Question 1

Does Connecticut sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Accepted Answer

Redeemable deeds. The town or city tax collector sells the delinquent property itself at public auction and signs a collector's deed, which is held unrecorded for six months while the owner or a lienholder may redeem. Connecticut sells no lien certificates at auction; a town may only assign its liens in bulk to a negotiated assignee.

Question 2

What does the buyer earn if the property is redeemed?

Accepted Answer

Interest at 18 percent a year on the total purchase price from the date of the sale, plus the return of any amount bid above the taxes due, which the town holds in escrow. Because redemption must come within six months, the most a redeemed parcel returns is about 9 percent of the price, and less if it is redeemed sooner.

Question 3

How long is the redemption period in Connecticut?

Accepted Answer

Six months from the date of the sale. A town may shorten it to 60 days for abandoned property or for property meeting conditions set by town ordinance. The collector's post-sale notice states the exact date redemption ends.

Question 4

When does a Connecticut tax sale buyer get the property?

Accepted Answer

When the redemption period ends without payment. The collector's deed, signed within two weeks of the sale and held by the town clerk, is then recorded and takes full effect. No court action is needed. A challenge to the deed, other than for fraud, must be brought within one year of its recording.

Question 5

When are Connecticut tax sales held?

Accepted Answer

Each town or city sets its own date; no statute fixes a month and no state office keeps a calendar. The collector must publish the levy notice with the date, time and place of sale starting 9 to 12 weeks ahead, in a newspaper circulating in the town, and record it in the town clerk's land records. Sales are often adjourned or cancelled.

Question 6

What happens to the extra money when a bid exceeds the taxes?

Accepted Answer

The town holds it in escrow. If the property is redeemed, it goes to the buyer. If not, the town may apply it to the owner's other unpaid taxes and then pays the rest into the Superior Court, where the former owner and lienholders have 90 days to apply for it.

Question 7

Can I buy Connecticut tax liens over the counter?

Accepted Answer

No. Unsold parcels go to the town at the sale. A town may assign its tax liens under 12-195h, but only by resolution and under a negotiated written contract, which is a bulk transaction rather than a counter sale.

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