Stop a tax sale in Colorado Springs, CO by selling: the difference between El Paso County's fall tax lien sale and the treasurer's deed auction a few years later, how to redeem, and how a cash closing pays the Treasurer before the deadline. Written offer within 24 hours of our visit.
"Tax sale" means two different events in El Paso County, and owners who confuse them either panic too early or act too late. The first is the tax lien sale each October or November, where the Treasurer sells the right to collect your unpaid taxes to an investor. You keep the house. The second comes roughly three years later, when that investor applies for a treasurer's deed and the county auctions the right to it. That is the event that ends your ownership, and it is the one to stop. The way to stop it is to redeem: pay the Treasurer the taxes, interest and costs. A sale that closes before the auction redeems automatically from the proceeds.
Colorado Springs Cash Buyers buys houses facing a treasurer's deed application or an approaching auction across Colorado Springs and El Paso County. We buy as-is, the title company redeems the lien at closing, and the remaining equity is wired to you. This page explains the Colorado timeline, how the redemption figure is built, what the 2024 changes to the deed process mean for you, and how fast a sale can close.
The Colorado tax-sale timeline
Property taxes unpaid by the June deadline accrue one percent interest per month. In September the Treasurer advertises the delinquent parcels, and in October or November sells the liens at a public sale. The buyer receives a certificate earning the redemption rate set for that year's sale, 13 percent for liens sold in 2026 and 14 percent for 2025, and may pay subsequent years' taxes, which also earn interest. After August 1 of the third calendar year following the sale, the certificate holder may apply for a treasurer's deed. The Treasurer notifies the owner, occupants and lienholders, publishes notice, and then holds an auction of the certificate of option for the treasurer's deed. You can redeem before the auction, but under the process revised in June 2026 there are notice and payment cutoffs ahead of the auction date, so confirm them with the Treasurer as soon as a notice arrives. If the auction happens, the winning bid above the amount owed goes first to junior lienholders and the remainder to you as the former owner rather than to the investor.
What redemption costs
The original taxes, the interest at the certificate rate from the sale date, any later taxes the investor paid with their interest, and the Treasurer's fees for the deed application and notice once that stage begins. Redemption is a lump sum paid to the Treasurer; there is no payment plan on a sold lien. The amount on a house that was two years delinquent at the lien sale, plus three years of subsequent taxes, can approach a full year's mortgage payments, which is why many owners who intended to catch up never do.
How a sale stops the tax sale
When you sell, the title company requests the redemption figure from the El Paso County Treasurer, pays it from the purchase price at closing, and the Treasurer issues a redemption certificate that releases the lien and cancels any pending deed application. Nothing else is required of you. If the auction date is close, we ask the title company to obtain the figure immediately and schedule the closing ahead of the date; a cash closing can happen in about a week once the search is clean, because there is no lender involved.
Who ends up here
Heirs of a paid-off house in Pikes Peak Park who never received the tax bills. Owners who moved out of state after a PCS and let a vacant house in Fountain slide. Landlords whose Security-Widefield rental went vacant and off the radar. Seniors in the Old North End on fixed incomes who did not know about the senior homestead exemption. A house with no mortgage is the typical case, since a lender would have paid the taxes to protect its lien. The equity in these houses is usually substantial, and the point of acting before the auction is to keep it.
If you want to keep the house
Redeem directly at the Treasurer's office at the Citizens Service Center. If you cannot raise the lump sum, a home equity loan, a reverse mortgage for owners 62 and older, or a family loan can fund it, and the house is worth protecting if the amount is a small fraction of its value. Our offer is for the owners who cannot or do not want to carry the house any longer and would rather convert it to cash before the deadline than lose it to the auction.
What to send us
The address and any notice from the Treasurer or the certificate holder, especially a notice of application for treasurer's deed with an auction date. We visit within a day or two and deliver a written offer within 24 hours. We pay the customary closing costs and there is no commission; your net is the price minus the redemption amount and any other liens.
Selling to us vs. a traditional listing in Colorado Springs, CO
| Comparison | Traditional agent | For sale by owner | Colorado Springs Cash Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash offer | Rarely | Rarely | Yes |
| Sell as-is | Repairs expected | Repairs expected | Yes |
| Time to a contract | roughly two months in Colorado Springs now | Often longer | 24 hours after the visit |
| Agent commission | About 6% | Buyer's agent usually paid | None |
| Closing costs | Paid by seller | Paid by seller | Customary costs paid by us |
| Showings | Yes | Yes | One visit |
| Financing fall-through | Possible | Possible | None, we fund it |
| Price cut after inspection | Common | Common | No inspection period |
| Closing date | Lender's schedule | Buyer's schedule | Yours |
We buy houses in Colorado Springs for any reason, any condition, or any challenge
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