Bidding Procedures

• The Department of the Treasury publishes each property's minimum bidding price, and any registered bidder can place a bid. Oral bids are legally binding if they are accepted by the auctioneer at public auction, and public bids must be made in increments of $50 or $100.
  
  Winning bidders must pay the entire cost of their purchase within one hour of the end of auction, and they must tender their payments in cash or cashiers' checks. For property exceeding $1,000, bidders must pay by cashiers' checks. The state does not accept business or personal checks, credit card payments or money orders. The department recommends that bidders bring cashiers' checks issued in denominations of $50 to tender their bids.
  
  

Title

• The state conveys tax foreclosures through quitclaim deeds, which warrant that title is only as legally marketable as provided to the state upon foreclosure. The state makes no further warranties as to marketability and warns bidders that their purchases may not be insurable by title insurance companies. In fact, the inability to purchase title insurance does not give the buyer grounds to request the state to repurchase the property. In other words, the state conveys title under the "buyer-beware" doctrine. Within 30 days, the state executes deeds and forwards them to winning bidders after they record them in the county registers of deeds offices.
  
  

Further Tax Responsibilities

• According to the Department of the Treasury, although special tax assessments are generally included in the minimum bid prices, public bidders are responsible for ensuring there are no future special assessment liabilities. Furthermore, winning bidders are responsible for property taxes that become due after March 31 of each year.
  
  

Considerations

• Since state laws can frequently change, do not use this information as a substitute for legal advice. Seek advice through an attorney licensed to practice law in Michigan.