Polk County delinquent tax list
Short answer: Polk 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 981 (estimated) owners near Des Moines currently carry a distress signal. Iowa is a lien state, so a winning bid at the sale takes a certificate rather than the house.
Distressed owners near Des Moines
981
Within 25 miles of the county seat, refreshed daily. Polk County is a mid-size county.
Top-deal discount target
~44% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest Polk leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$252,000
On a typical $578,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Des Moines, the Polk County seat, and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
Polk 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.
| County | Polk County, Iowa. County seat: Des Moines. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | The County Treasurer for Polk County. |
| What the sale transfers | Iowa 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 cadence | Third-Monday-of-June tax sales at 2% per month (24% per year) with a redemption period of about 21 months. |
| Owner redemption | Yes, typically 6 to 12 months; lenders often waive deficiency to shorten it. |
The Iowa delinquency clock
Where a Polk owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The Polk list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Des Moines 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 2 yr64% equity | $622,000 | $267,000 | ~45% |
| #2 | Auction setTax delinquent 3 yr48% equity | $639,000 | $344,000 | ~43% |
| #3 | Auction setTax delinquent 2 yr84% equity | $607,000 | $261,000 | ~45% |
7 more ranked Des Moines deals behind the scan
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What the Polk list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How Polk compares across Iowa
Polk County is the largest county we cover in Iowa, and it runs lighter in distressed owners than the Iowa average, at 19.6 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 23.9. It accounts for about 31.7% of every flagged property across the Iowa counties on this site.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County (this page) | Des Moines | 981 | 19.6 |
| Scott County | Davenport | 858 | 49.3 |
| Woodbury County | Sioux City | 718 | 67.7 |
| Black Hawk County | Waterloo | 335 | 25.6 |
| Johnson County | Iowa City | 133 | 8.7 |
| Linn County | Cedar Rapids | 66 | 2.9 |
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 Polk list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| Polk official sale list | The LowBaller list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | The County Treasurer | 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 Polk list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under Iowa timelines.
The busiest list in Iowa
Polk County is the largest of the 6 Iowa counties covered here and carries about 31.7% of every flagged property in the state. That is the deepest pipeline available, and also the one every other buyer in Iowa already knows about.
Below the state norm
Polk runs 19.6 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against 23.9 statewide. A shorter list than average, which usually means fewer owners with stacked signals and a longer time to a yes.
Des Moines and everything around it
Polk works off Des Moines 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 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 Polk 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.
Polk County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the Polk 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 981 properties around Des Moines currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free Polk 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 Polk County tax sale?
Polk 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 Polk 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. Yes, typically 6 to 12 months; lenders often waive deficiency to shorten it. 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 Polk deals close?
The strongest current leads near Des Moines 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 20 to 40% under market, while softer signals like long-distance ownership land closer to 15 to 30% under. Polk runs lighter in distress than the Iowa average, so the deepest discounts are rarer here and equity screening matters more than volume. Equity sets the ceiling, because an offer cannot go below what clears the owner's mortgage.
How many tax-delinquent properties are there in Polk?
About 981 properties within 25 miles of Des Moines currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 19.6 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 23.9 across Iowa as a whole, and makes Polk the largest of the 6 Iowa counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a Polk address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any Polk 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 Polk 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 Iowa state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Polk County. The County Treasurer and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.