Nobles County, MN tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Minnesota sells no tax lien certificates, so there is nothing to buy in Nobles County until a parcel has already forfeited. Delinquent parcels go to judgment, then through the statutory redemption period, and absolute title forfeits to the State of Minnesota. Only then does the Auditor-Treasurer offer the land under Minn. Stat. Chapter 282. What a bidder buys is state tax-forfeited land the county is disposing of, not a lien and not a Florida-style tax deed.
• •The sale runs in two stages at two very different prices. Parcels are offered first at an Estimated Market Value sale, where bidding opens at and cannot close below the Assessor's most recent market value. Anything unsold is then available at the Auditor-Treasurer counter at that same EMV price for 30 days. Only after that window closes does the parcel drop to the Minimum Bid Sale, where bidding opens at the sum of delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest and costs under Minn. Stat. 282.005, subd. 2.
• •That 30-day counter period is the county's over-the-counter window, and it is priced at full market value rather than at a discount. The Auditor-Treasurer publishes no standing list of leftover parcels outside the auction cycle, so call 507-295-5258 to ask what is still available between sales.
• •Inventory is thin, and a single cycle may carry only one parcel. The 2026 notice listed one property, 486 Margaret St in Round Lake, which opened at a $62,800 EMV price at the June sale and carried a $3,573.27 minimum bid at the July sale. Read each year's listing rather than assuming a standing pipeline of parcels.
• •A former owner can pull a parcel off the block before it reaches auction. The county's terms state that prior to public auction a property may be repurchased by paying all delinquent taxes and assessments computed under Minn. Stat. 282.251, together with penalties, interest and costs, and that all rights and interests of interested parties remain unaffected. Nobles County also reserves the right to withdraw or add properties, so confirm a parcel is still listed before you travel to bid.
• •Non-platted parcels holding non-forested marginal land or wetlands carry a restrictive covenant in the deed barring enrollment in any state funded program that pays for conservation of marginal land or wetlands. Nobles County performs no wetland delineation and gives no refunds for wetlands, floodplain or any other environmental condition, though it will provide notice of known marginal land or wetlands on request.
• •All minerals and mineral rights pass to the State of Minnesota at forfeiture and stay with the State when the county conveys a parcel, so a buyer takes the surface only.
• •Title is not warranted. The Minnesota Department of Revenue issues a state deed that works like a quitclaim rather than a warranty deed, forfeiture creates a break in the chain of title, and the county advises that an attorney may be needed to make title marketable. Some mortgages and liens other than federal and state liens may cancel at forfeiture yet be reinstated after the sale, so research encumbrances parcel by parcel.
• •Unpaid special assessments can come back onto the parcel after you buy. Any municipality or public authority may levy a reassessment equal to the unpaid original assessment outstanding at forfeiture under Minn. Stat. 429.071, subd. 4. Check with the city or town clerk for the parcel's location before bidding, and ask about planned improvements that could be assessed later.
• •Properties sell strictly as is, with no warranty that a parcel is buildable and no representation about buildings, wells, septic, soils or legal access. Buyers waive the disclosures otherwise required under Minn. Stat. 513.52 to 513.60 and 103.235. Property taxes begin the year following the sale.

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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