If no sale has happened yet
- 'What tax years are delinquent on this parcel, and what is the total to bring it current today?' (Get it in writing.)
- 'What is the next step the county will take on this parcel, and on what date?'
- 'Does the county offer a payment plan or installment agreement? What are the terms, and what do I sign?'
- 'Am I eligible for any exemption or deferral that is not on this parcel right now?'
If a sale has happened
- 'What exactly was sold — a lien certificate, or the property — and on what date?'
- 'What is the last day I can redeem, and what is the full redemption amount as of that day?' (In writing.)
- 'The sale brought how much? The debt was how much? So a surplus of how much is being held, by which office?'
- 'What is the claim deadline, what starts it, and what form or petition do I file?'
- 'Has any claim already been filed on this surplus — by anyone?' (Ask this before you tell a recovery company anything.)
The one rule: figures and deadlines change as interest runs and files move. Everything that matters — the payoff, the deadline, the surplus amount, a promise to hold a sale — get it in writing, with the date and the name of the person who gave it. A writing beats a memory in every office and every courtroom.
Included in the $49 TaxSaleDecoded Kit
- The surplus claim pack: how to prove the house was yours (deed records, address history, ID), the claim-form path in your state, and what to do when the county says it has no record of your money
- The redemption playbook: your state's window and cost formula worked step by step, who to pay, how to prove you paid, and the traps in the payoff figure (added fees and interest)
- The heirs page: the house was a parent's — what changes, which papers prove you are an heir, and the point where it stops being simple
- The scam shield: how surplus-recovery companies work, the fee caps your state sets for them, and the assignment papers you should never sign
- The lookback module: what Tyler won, what Pung limited (the extra money is the sale price minus the debt — not your home's value), and the dated state lookbacks, including Illinois claims that die in July 2028
Get the TaxSaleDecoded Kit — $49
One payment of $49. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — the claim pack, the redemption playbook, the heirs page, and the scam shield.
Redeem, step by step · Claim the surplus, step by step