Sell a House With Tax Liens or Back Property Taxes

• A tax lien is a legal claim the taxing authority places on your property when property taxes go unpaid. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost the house — it means there’s a debt attached to it that has to be settled, usually before you can sell or refinance without paying it off first.
• A tax sale is what can happen if the lien goes unresolved long enough. Depending on your state, this might mean the taxing authority sells the lien itself to an investor (a “tax lien sale”), or it might mean the property itself gets sold to satisfy the debt (a “tax deed sale”). Some states offer a redemption period afterward where you can still reclaim the property by paying what’s owed, plus interest and fees — others don’t.

The exact rules — how much time you have, whether there’s a redemption period, and what counts as delinquent — depend entirely on your state and county. If you’re not sure where your property stands, your county tax assessor’s or tax collector’s office can tell you exactly what’s owed and what timeline you’re working with.

Your Options

What makes sense depends on how much is owed, how far along the process is, and how much equity is in the house. Homeowners in this situation typically consider:

• Paying off the lien directly, if you’re able to, which resolves the debt and stops any further action. Some counties also offer payment plans for back taxes.
• Refinancing or borrowing against the property to pay off the lien, if you have enough equity and still qualify for financing.
• Selling on the open market, which can let you pay off the lien and back taxes out of the proceeds at closing — but takes time for repairs, showings, and closing that you may not have if a sale date is approaching.
• Selling directly to a buyer like us. The lien and back taxes are typically paid off directly out of the sale proceeds at closing, so you don’t need cash up front to resolve it — and the sale can move quickly if time is a factor.

Everest Home Buyers isn’t a law firm or a tax advisor, and this isn’t legal or tax advice — for anything related to exactly what’s owed, your redemption rights, or your state’s specific tax sale timeline, your county tax collector’s office or a real estate attorney is the right place to start. We’re simply here to make the “selling the house” part easier, whichever path resolves things for you.