Delinquent tax lists · Montana
Carter County delinquent tax list
Short answer: Carter 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 6 (estimated) owners near Carter County currently carry a distress signal. Montana is a lien state, so a winning bid at the sale takes a certificate rather than the house.
Distressed owners near Carter County
6
Within 25 miles of the county centre, refreshed daily. Carter County is a rural county.
Top-deal discount target
~43% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest Carter leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$220,000
On a typical $519,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Carter County and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
Carter 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 Montana rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.
| County | Carter County, Montana. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | The County Treasurer for Carter County. |
| What the sale transfers | Montana 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 | County tax lien certificates with a multi-year redemption before a tax deed can issue. |
| Foreclosure path | Non-judicial, typically 5 to 6 months from filing to sale. |
The Montana delinquency clock
Where a Carter owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The Carter list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Carter County area. The live list, with exact locations, photos and owner details, is one free scan away.
- #1Foreclosure 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.$287K start bid · ~45% under market
- #2Notice of default for 159 days. Owners in this spot often want out fast, before a foreclosure hits their credit.$299K start bid · ~44% under market
- #3Pre-foreclosure for 218 days. Owners in this spot often want out fast, before a foreclosure hits their credit.$257K start bid · ~45% under market
7 more ranked Carter County deals behind the scan
Unlock the full Carter County list freeFree scan · no card needed
What the Carter list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How Carter compares across Montana
Carter County is the 50th largest of the 56 Montana counties covered here, and with a population near 1,399 it is one of the smallest counties in the country. Expect a short list and very little competition for it: at this size a single filing moves the whole picture, so check back rather than working it once.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone County | Billings | 683 | 41.4 |
| Missoula County | Missoula | 652 | 54.8 |
| Flathead County | Kalispell | 473 | 43.8 |
| Gallatin County | Bozeman | 416 | 34.1 |
| Cascade County | Cascade County | 389 | 46 |
| Lewis and Clark County | Lewis and Clark County | 308 | 41 |
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 Carter list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| Carter 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 Carter list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under Montana timelines.
Off the main road
Carter County ranks 50 of 56 covered Montana counties and holds about 0.1% of the state's flagged properties. Most buyers never scroll this far down the state, which is the entire argument for working it.
Small enough that nobody competes
With a population near 1,399, Carter is far below the size any list vendor bothers with. The list is short and a per-capita rate would be meaningless at this scale, but what is there is effectively uncontested.
All of Carter County
The scan centres on Carter 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 Montana clock
Foreclosure here typically runs 5 to 6 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 Carter 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 Montana 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.
Carter County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the Carter 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 6 properties around Carter County currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free Carter 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 Carter County tax sale?
Carter County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The Montana pattern is the thing that holds steady: County tax lien certificates with a multi-year redemption before a tax deed can issue. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.
Can I buy Carter 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 Montana?
Montana 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. County tax lien certificates with a multi-year redemption before a tax deed can issue. 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 Carter deals close?
The strongest current leads near Carter 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. Carter runs denser in distress than the Montana 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 Carter?
About 6 properties within 25 miles of Carter County currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 42.9 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 40.6 across Montana as a whole, and makes Carter the number 50 of the 56 Montana counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a Carter address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any Carter 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 Carter County
Delinquent tax lists nearby
Keep going
The Carter 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.
Scan Carter freeInformational summary, not legal or investment advice. Rates, redemption periods and sale formats are summarized at the Montana state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Carter County. The County Treasurer and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.