Delinquent tax lists · Delaware
Kent County delinquent tax list
Short answer: Kent County has two delinquent tax lists. The official one is published by the County Finance Office before each scheduled sale, free to download, and it lists parcel numbers and amounts owed with no owner contact. The year-round one is the delinquency record underneath it, where 457 (estimated) owners near Dover currently carry a distress signal. Delaware is a deed state, so a winning bid at the sale takes the property itself.
Distressed owners near Dover
457
Within 25 miles of the county seat, refreshed daily. Kent County is a smaller county.
Top-deal discount target
~44% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest Kent leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$233,000
On a typical $533,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Dover, the Kent County seat, and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
Kent County tax sale rules at a glance
The mechanics that decide what you are actually buying, and how long the owner keeps a way out. The full Delaware rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.
| County | Kent County, Delaware. County seat: Dover. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | The County Finance Office for Kent County. |
| What the sale transfers | Delaware is a deed state. A winning bidder gets the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. |
| Rate and cadence | County sheriff tax sales; a short statutory redemption window applies in some counties, so verify locally. |
| Owner redemption | None once the court confirms the sheriff sale. |
The Delaware delinquency clock
Where a Kent owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The Kent list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Dover area. The live list, with exact locations, photos and owner details, is one free scan away.
| Rank | Why they would sell | Est. value | Start bid | Under market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Auction setTax delinquent 3 yr72% equity | $613,000 | $264,000 | ~45% |
| #2 | Notice of defaultTax delinquent 4 yr99% equity | $620,000 | $274,000 | ~44% |
| #3 | Notice of defaultTax delinquent 4 yr75% equity | $597,000 | $257,000 | ~45% |
7 more ranked Dover deals behind the scan
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What the Kent list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How Kent compares across Delaware
Kent County is among the largest counties in Delaware, and it runs denser in distressed owners than the Delaware average, at 25.1 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 7.5. It accounts for about 60.5% of every flagged property across the Delaware counties on this site.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County (this page) | Dover | 457 | 25.1 |
| Sussex County | Georgetown | 159 | 6.4 |
| New Castle County | Wilmington | 139 | 2.4 |
Density matters more than the raw count when you are choosing where to work. A smaller county with a high per-capita figure often has less competition per lead than the metro next door.
How far under market these close
The official Kent list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| Kent official sale list | The LowBaller list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | The County Finance Office | LowBaller, from county and public records |
| When it exists | Only in the run-up to each scheduled sale | Year round, refreshed daily |
| Format | A PDF or spreadsheet of parcel numbers and amounts owed | A ranked table with a map pin, photo and estimated value on every row |
| Owner contact | Not included | Phone and email on unlock, and no credit is spent when nothing verifies |
| Ranking | Alphabetical or by parcel number | Hardest situation first, by foreclosure stage, years behind and equity |
| Timing advantage | Everyone bidding sees the same list on the same day | Owners appear months before any auction, while a private sale still solves their problem |
Working the Kent list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under Delaware timelines.
Number 3 in Delaware, and quieter for it
Kent County ranks 3 of 3 covered Delaware counties with roughly 60.5% of the state's flagged properties. Big enough for real volume, one step removed from where the crowd concentrates.
Above the state norm
Kent runs 25.1 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against 7.5 statewide. More pressure per capita than the typical Delaware county, and more owners carrying two or three signals at once.
Dover and everything around it
Kent works off Dover as its seat, and the scan reaches 25 miles out from there, widening to 50 when the list runs thin. In a county this shape that usually means several towns, each with its own price level.
The Delaware clock
Foreclosure here typically runs 6 to 9 months from filing to sale. The tax clock and the mortgage clock run independently, so check both before you decide how hard a deadline an owner is actually facing.
Why Kent investors work it before auction day
No bidding war
At the sale you are one of a room full of bidders on the same parcel. Months earlier you are the only person who called.
You can see the house
A private sale means an inspection and a clean title search. Deed auctions in Delaware rarely give you either.
The owner keeps something
An owner with equity who sells early clears the tax debt and walks away with money. At the sale, they usually walk away with nothing.
Kent County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the Kent County delinquent tax list?
Two lists exist and they are not the same. The official one comes from the County Finance Office, is published as a PDF or spreadsheet before each scheduled sale, and disappears between sales. The year-round one is the delinquency record itself, which is what LowBaller compiles: roughly 457 properties around Dover currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free Kent delinquent property tax list PDF?
Yes. The County Finance Office publishes the pre-sale list free of charge, usually as a PDF or a downloadable spreadsheet tied to a specific sale date. It gives you parcel numbers and amounts owed. It does not give you owner contact details, an estimated value, or any indication of which owners would actually take a low cash offer.
When is the Kent County tax sale?
Kent County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The Delaware pattern is the thing that holds steady: County sheriff tax sales; a short statutory redemption window applies in some counties, so verify locally. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.
Can I buy Kent tax-delinquent property before the auction?
Yes, and it is usually the better trade. There is no bidding war, the owner clears the debt with a clean sale instead of a forced one, and you are not buying blind. The window is the months between the delinquency appearing in the record and the sale being scheduled, which is exactly the period this list covers.
What does a winning bid actually get you in Delaware?
Delaware is a deed state, so a winning bidder takes the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. None once the court confirms the sheriff sale. That difference matters more than the discount: in a lien state you are buying a debt with a yield, and in a deed state you are buying a house.
How far below market do Kent deals close?
The strongest current leads near Dover support start bids around 44% under estimated value. Across the whole list, hard distress such as a scheduled auction or a stacked tax lien closes 25 to 45% under market, while softer signals like long-distance ownership land closer to 15 to 30% under. Kent runs denser in distress than the Delaware average, so stacked-signal owners, the ones who accept the widest discounts, turn up more often here than in a typical county in this state. Equity sets the ceiling, because an offer cannot go below what clears the owner's mortgage.
How many tax-delinquent properties are there in Kent?
About 457 properties within 25 miles of Dover currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 25.1 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 7.5 across Delaware as a whole, and makes Kent the number 3 of the 3 Delaware counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a Kent address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any Kent ZIP and you get the full ranked list for the surrounding area, or check one specific address to see whether that owner carries a distress signal. Browsing is free and unlimited, and credits are only spent when an owner's verified phone or email comes back.
Delinquent tax lists nearby
Keep going
The Kent owners who will sell cheap are on this list today.
Not in 2026 sale season. Now, months before the auction, while a quiet private sale still solves their problem. Scan free and browse every one.
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Informational summary, not legal or investment advice. Rates, redemption periods and sale formats are summarized at the Delaware state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Kent County. The County Finance Office and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.