DeedPilot

St. Clair County, Michigan

Tax Deed160,308 residentsLive auctions →

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

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

Forfeiture/foreclosure process ends redemption rights before auction (roughly 2 years of delinquency)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

Michigan Compiled Laws §211.78 et seq.

Notes

Michigan tax-foreclosure (MCL 211.78 / PA 123) county — not a lien-certificate sale. After ~2 years delinquency, Circuit Court foreclosure judgment (typically March 31 cycle) vests title in the County Treasurer; remainder parcels are sold at public auction AS IS by quitclaim. St. Clair uses Tax-Sale.info (Title Check, LLC) for online public land auctions (confirmed by county pamphlet and local reporting). Pre-2021 surplus-proceeds class settlement participation noted on county site (Fox v. Saginaw-related). Blue Water / Port Huron industrial and Canadian-border logistics market.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Typically summer/fall public auction window after March foreclosure; second-round minimum-bid sales common statewide — confirm current dates with Treasurer

Deposit rules

Create Tax-Sale.info account and fund deposits per Title Check packet for St. Clair before bidding. Minimum bid usually equals taxes, interest, fees, and costs. Sold AS IS/WHERE IS; research occupancy, demo orders, and environmental status. Prior-owner surplus-proceeds claims may apply under MCL 211.78t for post-reform sales.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale
Circuit court foreclosure is intended to convey free of most prior private liens, but federal tax liens and some interests may survive. Occupied property, land-bank holds, and blight programs add practical complexity.
Quiet title
Judgment of foreclosure is the primary clearing step; some insurers still want quiet title or extended review on tax-foreclosed parcels.

Deal maths for Michigan

Assessment ratio
0.5× of market value
Typical quiet title
$2,000–$4,000 · 9 mo
Recording and transfer
$300

Michigan state equalized value is 50% of true cash value by constitution (Mich. Const. art. IX, § 3); taxable value may be lower still. The SEV published with these auction listings is taken from the delinquent tax year that was foreclosed upon, so it is typically several years stale — in a rising market it understates current value, and in a falling one it overstates it.

Offices and records

Areas trending up

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

Port Huron downtown / riverfront

Border-crossing employment and waterfront redevelopment supporting urban SF/small multifamily turns

Marysville industrial edge

Manufacturing employment base with stable workforce housing demand

Fort Gratiot / retail corridor

Primary retail gravity north of Port Huron with suburban SF liquidity

Sources