Oakland County treasurer urges residents to seek help before March 31 tax-foreclosure deadline

Oakland County Treasurer Robert told the Southfield City Council on March 17 that March 31 is the foreclosure deadline for taxes three years and older and urged residents who owe 2022 and prior tax years to contact the treasurer’s office for repayment plans or other assistance.

Robert said the county’s tax-foreclosure process runs on a three-year cycle: year one is delinquency, year two is forfeiture and year three is foreclosure. He described taxpayer assistance meetings, repayment agreements and outreach the treasurer’s office uses to avoid sales, and noted that county law now allows some former owners to claim surplus proceeds if a foreclosed property sells for more than taxes, interest and fees.

Why it matters: foreclosure sales permanently transfer title under state procedure and — unlike many mortgage foreclosures — Michigan law provides no redemption period after the third year. The treasurer emphasized that prevention depends on people contacting the office before the March 31 deadline.

Key details from the presentation: -…