Kandiyohi County, MN tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Two tracks run side by side. Parcels classified as residential of four units or fewer, or as unimproved property, carry a residential requirement: for the first thirty days they go only to buyers who will own or occupy the parcel as a residence or use it for noncommercial personal purposes, and those buyers sign a certification form. All other parcels are offered at the estimated market value at the time of forfeiture plus special assessments levied after forfeiture.
• •Anything unsold comes back roughly thirty days later. Residential-requirement parcels return without the owner-occupancy restriction, and estimated market value parcels return with the minimum bid cut to the sum of delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest and costs assigned to the parcel.
• •The county keeps an over-the-counter option. Parcels that receive no bid at a public sale may be purchased at the Auditor/Treasurer's office starting the next business day at 1:00 p.m., at the same listed price and on the same terms, for the following thirty days.
• •A completed sale can still be undone by the former owner. Under Minn. Stat. 282.241 the owner at the time of forfeiture, or their heirs, devisees or representatives, may repurchase the parcel for the delinquent taxes and assessments plus penalties, interest and costs. For property that was not homesteaded at forfeiture the window is six months from the date of forfeiture, the county board must adopt a resolution finding that repurchase corrects an undue hardship or injustice or best serves the public interest, and any application on a parcel already made available for sale must be filed before the sale date.
• •Unplatted parcels come with a conservation covenant. The state deed for an unplatted parcel contains a restrictive covenant prohibiting enrollment of the land in a state-funded program that pays compensation for conservation of marginal land or wetlands, which closes off those payments to the buyer.
• •Special assessments levied before forfeiture are canceled at forfeiture and are not included in the sale price, but the municipality may reassess them against the parcel. The county lists those amounts in a separate column on the sale list so bidders can weigh the exposure before bidding.
• •The Auditor/Treasurer publishes each sale on the tax-forfeited land page with parcel numbers, legal descriptions, sale prices and a running mark on parcels already sold, and links a county parcel map that can be searched by parcel number.

Minnesota rules

Redemption

Redemption in Minnesota runs BEFORE forfeiture and there is no redemption after a tax-forfeited land sale. The clock starts on the second Monday in May, when the county auditor bids the parcel in for the state, and it runs three years for most property. Once the parcel is unredeemed 120 days before that period ends, the county auditor gives notice of expiration of redemption, which is posted in the auditor's office, published for two successive weeks in the official county newspaper, mailed by certified mail to taxpayers, fee owners, and anyone who filed an address under Minn. Stat. 276.041, and personally served on anyone in possession of an occupied parcel. Redemption ends on the later of the end of the statutory period and 60 days after that notice is given and proof of it is filed with the auditor, and the Department of Revenue's manual states the exact forfeiture date the same way. On that date absolute title vests in the state of Minnesota. A district court can cut the period to five weeks on a city or county petition for abandoned or certain vacant property, so a parcel can reach forfeiture far sooner than three years. Forfeiture extinguishes redemption rights along with almost everything else, with one carve-out that Minn. Stat. 282.005, subd. 10 preserves in terms: rights of redemption provided under federal law, which is where an unreleased federal tax lien can still reach a parcel after the sale. The right to REPURCHASE after forfeiture, under Minn. Stat. 282.241, is a separate remedy and not a redemption right.Minnesota Statutes 281.17 - the three-year redemption period and the one-year exceptions for targeted-community and qualified solid waste facility landMinn. Stat. 281.17Verified Aug 24, 2026

Deed deposit

Minnesota fixes no statutory bidder deposit and no statutory registration deadline. Terms are set locally, and the Department of Revenue's manual treats a cash-only initial sale as best practice because everything above the minimum bid has to stay available for surplus claims. On a Chapter 282.01 sale, parcels are sold for cash only unless the county board has adopted a resolution allowing terms. Where terms are allowed, at least 10 percent of the purchase price is due at the time of purchase and the balance runs in no more than ten equal annual installments, or under a county board policy of no more than 12 installments a year over a term of no more than ten years. Confirm the county's published terms before registering.Minnesota Statutes 282.005 - the required initial public auction of tax-forfeited land, the estimated-market-value initial price, the minimum bid, the six-month deadline, surplus claims, and what forfeiture extinguishesMinn. Stat. 282.005Verified Aug 24, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Minnesota built a surplus claim process in response to Tyler v. Hennepin County, and the Revisor's note under Minn. Stat. 282.08 records that decision. It applies to forfeitures occurring after December 31, 2023. The minimum bid goes into the county's forfeited tax sale fund and everything above it is available to interested parties, meaning any party with an interest in the real estate, including the owner, a lienholder, and anyone who filed their name under Minn. Stat. 276.041. Within 60 days of the sale the county auditor must send notice and a claim form by certified mail to every interested party of record, mail a second notice by first class mail between 90 and 120 days if no claim has been filed, mail notice to the occupants unless the land is vacant, and publish a list of sales with unexpired claim periods on the county website. A claim must be filed within six months of the date the first notice is mailed. Multiple claims are divided in proportion to each claimant's interest, and a disputed claim can be deposited with the district court. Unclaimed surplus returns to the county's forfeited tax sale fund. A separate claim process covers iron-bearing stockpiles, minerals, and mineral interests, which are sold to the state for $50 at forfeiture and valued by the commissioner of natural resources if a claim is filed.Minnesota Statutes 282.005 - the required initial public auction of tax-forfeited land, the estimated-market-value initial price, the minimum bid, the six-month deadline, surplus claims, and what forfeiture extinguishesMinn. Stat. 282.005Verified Aug 24, 2026

Governing statute

Minn. Stat. Chapter 279Minnesota Statutes 279.05 - the county auditor files the delinquent list with the district court by February 15 and the filing acts as a complaint against each parcelMinn. Stat. 279.05Verified Aug 24, 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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