Last Updated on August 1, 2026
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
If you want to buy real estate for cheap, a tax deed auction might be your best shot. Some homes and land in these sales open at under $10,000, but they can be worth $150,000, $250,000, or even more. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s real, and it’s public record.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- A Tax Deed Auction allows you to buy undervalued properties when owners fail to pay taxes.
- Counties like Trinity, Philadelphia, and Carroll host regular auctions with opportunities starting under $10,000.
- To check property legitimacy, verify road access, and compare prices with recent sales before bidding.
- Tax deeds can often wipe out other liens, but be cautious of city or county fees that may remain.
- Expect more competition in busy markets, but smaller counties typically offer better deals with less bidding pressure.
What Is a Tax Deed?
A tax deed is a county legal document that gives the county title to a property when real estate taxes stay unpaid long enough. After that, the county sells the property to recover the unpaid taxes.
Where to Find Upcoming Tax Deed Auctions
In our detailed deep dive on our recent live video, we use our auction calendar that tracks sales across the country. Here are a few counties that we highlighted:
| County / Parish | State | Platform | Why It’s Worth Watching |
| Trinity County | California | GovEase | Rural, less competition than big cities |
| Philadelphia County | Pennsylvania | Bid4Assets | Large inventory, multiple auctions a month |
| Carroll County | Maryland | RealAuction | Short 6-month redemption period |
| Caddo Parish | Louisiana | County site | Opening bids as low as $90 |
| Lincoln County | Tennessee | GovEase | Cheap entry, 1-year redemption |
Check a Property Before Tax Deed Auction Bidding.
Not every cheap listing in tax deed auctions is a good deal. Some land is landlocked, meaning it has no legal road access. Here’s the simple process we use to check a property before bidding:
- Get the parcel number
from the county auction list.
- Search the parcel number in a mapping tool like Regrid
to see the property lines.
- Look for road access
If the parcel doesn’t touch a road, it may be landlocked and hard to sell later.
- Check the value on Zillow.
Compare the opening bid to nearby sold prices.
- Check recent sales activity in the area.
If almost nothing has sold nearby in years, it may be hard to resell even at a low price.
- For big lists, use AI to scan the CSV data
The county provides, so you can flag the best opportunities in minutes instead of going line by line.
A Real Example Worth Noting
In Carroll County, Maryland, we found a property with a past sale price of $100,000, and an opening bid of only $6,143.74. That’s a tax lien, not a deed, but the redemption period in Maryland is short, about 6 months. If the owner doesn’t pay back the debt with interest in that time, the lien holder can start the foreclosure process.
In Lincoln County, Tennessee, we found a 9.7-acre property valued around $416,000 with an opening bid of $6,818.55.
These numbers show why rural or “underdog” states and counties, like Maryland and Tennessee, often get overlooked by other bidders, even though the deals can be excellent. This is also an effective strategy for tax deed auctions.
How to Do a Simple Title Search
If you want to check for other liens on a property, search online for:
“[County Name] deed search” or “[County Name] grantor grantee search.”
Look for the county clerk’s office page for official records. Most tax deed sales wipe out mortgages and third-party liens, as long as the county properly notified them. But watch out for city or county liens, like unpaid grass-cutting or trash-removal fees, since those often do not get wiped out.
Final Tip
Cheap bids on tax deed auctions attract many bidders on popular platforms like Bid4Assets in busy markets. Smaller counties and rural auctions usually have less competition, but check each parcel for road access and resale demand before you bid.
FAQ
It’s a public sale where a county sells a property because the owner didn’t pay property taxes. The winning bidder can gain ownership of the property.
Yes. All information shown, including parcel numbers and bid amounts, comes from public county records.
Most third-party liens and mortgages are wiped out if the county properly notified the lienholders. However, city or county-placed liens, such as unpaid utility or grass-cutting fees, may still remain.
Check the parcel map for road access, compare the opening bid to recent sale prices nearby, and see how much buying and selling activity is happening in that area.
A tax lien lets you collect interest if the owner pays back their debt within the redemption period. A tax deed can transfer ownership of the property directly to the winning bidder.
About 90% of tax liens get redeemed. Properties where the owner has passed away, or the estate is unsettled, are more likely to not get redeemed.
