treasurer is the foreclosing governmental unit and conveys the deed at auction; there is no tax lien certificate to buy.
  • The sale runs entirely online at tax-sale.info, conducted by Title Check, LLC as the Treasurer's authorized agent.
  • Grand Traverse parcels are auctioned in a shared regional sale with Benzie, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, and Wexford counties, alongside a Michigan DNR catalog for Lake County that is governed by separate DNR rules.
  • Total cost to a winning bidder is the bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, current taxes, and a $30 deed recording fee, due within 5 business days.
  • The county page listing properties for sale lags the platform calendar by a season, so treat tax-sale.info as the current date of record.
  • Redemption ends at 5:00 p.m. on March 31 of the foreclosure year, after which the former owner has no right to redeem.

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.
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.
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.
Governing statute
MCL 211.78 to 211.78o

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.

See the full Michiganrules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Grand Traverse County, Michigan sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. Michigan sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does Grand Traverse County hold tax deed sales?

Grand Traverse County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Late summer. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Michigan's redemption rule: Until the March 31 immediately succeeding entry of the judgment of foreclosure, or 21 days after entry in a contested case; no redemption after that. Call the Grand Traverse County Treasurer's Office, acting as the foreclosing governmental unit, with Title Check, LLC as the auctioneer and authorized agent as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Grand Traverse County tax sale list?

Grand Traverse County posts its tax sale list at tax-sale.info. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 7, 2026 against official county and state sources.

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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Call Grand Traverse County Treasurer's Office