Ottawa County, MI tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •The Treasurer operates two public counters. The main office is at 12220 Fillmore St, Room 155, West Olive, MI 49460, phone (616) 994-4501 or toll free (888) 731-1001 ext. 4501. A second office sits in the county seat at 414 Washington Ave, 1st Floor, Grand Haven, MI 49417, phone (616) 846-8357, which closes from 1pm to 2pm. Both run Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm. Department email is [email protected] and the fax is (616) 994-4509.
• •Redemption ends before the sale, not after it. The county page describes taxes returned delinquent on March 1, forfeited to the Treasurer the following March 1, then a one-year window to redeem by paying forfeited taxes plus penalties, interest, and costs. A buyer at the August auction takes a deed with no post-sale redemption by the former owner.
• •Three separate owner-relief tracks can pull parcels off the list before the sale: payment in full, a one-year financial hardship exemption, and a Tax Foreclosure Avoidance Payment Reduction Program that puts an owner on a five-year plan and withholds the property from foreclosure. Expect the published list to shrink between posting and sale day.
• •Parcel-level diligence runs through the county's own property search at https://app.miottawa.org/Property/, which the Treasurer points to for GIS mapping, assessed values, legal descriptions, sales history, and split history. Historical tax roll and delinquent tax roll detail sits behind a paid credit card search.
• •Deeds are not issued on the spot. The county posts a master deed processing notice saying master deeds are completed as efficiently as possible but same-day processing cannot be guaranteed, and asks buyers to leave contact information for notification when documents are ready.

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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