Simulation: a fictional property for practice.

A Utah county tax sale: can you back out?

A Utah county auditor’s May tax sale lists a cabin lot. The minimum bid is what’s owed. Learn what the tax deed gives you.

A fictional lot at a county tax sale in Utah. Each county sets its own deposit, payment method and premium.

• Sale: County auditor’s annual tax sale (May or June), Utah
• Minimum bid: All delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs: $6,200
• Parcel: A cabin lot; the recorded description is unclear
• Payment: Wire only, plus a 5% buyer’s premium, in this example county

Mission 1: What do you get?

If you win, what do you receive?

• A tax deed recorded after the county accepts my bid, with no promises about title or possession
• A warranty deed with clean title

Ask a title company whether it will insure a tax deed from this county before you bid.

Mission 2: Can you change your mind?

You win, then find out the description doesn’t match the land you looked at. Can you cancel?

• No. Once the auditor closes the sale on a parcel, I can’t rescind my bid
• Yes, within 30 days

If a tax title is later found invalid, your claim is limited to the smaller of the taxes, interest and penalties or what you paid (59-2-1352). Bid only what you can afford to lose while title is uncertain.

Mission 3: The morning of the sale

Can the owner still keep the property?

• Yes, the owner can still pay off the taxes until the sale begins, so check the updated list that morning
• Yes, for one year after the sale

Read the auditor’s notice early: deposit deadline, payment method, buyer’s premium, and whether the deposit counts toward the price.

Would you bid on this lot?

Buy, investigate or pass? Work through the drill to see what an experienced investor would weigh.