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Wayne County tax foreclosure, step by step: delinquency, forfeiture, judgment, auction

The Public Act 123 calendar a Wayne County parcel actually follows: March 1 delinquency at 4% plus 1% a month, forfeiture a year later at 1.5% retroactive plus $175, the June 15 petition and winter hearings, and the March 31 redemption deadline after which title vests in the Treasurer.

By Tax Sale Intel research desk
Published · Updated
About this research desk · Methodology · Data sources

Delinquency begins on March 1

Michigan handles unpaid property taxes differently from states that sell tax certificates to investors. Wayne County does not auction a lien; the county forecloses on the property itself under the General Property Tax Act, Public Act 123 amendments included. The clock starts on March 1, when taxes levied in the immediately preceding year that remain unpaid are returned as delinquent to the county treasurer. From that point, the Treasurer's office is the only place payment can be made; the local treasurer can no longer accept it. The county adds a 4 percent administration fee, never less than $1.00, and interest of 1 percent per month, noncompounded, computed from the date the taxes originally became delinquent. Every later figure in this guide builds on that starting balance.

Sources: Michigan Compiled Laws § 211.78a: Property returned as delinquent; administration fee and interest; Wayne County Treasurer: Property Tax Information

Forfeiture one year later, at a higher rate

If the taxes are still unpaid a year later, the property is forfeited to the county treasurer on the following March 1. Forfeiture is not yet foreclosure: the owner keeps one more year to pay, but the cost of waiting rises sharply. The interest rate increases to 1.5 percent per month, and the increase is retroactive to the date the taxes first became delinquent, not just to forfeiture. A $175 forfeiture fee and $30 in recording fees are added at forfeiture, and a $15 collection fee per parcel was already added back on October 1 of the delinquency year. Interest and fees keep accruing each month the taxes remain unpaid, and other charges, such as personal service and publication fees, can be added during the forfeiture year.

Sources: Wayne County Treasurer: Property Tax Information; Wayne County Treasurer: Forfeiture/Foreclosure Timeline

The notices that come before foreclosure

State law requires the county treasurer to send a forfeiture notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, not later than February 1 immediately following the return of the delinquent taxes. The notice must warn that a person holding a legal interest in the property may lose that interest through forfeiture and foreclosure, and it must include a schedule of the additional interest, penalties, and fees that will accrue on the next March 1 if the balance is not paid, together with the date the rights of redemption will expire. A copy also goes to the property itself, addressed to the occupant, when it was not sent there directly. In practice, the Wayne County Treasurer says it sends at least ten written notices before foreclosure: four in the first year of delinquency and six more after forfeiture.

Sources: Michigan Compiled Laws § 211.78f: Notice provisions; Wayne County Treasurer: Property Tax Information

The petition, the hearings, and the judgment

For property still forfeited and unredeemed, the Treasurer files a single foreclosure petition in circuit court not later than June 15. The petition lists every such parcel and asks the court to enter a judgment vesting absolute title in the county, without right of redemption. The court sets the foreclosure hearing not more than 30 days before the March 1 that follows the filing. In Wayne County's published calendar, notices of the show cause and judicial foreclosure hearings are personally served on an occupant or posted on the property in the fall, the forfeited list is published in December, show cause hearings run through January, judicial foreclosure hearings are held in February, and the circuit court enters its judgment in March. If a property is redeemed after the petition is filed, the Treasurer must ask the court to remove it from the petition before judgment.

Sources: Michigan Compiled Laws § 211.78h: Petition for foreclosure; Wayne County Treasurer: Forfeiture/Foreclosure Timeline

March 31 is the last day to redeem

Redemption ends on the March 31 immediately following entry of the judgment in an uncontested case; in a contested case, the deadline is 21 days after the judgment is entered. Paying the full taxes, interest, penalties, and fees by that date saves the property. Miss it, and on April 1 the property is foreclosed: the owner loses all rights, title passes to the county treasurer, and a notice of the judgment is recorded with the Register of Deeds. There is no second redemption period after the sale that follows. The Treasurer publishes its foreclosure listings by year on its website, which is where a buyer can confirm whether a parcel actually went through this process. This guide summarizes the statutory calendar; it is not legal advice about any specific parcel.

Sources: Michigan Compiled Laws § 211.78f: Notice provisions; Wayne County Treasurer: Forfeiture/Foreclosure Timeline; Wayne County Treasurer: Forfeited Property List with Interested Parties

Sources and review dates

Check dates show when the Tax Sale Intel research desk reviewed these sources. They do not establish live auction availability. Research methods and interpretation are Tax Sale Intel’s editorial guidance, not legal, tax, title, or investment advice.

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