Getting Your Home Back After an Oklahoma Property Tax Sale

In most situations, after the purchaser receives a title to your house following an Oklahoma tax sale, you cannot redeem the property.

If you do not pay your property taxes on time, the amount owed becomes a lien on your house. This form of lien nearly often takes precedence over other types of liens, including mortgages. When taxes are not paid, the taxing authority will either sell the lien (and if you do not pay the past-due sum to the lien purchaser, that party may foreclose or use another way to get title to the house) or sell the property itself in a tax sale. In certain areas, however, no auction is made; instead, the taxation body enforces its lien by acquiring ownership to the residence. The taxation body is then required by state law to dispose of the property, typically by selling it. Before conducting a sale, the taxation authority in some countries utilizes a foreclosure procedure.

In many places, the homeowner may redeem the house after a tax sale by paying the buyer from the tax sale the sum paid (or paying the taxes due), plus interest, within a certain time frame. The length of the redemption period varies by state, but typically, the homeowner has at least a year from the date of sale to redeem the property.

However, in Oklahoma, the redemption time occurs prior to the sale. Here’s how the tax sale works in that city: In Oklahoma, if you are three years or more overdue on your property taxes, the county treasurer will most likely sell your house during a tax sale. Oklahoma Statute Ann. tit. 68 3105. Following the sale, the new owner will get a deed (title) to your house, and you will most likely lose possession forever. Most Oklahoma homeowners do not have the right to redeem until the new owner has a title to the property. Only in extremely specific instances will you have time to redeem after the sale.

How to Redeem Real Estate in Oklahoma

You may pay off all collected taxes, interest, and charges (also known as “redeeming” the property) in Oklahoma at any time before the county treasurer deeds the residence to a new owner. Oklahoma Statute Ann. tit. 68 3113.

After the new owner receives a tax deed, he or she has a limited right to redeem the property.

While most Oklahoma homeowners do not have the right to redeem after receiving a title to the property, minors and mentally disabled (or partly mentally impaired) people have a year after the disability ends to redeem the house. Oklahoma Statute Ann. tit. 68 3113, 3131.

The redemption amount is the unpaid taxes plus interest and penalty, but not more than 10% every year. Oklahoma Statute Ann. tit. 68 3113.

Even if you’re behind on your taxes, you may avoid a tax sale.

Some Oklahoma homeowners may get an exemption from a tax sale, which means that your house cannot be sold at such a sale even if you are behind on your property taxes.

Who is Eligible for a Tax Sale Exemption?

Delinquent taxpayers may prohibit the county treasurer from holding a tax auction if they meet the following criteria:

The county has a population of more than 100,000 people.
The property in question contains a single-family residential home; the person living in the home is 65 years of age or older (or has been classified as totally disabled); the property is not being rented out; the property’s fair market value is not more than $125,000; and the individual living on the property has an annual income that does not exceed the HHS Poverty Guidelines as established each year. Oklahoma Statute Ann. tit. 68 3105.

To get the exemption, you must submit an application to the county treasurer, along with supporting documentation, before your property is sold during a tax sale. Oklahoma Statute Ann. tit. 68 3105.