Sell my house with back taxes, missed payments, or liens in Florida
Unpaid property taxes in Florida can cost you the house even if the mortgage is current. Here is the actual timeline, what each kind of debt does at closing, and where a cash sale helps.
The debt most owners underestimate is the tax bill
Almost everyone worries about the mortgage. Far fewer people know that Florida has a separate, faster mechanism that can take a house for unpaid property taxes alone, and that it runs on its own clock whether or not the mortgage is current. If you are behind on both, the tax side may be the one with the earlier deadline.
How Florida turns unpaid taxes into a lost house
The sequence is public and predictable:
- Taxes become delinquent on April 1. Interest starts, and the county advertises the delinquent parcels.
- The county sells a tax certificate, generally by June 1. An investor pays your tax bill and receives a certificate that earns interest. Nothing has happened to your ownership yet, and you can still redeem by paying what is owed plus interest.
- After two years from delinquency, the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed. That triggers a public auction of the property itself.
- The property is sold at the tax deed sale. Any surplus above the debts goes through a claims process, but you have lost the home and usually a large part of the equity.
Two years sounds like plenty of time. In practice, owners find out about the certificate late, then discover that the amount needed to redeem has grown with interest and fees. The point is simple: property taxes are not a bill you can quietly defer for years, and the tax path can outrun the mortgage path.
Mortgage arrears run on a different track
Florida foreclosure is judicial, so the lender has to file a lawsuit and win before a sale is set, and that takes months. Missed payments still add late fees, and once the case is filed, attorney fees and costs get added to the payoff. Everything added to that payoff comes out of your equity, which is the practical reason waiting is expensive even when the timeline feels slow. Our foreclosure page and the Florida foreclosure guide walk through the stages and the options at each one.
HOA and condo association debt forecloses on its own
This is the one that catches people off guard. In Florida an association can record a lien for unpaid assessments and foreclose on it independently, without any involvement from your mortgage lender. Attorney fees and costs get added to the balance, so a debt that started as a few missed quarterly payments can double. Special assessments for structural work on older condo buildings have made this far more common in Miami-Dade and Broward over the last few years.
What actually happens with liens in a sale
The title company orders the payoff letters, calculates what each holder is owed as of the closing date, pays them from the proceeds, and records the releases. You receive what is left. If the total debt is close to the value of the house, we will tell you plainly and early, and depending on the numbers a short sale conversation with your lender may be a better path than any offer we could make.
When selling is the wrong answer
If the arrears are small and your income has recovered, call the servicer about reinstatement or a repayment plan, and call the tax collector about a payment arrangement. Keeping the house is usually better than selling it, and a HUD-approved housing counselor advises at no cost. Selling makes sense when the debt is growing faster than you can catch up, when the equity is real and worth protecting, or when a deed sale date is close enough to be the binding constraint. See how the offer gets built on our cash offer page, or call (786) 940-9908 and tell us where things stand.
This page is general information about how sales like these usually work in Florida, not legal or tax advice. For your own case, talk to a Florida attorney or your accountant.
Where are you in the process?
Pick what describes your situation. We will mark the stage, what usually comes next, and what you can still do, including the ways out that do not involve us.
1. Behind on paymentsYou are here
Nothing has been filed yet. The servicer calls and sends letters, and late fees add up.
Federal rules generally require the loan to be more than 120 days delinquent before the first official filing. This is the point with the most options.
What you can still do- Reinstate the loan if you can gather the arrears.
- Ask the servicer for a modification, a repayment plan or forbearance.
- Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor, free.
- Sell on the open market: if the house is in good shape and there is time, it usually nets more.
- Sell fast and as-is, if repairs or time are not on your side.
2. Breach or demand letter arrivedYou are here
The servicer demands the arrears and warns it may accelerate the loan (demand the full balance).
The letter usually carries a deadline. After it passes, the next step is the lawsuit.
What you can still do- Respond to the servicer before the letter deadline, in writing.
- Ask for the exact reinstatement figure (what it takes to be current today).
- HUD housing counselor, free.
- Selling before the lawsuit starts leaves the best price range.
3. You were served (lis pendens)You are here
The lawsuit was filed and recorded against the property. It is public, which is why mail from people who bought that list starts arriving.
⚠️ You have 20 days to respond. This is the deadline people miss: no response usually means a default judgment, and the case moves much faster.
What you can still do- Answer the court within 20 days, even without a lawyer.
- Look for free legal aid or a Florida attorney: real defenses exist.
- Keep negotiating with the servicer, the lawsuit does not stop that.
- Selling is still possible: if it closes before the sale date, it ends the case.
4. There is a judgmentYou are here
The court set the amount and will schedule the auction, usually several weeks out.
The window narrows but has not closed: in Florida the right of redemption generally runs until the certificate of sale is filed.
What you can still do- Confirm the exact auction date with the clerk of court.
- Pay the judgment in full (redemption) if that is possible.
- Sell before the auction: it has to close before that date, so timing rules everything.
- Ask an attorney about deficiency risk after the sale.
5. A sale date is setYou are here
The property is sold, usually online, through the clerk of court in your county.
This is the shortest window. Any sale has to CLOSE before that date, not merely be agreed.
What you can still do- Redemption: still available until the certificate of sale is filed.
- An attorney can assess whether there is a basis to move to postpone the sale.
- If you sell, tell the buyer about EVERY debt on the property, including the ones that look small.
- If nothing can close in time, prepare for what comes after the auction.
6. The auction already happenedYou are here
The property sold. Once the certificate of sale is filed, redemption has generally ended.
Two things almost nobody tells you remain: SURPLUS (if it sold for more than was owed, that money may be yours) and DEFICIENCY (if it sold for less, the lender may pursue the difference).
What you can still do- Ask the clerk of court about surplus funds in your name. Do not pay anyone to "recover" them without advice.
- Consult a Florida attorney about deficiency and its deadlines.
- Be careful with anyone charging up front to fix this: it is where most scams live.
General information about Florida's judicial foreclosure process, not legal advice. Timing varies by county and by case; confirm yours with the clerk of court or a Florida attorney.
Frequently asked questions
How many years can property taxes go unpaid in Florida?
What happens if you buy a house that owes back taxes?
Can I sell my house if there is a lien on it?
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