Selling a House With Unpaid Property Taxes in Missouri
Unpaid real estate taxes scare people more than a leaky roof. The bill is public. The collector can sell the parcel. A neighbor may have already told you that you are “about to lose the house.” Some of that is real. Some of it is a rumor about a date that is not on your notice.
I am David Dodge, Senior Buyer at House Sold Easy. We buy Missouri houses as-is for cash, including houses with delinquent property taxes. Title pays the delinquent bill from proceeds when the numbers work. We cannot promise to stop a tax sale. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Call 636-525-1566 with the address and what you know about the bill.
The yes/no page is can I sell with a lien or back taxes?. The situation page is sell a house with liens in Missouri. This post is the tax-sale statute and the collector split, in plain language.
What the statute actually says about a tax sale
Missouri’s collector-sale rules live in Chapter 140 of the Revised Statutes. Two sections are the ones sellers ask about.
RSMo 140.150 says that lands, lots, mineral rights, and royalty interests on which taxes or special assessments are delinquent and unpaid are subject to sale to discharge the lien on the fourth Monday in August of each year. It also says delinquent taxes, penalty, interest, and costs may be paid to the county collector at any time before the property is sold. The collector must send notices to the publicly recorded owner of record before the delinquent list is published: the first notice by first-class mail, and a second notice by certified mail only if the assessed valuation of the property is greater than one thousand dollars. If assessed valuation is not greater than one thousand dollars, only the first notice is required. If a certified second notice comes back unsigned, the collector sends first-class notice before the sale to both the owner of record and the occupant. Failure to receive the notice does not erase the tax.
RSMo 140.170 says the county collector publishes the delinquent list in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three consecutive weeks, one insertion weekly, with the last insertion at least fifteen days before the fourth Monday in August. The published notice states that the land will be sold at public auction to discharge the taxes, penalty, interest, and costs, in or adjacent to the courthouse, on that fourth Monday in August, commencing at ten o’clock of that day and continuing day to day until all are offered. The statute also allows the auction to be conducted by electronic media, including the internet, at the same time, at the collector’s discretion.
We do not run the auction. We do not stop it. If you have a tax-sale notice in hand, say so on the first call. Sometimes a closing can occur before the sale if title, payoffs, and the calendar allow. Sometimes they do not.
City collector and County collector are not the same office
St. Louis City and St. Louis County are two governments. They do not share a collector. Selling in St. Louis City vs County is the broader map. For taxes, look at the name on the bill.
City of St. Louis. Real estate taxes are collected by the City’s Collector of Revenue. Start at the official Collector of Revenue page and the Real Estate Tax Department. The City also publishes a property tax inquiry tool. Use those pages for current payment options, office location, and whatever the City is saying about your parcel. I will not paste a fee schedule or an interest rate from memory.
St. Louis County. County parcels go through the County Collector of Revenue. Official home: Collector of Revenue. The County also publishes a real property tax sale page. Unincorporated South County and a Kirkwood or Florissant address are still County-collector files if that is who issued the bill. The municipality on the occupancy sticker is not always the collector.
Everywhere else we buy. St. Charles and Jefferson each have their own collector. Illinois Metro East is a different state. We do not buy in Franklin, Lincoln, or Warren County. Areas we serve. Call the office printed on the bill, not a friend who sold a house in a different county.
How the money moves on a cash sale
We write an offer for the house. At closing, recorded payoffs come off the top: the mortgage, the delinquent real estate taxes, other recorded liens the closer has to clear. You receive what is left. If the stack is larger than we can pay and still buy the house, we will say no, or we will talk about what would have to change. If the stack is larger than we can pay and still buy the house, we will say no. What happens to your mortgage when you sell is the loan row of that stack. Seller closing costs in Missouri is our side of closing costs. We typically cover our standard closing costs. We do not erase other people’s liens as a favor.
You do not have to “catch up the taxes first” in every case. Title can pay the delinquent bill from proceeds when equity allows. You do have to tell us the bill exists. Hiding it wastes a week and does not make the collector go away.
Special tax bills, vacant-building bills, and City Building Division charges are not always the same line as the annual real estate tax. If the house is posted or condemned, bring that paper: sell a condemned house. Inherited houses with years of unpaid taxes are common. Authority to sell still matters: probate / inherited.
What a tax sale is: and what a cash buyer is not
A Chapter 140 sale is the collector discharging the tax lien at auction. It is not a foreclosure by your mortgage lender. Those are different clocks. If you have a trustee sale date on a deed of trust, use foreclosure and behind on the mortgage. If you have a collector notice about the fourth Monday in August, you are on this page.
Paying the collector before the property is sold is the statute’s own off-ramp, 140.150 says the taxes may be paid any time before the sale. A closing that pays the bill from proceeds is one way that payment can happen. A payment plan you set up directly with the collector is another. We are not the collector. We do not enroll you in their portal.
We have bought 1,000+ houses since 2016. Typical close is about two weeks when title is ready. A tax-sale calendar can make “when title is ready” a shorter window than you wanted. How long any sale takes still depends on the method: how long it takes to sell a house in St. Louis.
Google shows 4.7 from 65+ reviews. The office is 1750 S Brentwood Blvd, Suite 503, Brentwood, MO 63144. Ask for David or Mike.
What to bring to the first call
- The tax bill, or a photo of it
- Any collector letter or published-sale notice
- The mortgage servicer name if there is a loan
- Whether anyone else is on title
- Whether the house is occupied
We walk the house as-is. You do not have to repair it to pay the taxes. You do have to have authority to sell, or a personal representative who does.
Common questions
Can I sell if I owe back taxes?
Often yes, if proceeds cover the bill and the other payoffs. Can I sell with a lien or back taxes?.
Will you stop the tax sale?
No. We do not stop a tax sale. Sometimes a closing can occur before it. Sometimes it cannot.
Do I pay the collector myself before closing?
Not always. Title can pay the delinquent bill from proceeds when equity allows. If you already paid, bring the receipt.
City or County: who do I call?
The collector named on the tax bill. City: stlouis-mo.gov collector. County: stlouiscountymo.gov collector.
Is this tax advice?
No. Read the Revisor links. Ask the collector about your parcel. Hire counsel if the notice is already a sale list.
How fast can you close?
About two weeks when title is ready, if the collector’s calendar still allows a closing. You pick the date when that is true.
Who writes the offer?
David Dodge or Michael Slane. Call 636-525-1566.