Ohio Foreclosure Law: Foreclosures and Sales of Tax Certificates

Collection of property taxes, including sale of tax liens.

Homestead exemption program for seniors, disabled persons, and surviving spouses.

Procedure for collecting delinquent property taxes.

Foreclosure proceedings on lien of state. If your Ohio property taxes are overdue, the county treasurer can start a foreclosure against you in court

Finding - appraisal and sale.The court will enter a judgment and order the home sold at auction to satisfy the tax debt. After the court confirms the sale, the winning bidder gets a deed, which gives him or her ownership of your home.

Tax Certificate Definitions

from Nolo Press.

Instead of carrying out a foreclosure, the county treasurer may choose to sell the lien that exists on your home at an auction or, in some cases, in a negotiated sale (a private sale). At a tax lien auction, the winning bidder is whoever bids the lowest rate of interest on the debt. After the sale, the purchaser gets a tax certificate and becomes the owner of the lien.

After the tax lien sale, you get one year to pay off all lien charges and interest property. If you don’t redeem during the one-year redemption period, the tax lien purchaser can foreclose on your Ohio property by filing a lawsuit with the court. As part of the foreclosure, the home will be sold to satisfy the debt. You can still redeem up until the court confirms the sale, which finalizes the foreclosure. Once the foreclosure is finalized, you lose ownership of the home.

From Nolo. How long you get to redeem your home in Ohio. Following the tax lien sale, a one-year period must expire before the purchaser can start the foreclosure. During this one-year period you can get caught up on the delinquent taxes, plus various other amounts, and prevent the purchaser from foreclosing. This is called “redeeming” the property. Even if the foreclosure has started, you get the right to redeem up until the court confirms the foreclosure sale (Ohio Rev. Code § 5721.38). To redeem before the purchaser starts the foreclosure, you must pay an amount equal to the certificate price (or prices, if there is more than one tax certificate on your property), which includes taxes and fees plus interest (Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5721.30, 5721.38). To redeem after the purchaser starts the foreclosure, you must pay the certificate price plus 18% interest per year, attorney’s fees, costs, and other fees (Ohio Rev. Code § 5721.38).