DeedPilot

Walworth County, Wisconsin

Tax Deed106,029 residents

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

None once the county forecloses (roughly 2 years of delinquency before that)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

Wisconsin Statutes Ch. 75

Notes

Wisconsin in-rem tax foreclosure / tax-deed county. Walworth County Treasurer administers sales of county-owned (in-rem foreclosed) property under Wis. Stat. §75.69 through the county Finance Committee. Format (sealed bid vs open auction) and schedule are inventory-driven — none listed for sale as of research date on some cycles; confirm live listings with Treasurer. Distinct from mortgage sheriff sales. Lake Geneva / Delavan / Elkhorn — southeast WI tourism and Chicago-commuter edge.

Auction logistics

Format

Varies — sealed bid / Finance Committee sale (confirm per listing)

Frequency

As county-owned (in-rem foreclosed) inventory becomes available; not a fixed annual courthouse auction

Deposit rules

Per published Notice of Sale / bid packet for each offering — often earnest money or certified funds with sealed bid or auction terms. County may set minimum bids and reserves the right to reject bids under §75.69. Confirm current terms with Treasurer before submitting funds.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale
In-rem foreclosure is intended to convey clear title subject to federal liens and sale-specific exceptions. Special assessments may be handled separately. Review judgment and deed exceptions carefully.
Quiet title
Judgment of foreclosure is the main clearing step; quiet title may still be used for residual defects on lake-market resales.

Deal maths for Wisconsin

Assessment ratio
1× of market value
Typical quiet title
$1,800–$5,000 · 5 mo
Recording and transfer
$250

Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1) requires real property to be valued at the full value which could ordinarily be obtained at private sale, and § 70.05(5)(b) requires each taxation district to assess at full value at least once in every 5-year period. The Department of Revenue computes the actual assessed-to-full-value ratio for every district annually under § 70.05(5)(c) and notifies districts that drift more than 10% off over four years.

Offices and records

Areas trending up

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

Lake Geneva / Williams Bay tourism belt

Seasonal tourism and second-home demand; underwrite STR rules and lake premiums carefully

Delavan / Elkhorn county-seat corridor

Year-round workforce housing with more attainable SF than pure lakefront

Whitewater / UW-Whitewater fringe

University-driven rental demand and student-adjacent small multifamily absorption

Sources