Redemption period
Redemption means you may still pay what the county requires, or sell and have that payoff made at closing. The window is not the same in Jackson, Clay, Platte, Wyandotte, and Johnson counties. If it has already closed, this is no longer a sale and may be an excess-proceeds question.
Redemption means you still have a chance to pay what the county requires, or to sell and have that payoff made at closing. It is not the same window in all five counties. If the window has already closed, this is no longer a sale. It may be an excess-proceeds question.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 CT (America/Chicago). Saturday and Sunday closed.
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In Kansas City
Some counties let you pay before the auction. Clay and Platte also have time after a certificate sale. Jackson County and the Kansas counties do not give you a long second chance after the sale. These are the county statements already used on this site. Verify your parcel.
The county and the title company need the address, the owner name, and the parcel number. Ask for the full amount due today: taxes, interest, penalties, court costs, and fees. A bill from last year is not the payoff.
Clay County says homeowners have a continuing right to redeem until the investor claims a deed. That is the post-sale side of a Missouri certificate sale under RSMo Chapter 140. Overbid claims are a separate, shorter topic on the excess-proceeds page.
Jackson County owners can still pay in full or ask about a county contract before the sale. Under RSMo Chapter 141 there is no long redemption after the court confirms the Delinquent Land Tax sale. Do not plan on a year after that gavel.
Wyandotte County says the last day to redeem is the day before the tax sale. Johnson County says listed property must be redeemed before 5 p.m. the day before the tax foreclosure auction. K.S.A. 79-2801 is the sheriff-sale statute. There is no redemption after the deed.
You can often sell during redemption if the title company can close before the deadline and pay what is required. If the deadline is inside a few days, say that on the first call. We will tell you if we cannot make it.
Platte follows the Missouri certificate pattern. Confirm the current collector packet. Do not assume Clay’s deed-claim rule is printed the same way in every Missouri county.
These timing notes are the ones already published for the five counties we serve. Confirm the current date with the county.
Your choices
Redeeming keeps the house. Selling converts it to cash and pays the county from that cash. Waiting only helps if you know the date and you can still act on it.
You stay the owner
Best when you can pay the county figure and you want the house.
What Saving KC does
A cash sale can pay the redemption amount at closing if the price covers it and the date allows.
A retail sale
Listing can net more when showings and a loan can finish before the deadline.
Different problem
If the deed is gone, we cannot buy the house back for you.
A number you can read
We will tell you if a closing can happen inside the redemption window, or if you should pay the county instead.
What we actually do
We price a purchase. We do not wire the county on your behalf outside a closing, and we do not practice law.
A sale notice, a certificate, or a court order each mean a different clock. Read the date to us. If you do not have it, call the county before you rely on a blog.
We walk the house and write an offer after the visit. Then title orders the payoff. If the redemption date is too close for that work, we tell you to pay the county directly or to call them about a plan.
The title company pays the redemption figure from the sale. You see it on the settlement statement. You do not hand us cash for the taxes.
Stephen Mills had three years of delinquent taxes and repairs. The sale closed in 28 days. The price is not published, and the page does not say he was inside a redemption year. Use it as a real closing, not as your timeline.
The money and the stuff
These are different outcomes. Do not mix them up when you are tired and the notice is on the counter.
You pay the amount the county quotes and you keep the house. You still owe the mortgage, and you still own the repairs. Redemption is not a sale.
You keep the net after taxes, the mortgage, and other liens. If the price is short, there may be no check, and the lender may have to approve the sale.
In Jackson County and in Kansas, the house can be gone. In Clay and Platte, the certificate holder can later ask for a deed if you never redeem. Leftover auction money is a claim, not a check that arrives on its own.
If you sell to us, take what you want and leave the rest. If you are only redeeming, the house and everything in it stay yours.
Ernest Dodson is a Missouri-licensed real estate salesperson with Platinum Realty LLC, license #2023026433. Saving KC Homebuyers LLC buys real estate as a principal. We may assign the purchase contract to another buyer, and we tell you when we do.
Questions
These answers are about this situation. They are not legal advice. The company list is on the FAQ page.
We will tell you if a closing can happen inside the redemption window, or if you should pay the county instead.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 CT (America/Chicago). Saturday and Sunday closed.