Broward County Delinquent Property Tax List

Where to find Broward County’s delinquent property tax list

The official Broward delinquent property tax list comes from the Broward County Tax Collector. Under Florida law the Tax Collector advertises delinquent real-estate taxes once a week for three weeks and sells tax certificates on or before June 1 (s. 197.402).

The county publishes the tax deed side of the process through its Records, Taxes and Treasury Division. Its tax deed FAQ explains how sales work, the Broward tax deed auction site carries the monthly calendar and the list of properties for each sale, and each sale is advertised at Broward County Legal Notices.

Use the official record to verify tax status before you act on anything. It is built to collect a tax, though, not to find a seller: it runs parcel by parcel with the amount due, and working out who owns each property, where they receive mail and whether it is worth a call is a separate job.

What is on the Broward delinquent tax list?

Four county tax records come up when you look for delinquent property in Broward, and they are not the same thing.

Delinquent real-estate taxes are unpaid property taxes on land and buildings. These are the parcels on the advertised list, and the ones a property buyer is looking for.

Tangible personal property taxes are a separate tax on property other than real estate. Florida enforces them by tax warrant and a circuit-court petition rather than through tax certificates (s. 197.413), so they do not belong on a list of properties to buy.

A tax certificate is what the Tax Collector sells on a delinquent real-estate parcel. It is a lien that earns interest for whoever pays the tax (s. 197.432); it does not give that buyer the property.

A tax deed is how ownership can change. Broward’s own guidance says that if a certificate has not been redeemed within two years, its holder can apply to force a public auction, and the statute sets that point at two years from April 1 of the year the certificate was issued (s. 197.502). In Broward that auction is held monthly, online, by the Records, Taxes and Treasury Division.

What the delinquent roll in Broward County is made of

Broward runs its own tax deed auction. The county’s Records, Taxes and Treasury Division holds one sale a month, entirely online, and advertises every property for four consecutive weeks before it. A parcel that has run past the certificate sale therefore has a calendared exit in Broward, and the opening bid is built differently if the parcel is homestead: it carries one-half of the assessed value on top of the taxes, interest and fees.

The property behind it

Broward’s own tax deed guidance warns that a sale can include a drainage ditch, a sign, condemned property, a stairwell or a small strip of nothing, and points bidders to the Property Appraiser’s use codes. Expect unusable parcels in among the houses and condos, and screen by use code before you spend time on an owner.

How Broward County runs its certificate sale

Broward’s Tax Collector sells certificates under the same statutory deadline as every county: advertised once a week for three weeks, sold on or before June 1 (s. 197.402). The deed side is run by the county itself. The Records, Taxes and Treasury Division holds one online sale a month at broward.realtaxdeed.com, with bidding opening at 9:00 a.m. ET, and advertises the properties at browardcountylegalnotices.com for four consecutive weeks. The winning bidder pays by wire transfer, cashier’s check or money order by 11:00 a.m. ET the next day, with a separate cashier’s check for each property. A property that draws no bid goes on the lands available list: the county has 90 days to buy it at the opening bid, and after that anyone may.

What to do differently here

Read the opening bid before you look at market value. In Broward it may not include all unpaid taxes, so the winner owes any other real estate or personal property taxes on top, and the bills come from the Broward County Tax Collector. Government liens follow the property, and vacant land can carry lot-clearing and code liens. Budget for documentary stamps at $.70 per $100 of the bid plus recording fees. A sale is not final until the bid is paid in full: until then, the county’s guidance says, the former owner may still pay the delinquent taxes and void it.

Using Broward tax-delinquent properties for investor outreach

A line on the county list is a parcel and a balance. Before it is worth a call you need to know who owns the property and where they actually receive mail, and in Broward you also need to know whether the parcel is still at the certificate stage or already has a tax deed application against it.

Lispend puts Broward tax-delinquent property in front of you with the owner and mailing address resolved, in the same place as the county’s other distressed property. You can filter the list, export it as a CSV, and skip trace an owner inside Lispend when you are ready to call; skip tracing is bought separately, as credits.

One rule to know before you pick up the phone: Florida bars the holder of a tax certificate from contacting the owner to encourage or demand payment until two years after April 1 of the year the certificate was issued (s. 197.432(13)). It governs certificate holders collecting on their lien. If you also buy certificates, know which role you are in before you call.