Michigan Tax Foreclosure Surplus Proceeds

Recovering What the Government Kept After a Tax Foreclosure

For years, when a Michigan county or the State foreclosed on a home, cottage, farm or business property for unpaid taxes and sold it at auction, the government kept everything the sale brought in — even when the sale price was many times the taxes, interest and fees actually owed. That has changed. In Rafaeli, LLC v Oakland County (2020), the Michigan Supreme Court held that keeping the surplus is an unconstitutional taking of the former owner's property. In Tyler v Hennepin County (2023), the United States Supreme Court reached the same conclusion under the United States Constitution.

The Michigan Legislature then created a procedure, MCL 211.78t, for former owners and others with an interest in the property to claim the "remaining proceeds" of these sales. The procedure is technical, the deadlines are strict, and counties and the State contest many claims.

What We Do

Visser and Associates, PLLC represents former property owners, surviving spouses, heirs and estates, and other interested parties in surplus-proceeds claims throughout Michigan — in foreclosures brought by county treasurers and in foreclosures brought by the State of Michigan. Our work includes:

  • Evaluating whether a foreclosed property produced a surplus and who is entitled to claim it;
  • Preparing and filing the notices and motions the statute requires, on time and in the right court;
  • Litigating contested claims in circuit courts across the state, including the timeliness and class-action questions that decide many of these cases;
  • Handling appeals in the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court and the federal courts.

Since the Rafaeli decision, the firm has handled these claims for clients in counties across Michigan, from the Upper Peninsula to the Indiana and Ohio lines.

Recent Decisions

The law in this area is still being made, case by case. In 2026 the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in two cases, Perry v. St. Joseph County and Cunningham v. Allegan County, that a pending class action paused the time limit for former owners to bring their claims — the position our clients have taken. You can read about both under Recent Decisions & News.

Do You Have a Claim?

You may have a claim if property you owned — or property owned by a parent, spouse or other relative whose estate you represent — was foreclosed for unpaid property taxes in Michigan and sold for more than the amount owed. Strict notice and filing deadlines apply, and they depend on when the property was sold and on whether the county or the State foreclosed, so it is important to act promptly.

Gather what you have — the foreclosure notices, the parcel number or address, and any letters from the county treasurer or the Michigan Department of Treasury — and contact our office at (616) 531-9860 or info@visserlegal.com.