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Tax Sale Atlas

Kalkaska County, MI tax sales

How tax deed sales work in Kalkaska County, seat of Kalkaska: 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
Annual online tax foreclosure auction in August.
Format
County site
County office
231-258-3310
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 7, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Kalkaska 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
Kalkaska County Treasurer
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
Annual online tax foreclosure auction in August.
Sale list
Kalkaska County auction catalog on tax-sale.info
When it runs
Annual online tax foreclosure auction in August. The Kalkaska catalog is dated "Wednesday August 19th, 2026 at 10:00 am EDT", and the auction schedule lists "10:00am EDT to 07:00pm EDT" for the North Central Lower Peninsula sale on 8/19/2026. The salebook's 2026 schedule also sets a statewide "Minimum Bid Re-Offer Auction" on 9/25/2026 and a "No Reserve Auction" on 10/30/2026 for parcels that do not sell in the first round.
Registration and deposit

Create a free online user account at tax-sale.info, using information that matches your government issued ID. The rules direct bidders to open the account at least 48 hours before the auction. Before bids are accepted you must post a $1,000 deposit, either as a pre-authorization hold on a Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit card or as $1,000 in certified funds tendered to the auctioneer. The card is not charged unless you win and fail to pay. Advance bidding opens about 30 days before the posted start time and bids can be raised or withdrawn during that window; active bidding runs from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm on auction day and bids can only be raised. Absentee bidding by phone is available at 1-800-259-7470 for bidders without internet access, on the same $1,000 deposit terms. Winners have 5 business days to pay in full and return notarized receipt and buyer's affidavit paperwork. Total due is the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, any outstanding taxes with fees and penalties, and a $30.00 deed recording fee. Payment by certified funds, money order, wire transfer, or card; card payments carry an extra 2.75% fee. Failure to close forfeits the $1,000 as liquidated damages and bans the bidder from future auctions.

Sale format and venue
This is a deed sale. Michigan sells the foreclosed property itself, not a lien, and the salebook states that prior liens and taxes are cancelled by the circuit court judgment of foreclosure, with limited exceptions such as certain environmental liens. The Kalkaska County Treasurer's own page carries the heading "AUCTION WEBSITE LINK: https://www.tax-sale.info/", so the platform is confirmed by the county itself. The sale is online only. The 2026 schedule states "All Auctions are ONLINE ONLY", so there is no courthouse-steps bidding to attend. Kalkaska is sold as part of a multi-county North Central Lower Peninsula event alongside Crawford, Missaukee, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego and Roscommon, but each county has its own catalog. A separate "Kalkaska DNR" catalog (https://www.tax-sale.info/listings/catalog/2914) offers Michigan Department of Natural Resources surplus parcels; the county tax foreclosure rules and regulations do not apply to those, and the DNR sets its own terms. The 2026 first-round Kalkaska catalog is small, six lots, with minimum bids from $800 to $71,500, so inventory in this county is thin and the buyer should check the catalog again close to the date because parcels are pulled up to the auction start time. Properties are sold as is by legal description only, and structures may not be entered before purchase without written permission from the foreclosing governmental unit.
Register on Online auction

Kalkaska County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska County auction catalog on tax-sale.info for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.
  3. Sale day

    Annual online tax foreclosure auction in August. 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 Kalkaska County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Kalkaska County

  1. Start with the live sale list

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

    Create a free online user account at tax-sale.info, using information that matches your government issued ID. The rules direct bidders to open the account at least 48 hours before the auction. Before bids are accepted you must post a $1,000 deposit, either as a pre-authorization hold on a Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit card or as $1,000 in certified funds tendered to the auctioneer. The card is not charged unless you win and fail to pay. Advance bidding opens about 30 days before the posted start time and bids can be raised or withdrawn during that window; active bidding runs from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm on auction day and bids can only be raised. Absentee bidding by phone is available at 1-800-259-7470 for bidders without internet access, on the same $1,000 deposit terms. Winners have 5 business days to pay in full and return notarized receipt and buyer's affidavit paperwork. Total due is the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, any outstanding taxes with fees and penalties, and a $30.00 deed recording fee. Payment by certified funds, money order, wire transfer, or card; card payments carry an extra 2.75% fee. Failure to close forfeits the $1,000 as liquidated damages and bans the bidder from future auctions.

  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

Kalkaska County Treasurer

231-258-3310

605 N. Birch Street, Kalkaska, MI 49646

Official website

County notes

  • Kalkaska County Treasurer is the foreclosing governmental unit. The salebook states that unless otherwise noted the seller is the county treasurer acting as the FGU, and that Title Check, LLC is the auctioneer acting as its authorized agent. The county treasurer's page confirms the county collects delinquent taxes and links the auction site directly.
  • Delinquent tax handover date: "On March 1st of the following tax year, the Township Treasurer's turn over all unpaid property taxes to the County Treasurer for collection." Townships do not collect after March 1 and the county treasurer does not collect current taxes before then.
  • Treasurer as of this research: Valerie Tracey, Treasurer; Abby Sebring, Chief Deputy Treasurer. Office hours Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
  • Office email listed for questions: [email protected]. Fax: 231-258-3318.
  • Current and delinquent tax records for Kalkaska County parcels are on BS&A Online at https://bsaonline.com/?uid=2004, linked from the treasurer's page. Delinquent taxes can be paid online through GOVPROS at https://pay.govpros.us/mi/kalkaska/tax.
  • The treasurer's page posts a property tax foreclosure timeline and the state forms for claiming leftover foreclosure sale proceeds (Form 5743 and Form 6156), which matters to former owners rather than bidders.
  • Second-round sales: parcels unsold at the August auction move to a minimum bid re-offer auction on 9/25/2026 and then a no-reserve sealed bid auction on 10/30/2026. Sealed bid rounds open about 30 days before the deadline and the high bid price is hidden until bidding closes.
  • Auctioneer contact for bidding help: Title Check, LLC, 222 N Kalamazoo Mall Suite 100, Kalamazoo, MI 49007, 1-800-259-7470, Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

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 Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska County hold tax deed sales?

Kalkaska County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Annual online tax foreclosure auction in August. 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 Kalkaska County Treasurer 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 Kalkaska County tax sale list?

Kalkaska 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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