Delinquent tax lists · Iowa

Iowa County delinquent tax list

Short answer: Iowa County has two delinquent tax lists. The official one is published by the County Treasurer 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 83 (estimated) owners near Iowa County currently carry a distress signal. Iowa is a lien state, so a winning bid at the sale takes a certificate rather than the house.

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Distressed owners near Iowa County

83

Within 25 miles of the county centre, refreshed daily. Iowa County is a rural county.

Top-deal discount target

~43% under market

Average start bid across the 20 strongest Iowa leads right now.

Avg. spread per top deal

$238,000

On a typical $562,000 estimated value.

Map of Iowa County, IA showing the area covered by the tax-delinquent property list

Coverage centers on Iowa County and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.

Iowa 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 Iowa rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.

Iowa County tax sale and delinquency reference
CountyIowa County, Iowa.
Who publishes the listThe County Treasurer for Iowa County.
What the sale transfersIowa is a lien state. A winning bidder gets a tax lien certificate, which pays interest if the owner redeems and can be foreclosed into ownership if they do not.
Rate and cadenceThird-Monday-of-June tax sales at 2% per month (24% per year) with a redemption period of about 21 months.
Foreclosure pathJudicial, typically 5 to 12 months from filing to sale.

The Iowa delinquency clock

Where a Iowa owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.

Bill goes unpaidThe tax bill passesits due date andpenalties startLien soldThe Iowa county saletransfers acertificate, not theRedemption runsThe owner can stillpay and keep thepropertyForeclosureUnredeemed liens canbe foreclosed intoownership
How a delinquent Iowa property moves from an unpaid bill to a lien sale under Iowa law. Third-Monday-of-June tax sales at 2% per month (24% per year) with a redemption period of about 21 months.

The Iowa list, ranked hardest-first

Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Iowa County area. The live list, with exact locations, photos and owner details, is one free scan away.

  1. #1Foreclosure suit pending for 174 days. Owners in this spot often want out fast, before a foreclosure hits their credit.$286K start bid · ~43% under market
  2. #2Foreclosure auction on record. The clock is likely ticking, and owners this close to an auction often take a fast cash offer over losing the home.$259K start bid · ~45% under market
  3. #3Pre-foreclosure for 212 days. Owners in this spot often want out fast, before a foreclosure hits their credit.$253K start bid · ~45% under market

7 more ranked Iowa County deals behind the scan

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What the Iowa list is made of

Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.

Pre-foreclosure79Tax delinquent75Vacant71High equity50Absentee owner46
Estimated distress mix across the 83 flagged properties near Iowa County, IA. A property counted under tax delinquency may also appear under vacancy or absentee ownership.

How Iowa compares across Iowa

Iowa County is the 46th largest of the 99 Iowa counties covered here, and it runs denser in distressed owners than the Iowa average, at 50.5 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 39.6. It accounts for about 0.7% of every flagged property across the Iowa counties on this site.

Flagged distressed properties by county in Iowa, with density per 10,000 residents
CountySeatFlagged ownersPer 10k residents
Polk CountyDes Moines2,29745.9
Linn CountyCedar Rapids95841.7
Scott CountyDavenport73842.4
Story CountyStory County57556.1
Johnson CountyIowa City55035.9
Dubuque CountyDubuque County39239.5

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

0%15%30%45%60%Scheduled auction35 to 50%Pre-foreclosure30 to 45%Tax delinquent25 to 40%Vacant20 to 35%Absentee owner15 to 30%
Typical cash close as a discount to estimated value, by lead type. Equity caps every offer: a bid cannot go below what clears the owner's mortgage, which is why deep-equity Iowa owners can accept the widest discounts.

The official Iowa list vs. this one

Both are worth having. They answer different questions.

Iowa official sale listThe LowBaller list
Who publishes itThe County TreasurerLowBaller, from county and public records
When it existsOnly in the run-up to each scheduled saleYear round, refreshed daily
FormatA PDF or spreadsheet of parcel numbers and amounts owedA ranked table with a map pin, photo and estimated value on every row
Owner contactNot includedPhone and email on unlock, and no credit is spent when nothing verifies
RankingAlphabetical or by parcel numberHardest situation first, by foreclosure stage, years behind and equity
Timing advantageEveryone bidding sees the same list on the same dayOwners appear months before any auction, while a private sale still solves their problem

Working the Iowa list

What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under Iowa timelines.

Off the main road

Iowa County ranks 46 of 99 covered Iowa counties and holds about 0.7% of the state's flagged properties. Most buyers never scroll this far down the state, which is the entire argument for working it.

One of the densest counties in the state

At 50.5 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against an Iowa figure of 39.6, Iowa is in the top quarter for distress density. Stacked-signal owners are common here, and those are where the deepest discounts sit.

All of Iowa County

The scan centres on Iowa County and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the list runs thin. In a county this size that usually spans several towns, each with its own price level, so read the estimated value on each row rather than the discount alone.

The Iowa clock

Foreclosure here typically runs 5 to 12 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 Iowa 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. Lien auctions in Iowa 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.

Iowa County delinquent tax list FAQ

How do I get the Iowa County delinquent tax list?

Two lists exist and they are not the same. The official one comes from the County Treasurer, 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 83 properties around Iowa County currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.

Is there a free Iowa delinquent property tax list PDF?

Yes. The County Treasurer 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 Iowa County tax sale?

Iowa County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The Iowa pattern is the thing that holds steady: Third-Monday-of-June tax sales at 2% per month (24% per year) with a redemption period of about 21 months. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.

Can I buy Iowa 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 Iowa?

Iowa is a lien state, so a winning bidder takes a tax lien certificate, which pays interest if the owner redeems and can be foreclosed into ownership if they do not. Third-Monday-of-June tax sales at 2% per month (24% per year) with a redemption period of about 21 months. 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 Iowa deals close?

The strongest current leads near Iowa County support start bids around 43% under estimated value. Across the whole list, hard distress such as a scheduled auction or a stacked tax lien closes 20 to 40% under market, while softer signals like long-distance ownership land closer to 15 to 30% under. Iowa runs denser in distress than the Iowa 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 Iowa?

About 83 properties within 25 miles of Iowa County currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 50.5 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 39.6 across Iowa as a whole, and makes Iowa the number 46 of the 99 Iowa counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.

Do I need an Iowa address to search, or can I search the whole county?

Either. Run the scan on any Iowa 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. The scan is free; the full list opens with a 7-day trial, and credits are only spent when an owner's phone number comes back.

More on Iowa County

Delinquent tax lists nearby

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Informational summary, not legal or investment advice. Rates, redemption periods and sale formats are summarized at the Iowa state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Iowa County. The County Treasurer and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.