A mortgage foreclosure is your lender suing over unpaid payments. A tax deed sale is a county process over unpaid property taxes. Different triggers, different deadlines, and different ways to stop them.
They are different cases with different triggers. A mortgage foreclosure is your lender suing over unpaid mortgage payments. A tax deed sale is a county process over unpaid property taxes, started by the holder of a tax certificate.
Side by side
Trigger — Tax deed sale: Unpaid property taxes — Mortgage foreclosure: Unpaid mortgage payments
Who starts it — Tax deed sale: The tax certificate holder, through the county — Mortgage foreclosure: Your lender, through a court case
Who runs the sale — Tax deed sale: The county clerk — Mortgage foreclosure: The clerk of court, after a judgment
How to stop it — Tax deed sale: Pay the taxes, interest, and costs before the sale is completed — Mortgage foreclosure: Reinstate, pay off, or settle with the lender
What can come back to you — Tax deed sale: Any surplus over what is owed, if you claim it — Mortgage foreclosure: A possible surplus, and in some cases a deficiency claim
Both can happen
Back taxes and a mortgage default can happen at the same time. If you have fallen behind on both, you have two timelines to manage.
Why it matters which one you face
Different deadlines, different ways to stop it, and different options. Know which case number you are dealing with, and who sent each notice.
What to do this week
Pull your notices and find which case each one belongs to. Then send me the dates, and I will tell you which clock runs out first.
General education, not legal, tax or investment advice. Discuss your circumstances with a licensed Florida attorney or tax professional. Yoganand Ganeshram PA, licensed Florida real estate agent with eXp Realty. Equal Housing Opportunity.
For the application clock, section 197.502 uses two years after April 1 of the certificate’s year of issuance. For redemption, section 197.472 governs the cutoff. Ask the tax collector and clerk for your parcel’s actual dates; these are different deadlines.
Sources: Section 197.502 and section 197.472.
Originally published on Equity Edge Orlando. Reviewed for this Substack edition.