Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Hybrid542,090 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Hybrid

Redemption periodstate default

6 months from sale/taking (often extends in practice via litigation)

Investor returnstate default

16% per annum statutory on redemption

Governing statutestate default

Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 60

Notes

Massachusetts tax titles are MUNICIPAL, not county-run. Plymouth County cities/towns (Brockton, Plymouth, Hingham, Lakeville, etc.) each run their own tax taking/sale or assignment under M.G.L. c. 60. After tax title attaches, foreclosure of the right of redemption is typically via Massachusetts Land Court. Brockton and Town of Plymouth are large examples only — always research the specific municipality. Post-Tyler excess-proceeds scrutiny is active statewide.

Auction logistics

Format

Varies by municipality (in-person or online public auction / tax title assignment)

Frequency

Periodically, as each city/town schedules tax sales, assignment auctions, or post–Land Court possession auctions

Platform

Municipal treasurer/collector (example: Town of Plymouth Treasurer-Collector; some towns use Bid4Assets) ↗

Deposit rules

Set by each municipality’s tax collector/treasurer for that sale notice — no single county rule. Confirm deposit, certified funds, buyer’s premium, and registration with the specific town (Hingham and Lakeville examples have used public auction deposits and buyer premiums).

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Tax title / Land Court foreclosure process. Federal liens and some municipal betterments can survive. Verify water/sewer and local betterment liens with the municipality before bidding.

Quiet title

Land Court foreclosure of the right of redemption is the standard path to marketable title after a tax taking/sale — that proceeding is effectively required, not optional.

Deal maths for Massachusetts

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $3,000–$7,000 · 12 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

M.G.L. c. 59, § 38 requires assessment at full and fair cash valuation, with no classification ratio applied to the assessed value. The Department of Revenue certifies each municipality's values on a five-year cycle, with interim-year adjustments between certifications.

Offices and records

Tax collector

City/town Treasurer-Collector (Plymouth County has no county tax-sale office) ↗

Clerk of court

Plymouth County Registry of Deeds + Massachusetts Land Court for foreclosure ↗

Property appraiser

Municipal assessor for the specific city/town (no single county appraiser) ↗

GIS / parcel map

Municipal assessor / parcel maps (varies by town; Plymouth as example) ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Plymouth Town Center / waterfront edge

Tourism and historic-core demand with limited coastal inventory supporting year-round housing liquidity

Brockton employment core

Largest city in the county with relatively affordable workforce housing demand versus South Shore coastal towns

Hingham / Norwell edge

School-driven South Shore suburbs with strong resale liquidity and tighter inventory than inland Plymouth towns