Delinquent tax lists · New Jersey
Union County delinquent tax list
Short answer: Union County has two delinquent tax lists. The official one is published by each town or city municipal tax collector before a 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 809 (estimated) owners near Elizabeth currently carry a distress signal. New Jersey is a lien state, so a winning bid at the sale takes a certificate rather than the house.
Distressed owners near Elizabeth
809
Within 25 miles of the county seat, refreshed daily. Union County is a mid-size county.
Top-deal discount target
~42% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest Union leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$234,000
On a typical $564,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Elizabeth, the Union County seat, and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
Union 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 New Jersey rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.
| County | Union County, New Jersey. County seat: Elizabeth. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | Tax enforcement in New Jersey is run by each town or city rather than the county, so the delinquent roll for a Union County property comes from that municipality's Municipal Tax Collector. |
| What the sale transfers | New Jersey 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 | Annual municipal tax lien sales at up to 18% plus premiums, with foreclosure possible after 2 years. |
| Owner redemption | 10 days after the sheriff sale. |
The New Jersey delinquency clock
Where a Union owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The Union list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Elizabeth 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 yr89% equity | $623,000 | $268,000 | ~45% |
| #2 | Notice of defaultTax delinquent 4 yr69% equity | $607,000 | $261,000 | ~45% |
| #3 | Tax delinquent 2 yrAbsentee owner73% equity | $634,000 | $305,000 | ~40% |
7 more ranked Elizabeth deals behind the scan
Unlock the full Elizabeth list free10 second scan · no card to browse · 2 free unlocks on trial
What the Union list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How Union compares across New Jersey
Union County is the 7th largest of the 12 New Jersey counties covered here, and it runs denser in distressed owners than the New Jersey average, at 14.1 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 6.7. It accounts for about 15.7% of every flagged property across the New Jersey counties on this site.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morris County | Morristown | 1,065 | 20.7 |
| Union County (this page) | Elizabeth | 809 | 14.1 |
| Ocean County | Toms River | 719 | 11 |
| Bergen County | Hackensack | 533 | 5.6 |
| Mercer County | Trenton | 506 | 13.1 |
| Middlesex County | New Brunswick | 397 | 4.6 |
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 Union list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| Union official sale list | The LowBaller list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | The town or city tax collector | 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 Union list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under New Jersey timelines.
Off the main road
Union County ranks 7 of 12 covered New Jersey counties and holds about 15.7% 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 14.1 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a New Jersey figure of 6.7, Union is in the top quarter for distress density. Stacked-signal owners are common here, and those are where the deepest discounts sit.
Elizabeth and everything around it
Union works off Elizabeth 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 New Jersey clock
Foreclosure here typically runs 12 to 24 months from filing to sale. Tax enforcement is municipal in New Jersey, so the tax deadline and the mortgage deadline are two separate clocks on the same house, and an owner can be early on one and late on the other.
Why Union 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 New Jersey 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.
Union County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the Union County delinquent tax list?
Two lists exist and they are not the same. The official one comes from the town or city tax collector, 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 809 properties around Elizabeth currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free Union delinquent property tax list PDF?
Yes. The town or city tax collector 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 Union County tax sale?
Union County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The New Jersey pattern is the thing that holds steady: Annual municipal tax lien sales at up to 18% plus premiums, with foreclosure possible after 2 years. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.
Can I buy Union 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 New Jersey?
New Jersey 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. 10 days after 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 Union deals close?
The strongest current leads near Elizabeth support start bids around 42% 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. Union runs denser in distress than the New Jersey 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 Union?
About 809 properties within 25 miles of Elizabeth currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 14.1 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 6.7 across New Jersey as a whole, and makes Union the number 7 of the 12 New Jersey counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a Union address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any Union 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
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The Union 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 New Jersey state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by Union County. The municipal tax collector and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.