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Tax Sale Atlas

McHenry County, ND tax sales

Tax Sale Atlas maps the McHenry County, ND tax sale, one of 2,606 counties in 31 states. North Dakota sells the deed itself, so no statutory investor interest rate applies. Sale office, calendar and list locations read from the county’s own official pages on Sep 4, 2026.

How tax deed sales work in McHenry County, seat of Towner: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how North Dakota tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Format
In person
Registration
Bidding is in person only.
County office
(701) 537-5724
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Sep 4, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How McHenry County sells delinquent taxes

No tax lien certificate sale

North Dakota sells no tax lien certificate to investors. Under N.D.C.C. 57-28-09 the county auditor issues the tax deed to the county itself once the lien is foreclosed, so the county is the only party ever holding the delinquency.

Tax deed sale

In person
Run by
McHenry County Auditor
Frequency
annual
Registration
Bidding is in person only.
Sale list
Foreclosed Property list, McHenry County
When it runs
Annually on the third Tuesday of November at 9:00 AM, held at the County Auditor's office in Towner. The county's notice of sale sets the auction for "Tuesday the 19th day of November, 2024 at 9:00 AM" and states that "such sale will continue from day to day until completed."
Registration and deposit

Bidding is in person only. The county's notice requires that "individuals interested in purchasing property must be in attendance at the sale or have a representative there on their behalf in order to be an eligible buyer." Call the Auditor at (701) 537-5724 to confirm the current sale date and ask for the parcel notice, which the county issues in early November.

Sale format and venue
McHenry County forecloses its own tax liens under N.D. Cent. Code ch. 57-28, takes tax deed to the land, then resells it at a public auction run by the County Auditor. Every parcel carries a minimum sale price fixed and published in advance next to its legal description, and each goes to the highest eligible bidder at or above that floor, subject to the Auditor's right, with commission approval, to reject any or all bids. Any parcel whose delinquent taxes are paid before the sale date is stricken from the list and not offered. Offerings are small-town lots and unplatted tracts in Towner, Drake, Anamoose, Balfour, Upham, Kief and Bergen, with minimum prices running from under $100 to roughly $5,800. Parcels that draw no bid stay in county ownership and are sold between auctions off the county's Foreclosed Property list at posted asking prices. In person at the County Auditor's office, 407 Main Street South, Towner
Source: Notice of Sale of Property Forfeited to the County for Taxes, McHenry County Auditor· Verified Sep 4, 2026

McHenry County tax sale list and auction calendar

For McHenry 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. If the parcels on this list are vacant land rather than houses, what buying land at a tax sale hands you is the place to start.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Foreclosed Property list, McHenry County for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Bidding is in person only. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use McHenry County Auditor as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in McHenry County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Foreclosed Property list, McHenry County. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Bidding is in person only. The county's notice requires that "individuals interested in purchasing property must be in attendance at the sale or have a representative there on their behalf in order to be an eligible buyer." Call the Auditor at (701) 537-5724 to confirm the current sale date and ask for the parcel notice, which the county issues in early November.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the North Dakota due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth. Which liens survive is state law, so read what survives a tax deed in North Dakota before you price the title work.

  4. 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.

Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases

Any parcel that does not sell at the November auction may be bought from the county auditor at private sale before the next annual sale, for not less than its minimum sale price. Some boards also list unsold parcels through licensed real estate brokers.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter purchases work. Every state has its own name for what goes unsold, so check what North Dakota calls its leftover tax-sale inventory.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax sale office

McHenry County Auditor

(701) 537-5724

407 Main Street South, Room 201, Towner, ND 58788

Official website

County notes

  • The auction is a live, in-person sale at the courthouse in Towner. There is no online bidding portal, and North Dakota sells no tax lien certificates, so the only way in is the county's own deed auction or a private purchase afterward.
  • Minimum sale prices are set before the auction and printed beside each legal description in the county's notice, so a bidder can see the floor on every parcel before showing up.
  • The Auditor signs the sale notice by order of the McHenry County Board of County Commissioners about three weeks ahead of the auction, which is when the parcel list becomes public.
  • Parcels are identified by legal description only, with no street address, and at least one Upham tract is flagged as requiring a survey. Budget for title work and a survey before you bid.
  • Unsold parcels do not disappear. The county's Foreclosed Property page carries a dated list of county-owned lots with asking prices, recently in Anamoose and Upham at roughly $2,000 to $4,300, and those can be bought between auctions.
  • Delinquent owners can pay through the day before the sale, so the list shrinks right up to auction morning. Confirm a parcel is still in before traveling to Towner.

North Dakota rules

Redemption
There are two distinct windows and neither is a redemption against a private buyer. Up to October 1, paying the amount in the foreclosure notice stops the process. After the tax deed vests in the county, the former owner, the former owner's executor or administrator, or a parent, spouse or child of the former owner may repurchase the property so long as the county still holds tax title, for cash or on a contract for deed. A city holding a delinquent special assessment has a prior right to buy at the appraised value, exercisable within 30 days of the auditor's notice. Once the county sells at the annual auction, the purchaser's deed is not subject to any of this.
Deed deposit
None. Chapter 57-28 sets no bidder deposit and no registration fee. Each parcel is sold at auction to the highest qualified bidder for no less than the minimum sale price, and the terms are settled at the sale: the full amount in cash paid promptly to the county treasurer, or one quarter of the purchase price in cash with the balance in equal annual installments over not more than ten years under a contract for deed. A bidder who owes delinquent property taxes in any North Dakota county is disqualified from purchasing.
Governing statute
N.D.C.C. ch. 57-28

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.

See the full North Dakotarules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does McHenry County, North Dakota sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax deeds. North Dakota sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the County Auditor sells the property itself at a public tax sale.

How often does McHenry County hold tax deed sales?

McHenry County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. North Dakota's redemption rule: None after the county's annual sale. Before that, the owner may satisfy the tax lien up to the October 1 foreclosure date, and after the county takes the deed a statutory right of repurchase runs for as long as the tax title remains in the county. Call the McHenry County Auditor as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the McHenry County tax sale list?

McHenry County posts its tax sale list at mchenrycountynd.gov. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Sep 4, 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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Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

North Dakota tax salesDue diligence guide
Call McHenry County Auditor