Miami-Dade County tax lien sales investing guide. 18% per annum interest, 24-month redemption. Auction details and due diligence checklist.
Miami-Dade County, FL sells tax lien certificates via RealAuction, with a 24 months redemption window and a 18% per annum statutory rate. Auctions run on an annual cadence.
OTC liens year-round, foreclosures (Clerk online), tax deed sales (RealAuction), LAT properties. Annual tax cert auction June.
Aggregated from live Miami-Dade County listings on LienScout Pro. Snapshot refreshes weekly.
Tax-sale data on this page is sourced from and reconciled against County Tax Collector / Clerk of Court publications for Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Miami-Dade County's tax certificate auction runs annually in early June through RealAuction, covering the largest and most varied parcel base in Florida — from Miami Beach and Coral Gables high-value SFR to the industrial belts around Doral and Hialeah, plus the agricultural south county down to Homestead. Rate bid-down at the June auction is severe on any prime Miami-Dade lien; effective yields on desirable parcels compress well below the 18% statutory cap.
Miami-Dade maintains a year-round OTC channel on county-held certificates at 18%, and separately runs foreclosures through the Clerk's online system and tax deed sales through RealAuction. The LAT list of parcels that failed to sell at tax deed is unusually active in Miami-Dade because of the county's scale. Recorder-office research through the Miami-Dade open folio search is one of the better public-record portals in Florida — use it for chain-of-title and lien verification before bidding on any tax deed or LAT parcel.
Florida runs two distinct auctions in Miami-Dade County. Annual tax certificate sales (May–June) sell liens online via RealAuction — bidders bid the interest rate down from 18% in 0.25% increments, and the lowest rate wins with a minimum 5% penalty on redemption. Tax deed sales run year-round on RealAuction (or the county Clerk's portal for a handful of counties) after a certificate holder files a Tax Deed Application; the opening bid equals total taxes, fees, and half the assessed value on homestead parcels. Deed bidders wire a deposit plus a non-refundable fee, bid premium-only, and must fund the balance same-day or forfeit. Sub-1% winning rates are common on the certificate side for high-value homestead parcels; the deed side sees stronger institutional competition.
Pull the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser record first — it gives you owner of record, land + building value, homestead flag, legal description, and the year of the last transfer. Then run the Clerk of Court's Official Records search for the last deed, active mortgages, judgments, and any code-enforcement liens (Florida code liens survive tax deed sale). Cross-reference the parcel against the Tax Collector's certificate ledger to see who else holds paper on it. Finish with the county GIS for zoning + flood zone and Google Street View for a visual on the improvement. Two Florida-specific gotchas: (1) always check homestead status before bidding a certificate — half-assessed-value opening bids destroy deed-side returns, and (2) municipal code liens do not extinguish at deed sale.
On the certificate side, once you win in Miami-Dade County, the county emails your certificate within 48 hours. The property owner has 2 years to redeem at your winning rate plus the 5% minimum penalty; after 2 years you may file a Tax Deed Application, which forces the property to public auction and pays you back principal + accrued interest at your rate. On the deed side, the Clerk issues the recorded deed within 30 days of the sale. Title is generally clean but not insurable without a quiet-title action or a title-insurance workaround (Florida title insurers typically require 4 years of undisturbed possession before insuring a tax-deed title). Excess proceeds above the opening bid are held for the former owner and junior lienholders to claim.
Miami-Dade runs one of the largest tax certificate sales in the country — an online bid-down-interest auction on LienExpress that closes in early June each year, typically moving $60M+ in certificates. Institutional bidders dominate top-tier parcels: winning rates on Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Brickell certificates are routinely bid down to the 0.25% statutory floor (plus the guaranteed 5% mandatory minimum on redemption). Realistic yield opportunities sit in outlying zip codes, small commercial parcels, and post-sale struck-to-county certificates. Florida certificates carry a 2-year redemption before you can apply for a tax deed.
Tax lien auctions in Miami-Dade County operate on a competitive bidding process where investors bid on the interest rate they are willing to earn. The investor offering the lowest acceptable interest rate (which cannot be higher than 18%) earns the right to purchase the tax lien. After the sale, the property owner has a 24-month redemption period to pay the delinquent taxes plus accrued interest.
Investors can expect a maximum interest rate of 18% per annum on the amount of the tax lien. This rate is determined by the bidding process, with the lowest successful bid earning the right to purchase the lien. The actual return depends on whether the property owner redeems the lien within the 24-month period.
The primary risk is that the property owner may redeem the property, meaning the investor receives their money back plus interest, but does not gain ownership. Another risk is the possibility of challenging the tax deed, although this is less common. It is also possible that valuable property could be sold for significantly less than its market value.
To get started, research Miami-Dade County's tax collector's website for upcoming auction dates and procedures. You will need to register as a bidder and be aware of the requirements for participating in the auction. Familiarize yourself with the potential properties and the associated tax lien amounts before bidding.