Buying at Auction in Florida: Foreclosure and Tax Deed Sales Explained
Buying at auction Florida investors attempt means paying cash within a day, with no inspection and no title policy. The discount pays for that risk, and only if you priced it right.
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Buying at auction Florida investors attempt means paying within a day, with no inspection and no title insurance at the sale.
The discount pays for that risk if you priced it correctly. Financing comes after, not before. Our hard money page covers the bridge many bidders use.
Two kinds of auction
Foreclosure sales: the clerk sells after a lender's judgment.
Tax deed sales: the county sells after property taxes go unpaid.
See our guide to the foreclosure process in Florida.
Both run online through the county clerk in most Florida counties.
The rules differ in important ways.
Where sales happen
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach each run online auction sites.
The Florida Clerks site links to every county.
Registration and a deposit are required before you bid.
Sale calendars post weeks ahead.
Read each county's rules; they vary.
Payment
A deposit at bidding, often five percent.
The balance by wire or cashier's check within a day or two.
No financing contingency exists.
A hard money loan arranged in advance is the only lender route.
See our guide to hard money lenders in Florida.
No inspection
You cannot enter the property before the sale.
Drive by, look at the exterior, review permits and photos from prior listings.
See our guide to AS IS contracts in Florida for the mindset.
Assume the worst about the interior.
Price the bid on that assumption.
Title risk on foreclosure sales
The judgment wipes out liens named in the case.
Liens not named survive, and a second mortgage foreclosure leaves the first in place.
See our guide to title insurance in Florida.
Order a title search before bidding.
Bidding on a junior lien foreclosure by mistake is the classic loss.
Title risk on tax deed sales
A tax deed wipes out most liens, including mortgages, but not all governmental liens.
Title from a tax deed is not insurable until quieted or aged.
A quiet title action takes months and costs money.
Resale and refinancing wait for it.
Budget both time and legal fees.
Occupants
The former owner or a tenant may still be inside.
Florida requires a court process to remove them.
See our guide to buying with tenants in place in Florida.
A tenant with a bona fide lease has federal protection.
Add the time and cost to the bid.
Association debt
Unpaid association dues may follow the property.
The lender's safe harbour does not apply to you.
See our guide to HOA and mortgage approval in Florida.
Call the association before the sale for the balance.
It can be large in older buildings.
Code liens
Municipal code violations accrue daily fines.
They can survive a foreclosure and often survive a tax deed.
Check the city's code enforcement records.
Some cities negotiate reductions for new owners who cure the violation.
Ask before you bid, not after.
The bidding
Set a maximum before the sale and hold it.
The lender bids its judgment amount on foreclosure sales; anything above that is competition.
See our guide to fix and flip loans in Florida for the profit math.
Auction fever is real.
Walk away when the number passes your max.
After the sale
A ten-day objection period follows a foreclosure sale.
The clerk issues the certificate of title after that.
Do not spend money on the property before the title issues.
Insurance and utilities come next.
See our guide to Florida homeowners insurance cost.
Financing after the fact
Delayed financing lets a cash buyer pull funds back out within months.
See our guide to delayed financing in Florida.
It requires clean, insurable title.
Tax deed properties wait for quiet title first.
A DSCR or conventional loan follows for rentals.
Hard money as the bridge
A hard money lender can fund a purchase within days if lined up ahead.
See our guide to hard money loans for Florida investors.
Some lenders fund the deposit and balance directly to the clerk.
Rates are high; the term is short.
The exit is a sale or a refinance.
Redemption
A foreclosed owner can redeem by paying the judgment before the certificate of sale issues.
A tax delinquent owner can redeem until the tax deed sale itself.
A redeemed sale returns your deposit.
It also returns the time you spent.
Both are rare but real.
Comparing with REO
Bank-owned sales come with title insurance, inspection access and financing.
See our guide to buying a foreclosure in Florida.
The discount is smaller.
For a first attempt, REO is the safer route.
Auctions reward experience.
Taxes and homestead
The prior homestead cap resets at sale.
See our guide to the Florida homestead exemption.
Doc stamps on the deed are paid at the clerk.
Prorated taxes are not part of the sale; check the tax collector.
A tax deed sale clears the delinquent taxes that triggered it.
Where to start
Register with your county clerk's auction site and watch several sales without bidding.
Line up a hard money lender and a title company.
Then start a conversation about the refinance that follows a successful bid.