Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Oct 8, 2026 · in 26 days

Tax Deedscheduledvia County site

Parcels

Opening bids

$639,450

all parcels priced

Redemption

None

clear title at sale

Quiet title

$2K–$5K

typically required

What survives this sale

Tax forfeiture to the State and subsequent county deed generally cut off most private liens; federal tax liens, certain environmental liabilities, and access/survey defects remain risks. Full title search mandatory.

Otter Tail County rules

Sale type: Tax Deed
Redemption period: 3 years from judgment (5 years for homestead/ag land)
Investor return: N/A — outright deed transfer
Governing statute: Minnesota Statutes Ch. 280–282
Population: 60,884 residents
Checked: 2026-07

Auction logistics

Format: Online / public auction of tax-forfeited land (Public Surplus pattern; confirm catalog)
Frequency: Periodic (multiple rounds per year when inventory posts; e.g., Aug 2026 catalog start)
Platform: Otter Tail County Auditor-Treasurer — Tax-Forfeited Lands218-998-8030
Deposit rules: Follow the current sales catalog for registration, minimum bids, fees, and payment deadlines. Properties sold AS IS; special assessments and building-code issues common on forfeited stock. Contact Auditor-Treasurer 218-998-8030 before funding.

Title risk

Sometimes used for marketable title if chain or notice issues appear; many MN forfeited deeds close with underwriter conditions.

Offices and records

Tax collector: Otter Tail County Auditor-Treasurer — Tax-Forfeited Lands218-998-8030
Clerk of court: Otter Tail County Recorder / District Court
Property appraiser: Otter Tail County Assessor
GIS / parcel map: Otter Tail County tax-forfeited lands map / catalog

Areas trending up

Fergus Falls city core — Regional medical, retail, and government jobs with strongest SF liquidity
Perham / lake recreation corridor — Tourism and second-home demand with seasonal rental dynamics
Pelican Rapids / US-59 fringe — Entry-priced inventory and workforce housing near manufacturing

Notes

Minnesota tax-forfeiture deed county (Minn. Stat. Ch. 280–282). After statutory judgment and redemption periods, title forfeits to the State; Otter Tail County Auditor-Treasurer administers public sales of tax-forfeited lands. Periodic online auctions (Public Surplus historically) and catalog sales — next cycle advertised starting August 3 at 8:00 a.m. with sales booklet at ottertailcounty.gov (forfeiture-sales-booklet). Unsold parcels may re-auction later. Fergus Falls / Perham / lake-country market.

3 sources

Inherited from Minnesota rather than researched for Otter Tail: type, redemption, returns, statute.

Parcels — ranked by assessed value over opening bid

Download PropStream list (16 parcels, CSV)

Parcel	Address	Opening bid	Assessed	Spread	Status
76000990479006	501 2nd Ave Se · Pelican Rapids	$184,000	$192,100	$8,100	pending
77000990205001	440 2nd Ave Sw · Perham	$163,100	$169,900	$6,800	pending
72000990378000	127 Poulson Ave · Henning	$87,700	$93,700	$6,000	pending
83000990096000

Spread is not profit.It compares the opening bid to the county's assessed value, which is not market value — Minn. Stat. § 273.11 subd. 1: "all property shall be valued at its market value." Class rates under § 273.13 are applied afterwards to compute tax capacity and do not reduce the assessed value. The estimated market value is also what § 282.005 uses to set the opening price at a tax-forfeited sale. Open a parcel to run the full max-bid analysis, which accounts for the assessment ratio, surviving liens, quiet title, and holding costs.