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Bremer County treasurer: only 89 properties remained delinquent after annual tax sale
Summary
Bremer County Treasurer Adam Hoffman told supervisors that improved year-round outreach helped reduce delinquencies; county data show 794 tax sale certificates sold since 2016 with just 12 resulting in deeds (a 1.51% deed rate).
Adam Hoffman, Bremer County treasurer, told the board that the county’s June 15 tax sale left just 89 properties and mobile homes delinquent out of nearly 18,000 taxable parcels.
Hoffman said the low delinquency rate reflects a communications strategy that mails property tax statements once a year in August and sends delinquency notices on Nov. 1 and May 1, while the treasurer’s office supplements those mailings with regular social-media reminders of due dates and payment options.
“Rather than waiting until taxes become delinquent, I’ve worked to keep those deadlines in front of taxpayers throughout the year,” Hoffman said, adding that the effort helps property owners “avoid interest and penalties, and keep their properties out of the tax sale process.”
Hoffman also presented a decade-long summary: since 2016 the county sold 794 tax sale certificates, 673 of those certificates were redeemed by property owners and 12 resulted in a tax deed, yielding a deed rate of 1.51 percent. He said the balance of certificates remain eligible for redemption.
The treasurer framed Iowa’s tax-sale process as a revenue-recovery mechanism rather than a transfer-of-ownership tool and invited board members to raise questions about any figures presented.
The board did not take further action on the report; supervisors asked staff to continue outreach work and accepted the treasurer’s information for the record.
