Belmont County, OH tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Belmont County Treasurer Katherine J. Kelich is the office that certifies the delinquency, files the in rem tax foreclosure cases, and publishes the sale list. Office: Belmont County Courthouse, 101 West Main Street, St. Clairsville, Ohio 43950-1260. Phone 740-699-2145, fax 740-699-2584, open Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Amber Hepburn is the Deputy Clerk assigned to foreclosures.
• •Do not confuse the two Sheriff sale tracks. Ordinary mortgage and judgment foreclosures run online through Realauction at https://belmont.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov. The Sheriff's page lists 2026 online sale dates as May 14 and 28, June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23, August 13 and 27, September 10 and 24, October 8 and 22, November 5 and 19 (first and third), and December 3 and 17 (first and third), and describes the cadence as "the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)." Delinquent tax sales are excluded from that platform and stay in person.
• •Online sheriff sale mechanics, for context on the non tax track: properties open for proxy bidding at least seven days before the sale date, opening bid is two thirds of appraised value unless the court orders otherwise, bids move in whole $100 increments, and deposits are $2,000 if appraised value is $10,000 or less, $5,000 between $10,000 and $200,000, and $10,000 above $200,000. Wire deposits must arrive by 5 p.m. Eastern two business days before the sale and ACH deposits must be initiated by 4 p.m. Eastern five business days before. Cash and international funds are not accepted.
• •Belmont County Sheriff foreclosure sales are advertised in the classified section of The Times-Leader three weeks before the sale date, and those notices carry the legal description, the deposit requirement, and the final payment terms.
• •On the online track, final payment is due thirty calendar days from the date the confirmation of sale is filed with the Belmont County Common Pleas Clerk of Courts, and the purchaser is responsible for tracking case status. Court questions go to the Belmont County Clerk of Courts at 740-699-2169.
• •Sheriff James G. Zusack heads the office. The Civil Division handles Sheriff's and tax foreclosure sales of real estate. Office Deputy Sherri Kuthy is at 740-695-7933 ext. 130 and Civil Deputy Robert Ney II is at 740-695-7933 ext. 124. The office is 15 miles west of Wheeling, West Virginia, on Interstate 70 at Exit 213.
• •Belmont County has no single government portal. The old address belmontcountyohio.org now redirects to the county tourism site, so go directly to the individual office sites: belmontsheriffohio.gov for the Sheriff, belmontcountytreasurer.org for the Treasurer, belmontcountyauditor.org for the Auditor, and belmontcountycourts.com for the courts.
• •Under Ohio Rev. Code 5721.19 a bidder cannot purchase at a tax foreclosure sale while owing delinquent taxes on other Ohio property. The Sheriff's online sale FAQ also warns that appraisals are not conducted for tax lien and delinquent tax foreclosure cases, so where a value is shown on a tax case it reflects taxes owed rather than an appraised value.

Ohio rules

Max interest rate

18% per year, bid down in 0.25% stepsOhio Revised Code 5721.30 - Tax certificate definitionsR.C. 5721.30Verified Aug 6, 2026

Minimum return

6% floor at redemptionOhio Revised Code 5721.30 - Tax certificate definitionsR.C. 5721.30Verified Aug 6, 2026

Redemption

Ohio has no post-sale redemption window. On the certificate track the owner or any other person entitled to redeem may pay the county treasurer at any time before the certificate holder pays to start foreclosure, and after that up until the entry of confirmation of sale, the expiration of the 28-day alternative redemption period, or the decree that conveys title to the certificate holder. On the direct foreclosure track, delinquent land may be redeemed before proceedings begin, and afterwards up to the entry of confirmation of sale or the end of the alternative redemption period. The alternative redemption period is 28 days after an adjudication of foreclosure is journalized, and when it expires the right and equity of redemption terminate without any further order. Once title vests, a decree conveying the parcel to a certificate holder is a permanent bar to redemption.Ohio Revised Code 5721.38 - Right to redeemR.C. 5721.38Verified Aug 6, 2026

Deed deposit

For residential property the deposit is fixed by statute: $2,000 if the appraised value is $10,000 or less, $5,000 if it is above $10,000 and up to $200,000, and $10,000 if it is above $200,000. A judgment creditor buying at its own sale posts no deposit. For commercial property the deposit follows whatever requirements the sale sets. Deposit timing is set by the court or the officer conducting the sale and printed in the sale advertisement, and an online sale may take the deposit by card or other financial transaction device.Ohio Revised Code 5721.19 - Finding; appraisal and saleR.C. 5721.19Verified Aug 6, 2026

Surplus proceeds

Sale proceeds pay costs first, then the certificate holder or the taxing districts, and any residue goes to the clerk of the court within 45 days after confirmation. The clerk notifies the former owner. Residue left unclaimed 90 days after that final notice is paid into the county treasury and held for the owner, who may demand it within three years. After three years it is forfeited to the county's delinquent tax and assessment collection fund, or to the county land reutilization corporation fund where one exists.Ohio Revised Code 5721.20 - Excess foreclosure proceedsR.C. 5721.20Verified Aug 6, 2026

Governing statute

R.C. Chapter 5721Ohio Revised Code 5721.30 - Tax certificate definitionsR.C. 5721.30Verified 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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