Wayne County, Michigan
Data sources & due diligence
Tax foreclosure in Michigan is judicial. Successful auction buyers receive a quit claim deed. Treat every parcel as a title, occupancy, and environmental research project - then use the treasurer and assessor as the system of record.
Wayne foreclosure rules (quick)
- Michigan uses a judicial tax-foreclosure process with a three-year timeline that culminates in foreclosure on March 31 of the third year.
- Properties are offered to state/local governments first; public auctions are held in September and October, with unsold September inventory offered again in October.
- Minimum bid equals delinquent taxes, penalties, and interest. Foreclosed owners cannot buy for less than taxes, fees, and interest.
- Sales are “as-is/where-is” with no warranties. Successful bidders receive a quit claim deed.
- Surplus proceeds are governed by MCL 211.78t: a Notice of Intent to Claim is due July 1 following foreclosure, then a circuit court motion window follows.
Primary records
- Online auction (live catalog) ↗
Minimum bids, parcel IDs, addresses, batch schedule. Our dashboard sync starts from the same public SearchItems API documented in WAYNE-INGEST.md.
- Auctions & claims (official PDFs) ↗
Sold / not-sold lists by year, auction cards, and legal notices. Use these to verify results when the API snapshot does not include hammer prices.
- Forfeited property & interested parties ↗
Pipeline context and statutory notices (e.g. intent to claim proceeds). Important for understanding redemption and surplus rules under Michigan law.
Assessor & GIS
- Annual assessment data (CSV) ↗
County-wide assessed values and roll fields (updated on an annual cycle). Best source to align min bid vs. assessed value at scale.
- GIS parcel data ↗
Parcel boundaries and spatial context. Layer vintage varies - confirm critical dimensions on the current county GIS viewer.
Investor checklist
- Confirm parcel ID, min bid, and status on the treasurer auction site the day you bid.
- Pull the assessor card for taxable value, land class, and principal residence flags.
- Drive the block; check occupancy, board-ups, and obvious environmental issues.
- Budget quiet title and eviction - not legal advice; talk to Michigan counsel.
Maintainer note: ingestion runbook and API notes live at WAYNE-INGEST.md. Refresh catalog JSON with npm run wayne:fetch-catalog.