Waseca County, MN tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Waseca County sells online through Public Surplus, and its terms sheet is headed "Public Surplus Auction On-Line and Over Counter," so parcels can also move over the counter at the courthouse between auctions. Call Property & Election Services at 507-835-0610 to ask what is currently available.
• •Unsold parcels are not withdrawn. The notice states that "Any properties that do not sell at the first sale will be offered on a subsequent online public sale," and the second-pass opening price is the delinquent tax total rather than market value. The 2026 list showed the gap plainly: a New Richland parcel opened at $139,800 on the first sale and would open at $4,379.92 if it went unsold.
• •For any land outside a platted subdivision the county attaches restrictive covenants for marginal lands and wetlands, so confirm what you may build, drain or clear before you bid. The county is not responsible for locating property lines or boundaries on these parcels.
• •Sales carry existing leases and any easement a governmental subdivision or state agency holds for a public purpose, and they remain subject to building codes and zoning laws.
• •Tax forfeiture breaks the chain of title. Neither the state nor Waseca County provides an abstract of title, and the county advises a quiet title action or an attorney if you plan to build or need marketable title. A Torrens parcel needs a court application for a new certificate of title.
• •Under Minnesota law a former owner may apply to repurchase forfeited land, which can pull a parcel back before it reaches a buyer. Waseca County also warns that parcels can be removed from the sale at any time.
• •Special assessments levied before forfeiture that exceed the basic sale price may be re-assessed by the municipality, and assessments levied after the sale are certified to the County Auditor-Treasurer and land on the next tax bill.
• •Minn. Stat. 282.016 bars employees of the County Auditor, District Court Administrator, County Assessor and Land and Minerals offices from buying tax-forfeited land, directly or indirectly.
• •On residential parcels the county passes along the Minnesota Department of Health radon warning and states it holds no radon test results, concentration records or mitigation records for any listed property.

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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