Leelanau County, MI tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Leelanau County, seat of Suttons Bay Township: 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 August, held online.
- Format
- County site
- Registration
- Bidding is online.
- County office
- 231-256-9838
On this page
How Leelanau County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Leelanau County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late August, held online.
- Registration
- Bidding is online.
- Sale list
- Leelanau County auction catalog
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online. Create a free account on the Michigan Public Land Auction site; the platform verifies identity during registration and asks that the information match a government issued ID. A $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card is required to bid, and the hold authorizes bidding from the account for 30 days. Credit cards are preferred over debit cards because holds release more slowly on debit accounts. Advance bids can be placed starting 30 days before the auction and changed until the auction opens, and a maximum bid lets the account bid automatically up to the authorized amount. Total due on a win is the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, plus current year summer taxes, plus a $30.00 deed recording fee.
Sale format and venue
Leelanau County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Leelanau 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Leelanau County auction catalog for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Late August, held online. Bidding runs on Michigan public land auction schedule and parcel lists; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Leelanau County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Leelanau County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Leelanau County auction catalog. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online. Create a free account on the Michigan Public Land Auction site; the platform verifies identity during registration and asks that the information match a government issued ID. A $1,000 pre-authorization hold on a major credit card is required to bid, and the hold authorizes bidding from the account for 30 days. Credit cards are preferred over debit cards because holds release more slowly on debit accounts. Advance bids can be placed starting 30 days before the auction and changed until the auction opens, and a maximum bid lets the account bid automatically up to the authorized amount. Total due on a win is the winning bid plus a 10% buyer's premium, plus current year summer taxes, plus a $30.00 deed recording fee.
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.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
County notes
- The county seat is Suttons Bay, and the Treasurer's office sits in the Leelanau County Government Center at 8527 E Government Center Dr.
- Leelanau County opted in as its own foreclosing governmental unit, so the County Treasurer runs the foreclosure and the sale rather than the Michigan Department of Treasury.
- The 2026 Leelanau sale is a same-day online auction on the Michigan Public Land Auction platform, opening 10:00 a.m. EDT and closing 7:00 p.m. EDT.
- Winning bidders owe a 10% buyer's premium plus current year summer taxes plus a $30 deed recording fee on top of the bid.
- A $1,000 credit card pre-authorization hold is the gate to bidding, and it stays valid for 30 days.
- The Treasurer's foreclosure timeline page frames the sale window as July 1 through November 30 of the foreclosure year, which is wider than the actual auction date; use the platform catalog for the real date.
- Leelanau is a small, high-value waterfront county on the Lake Michigan peninsula, and auction inventory is correspondingly thin.
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.
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 Leelanau County, Michigan sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Leelanau County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Leelanau County tax sale list?
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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