USA Foreclosure Wiki

Stark County, OH

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Stark County, Ohio — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → ohio. This page covers how Stark County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

  • County seat: Canton, OH
  • Population: 370,606 (2020 Census; FIPS 39151)
  • Recording unit: county
  • FIPS: 39151
  • Parent legal framework: ohio
  • Governance structure: Traditional Ohio 88-county commissioner structure. Elected offices: Auditor (Angela Kinsey), Treasurer (Alexander Zumbar), Clerk of Courts (Lynn M. Todaro), Sheriff (Eric Weisburn), and Recorder. The county also hosts the Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation (SCLRC) — the county land bank organized under R.C. 1724 — which may receive direct transfers of abandoned/forfeited land under R.C. 323.78.

C1. Local Tax Sale

Delinquent Tax / Foreclosure Sheriff Sales (in-person)

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — the Stark County Sheriff and Stark County Auditor both conduct separate sales.
  • Platform: Delinquent tax foreclosure sales (judicial path) are conducted in person (as of June 2026). The Stark County Sheriff runs a dedicated local portal at https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/ that lists properties, delinquent tax sales, and tax certificate sales. Source: https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/ (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Sale calendar (delinquent tax / in-person): Sales are held at 10:00 A.M. on the first Tuesday of each month at Arts Hall Building, Stark County Fair Grounds, 305 Wertz Ave N.W., Canton, Ohio 44708. 2026 published dates: 1/6, 2/3, 3/3, 4/7, 5/5, 6/2, 7/7, 8/4 and continuing monthly. Source: https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/DelinquentTaxSales.aspx (retrieved 2026-06-02)

Mortgage Foreclosure / Court-Ordered Sheriff Sales (online — RealAuction)

Tax Certificate Sales (online — RealAuction)

Registration & Deposit (RealAuction / online sales)

Registration & Deposit (in-person delinquent tax sales)

  • Registration: On sale day, bidders provide: name for the deed, tax mailing address, contact phone number, and a photo ID (e.g., driver’s license). No advance registration documented for in-person sales. Source: https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/DelinquentTaxSales.aspx (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Deposit: 10% of the highest bid, due by 4:30 P.M. on sale day by cashier’s check or certified check payable to the Stark County Treasurer. Remaining balance due within 30 days of the confirmation of sale filing date. Source: https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/DelinquentTaxSales.aspx (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Sale conditions: All properties sold “AS IS” with no title guarantee; no pre-sale inspections; buyer arranges removal of occupants; deed not transferred until physical pickup.

Delinquent List

Auditor’s Sales (Forfeited Land)

  • Platform/calendar: The Stark County Auditor conducts forfeited-land sales under R.C. Ch. 5723. The 2025 sale was scheduled for December 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM in Room 100 (presumably the County Office Building). The Auditor maintains a forfeited properties list (PDF) covering: (1) properties forfeited to the State of Ohio (R.C. 5723.01) and (2) the Forfeited Land List (R.C. 5723.04). Sales are annual or more frequent per auditor’s discretion (R.C. 5723). Source: https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/government/offices/auditor/resources/auditors_sales.php (retrieved 2026-06-02)

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

▸ For Investors / Operators — Stark County runs a dual-track system: in-person delinquent tax sales on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at the Stark County Fairgrounds (305 Wertz Ave N.W., Canton) with a 10%-of-bid cashier’s check deposit due by 4:30 p.m. that day; and online mortgage-foreclosure/tax-certificate sales every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern via RealAuction (stark.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov) with tiered deposits ($2,000/$5,000/$10,000 by value, wire or ACH, no cash). All properties sold “AS IS” with no title guarantee; balance due within 30 days of the confirmation filing date. The Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation (SCLRC) land bank may receive direct transfers under R.C. 323.78 and offers four acquisition programs (Side Lot, Vacant Lot, TAAP, Demolition Assistance); those parcels bypass the public auction.

▸ For Former Owners — Tax-foreclosure residue is held by the Stark County Treasurer (110 Central Plaza South, Suite 250, Canton, OH 44702; 330-451-7814) under R.C. 5721.20; the Treasurer’s office maintains a searchable “Unclaimed and Excess Funds” kiosk at scwebnet.starkcountyohio.gov/unclaimedmoneykiosk/. The claim form (PDF) and General Instructions are downloadable from the Treasurer’s unclaimed-funds page. The deadline under R.C. 5721.20 is three years from the Treasurer’s receipt of the residue, after which the funds forfeit to the delinquent tax and assessment collection fund. Amounts under $50 may not appear online; contact the Treasurer’s office directly.

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Treasurer / Tax CollectorAlexander Zumbar110 Central Plaza South, Suite 250, Canton, OH 44702-1410330-451-7814https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/government/offices/treasurer/index.php
Clerk of CourtsLynn M. Todaro115 Central Plaza North, Suite 101, Canton, OH 44702330-451-7801https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/government/legal___judicial/clerk_of_courts/index.php
AuditorAngela Kinsey110 Central Plaza South, Suite 220, Canton, OH 44702330-451-7357https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/government/offices/auditor/index.php
Recorder(name needs_verification; listed as Jamie Walters on document portal)110 Central Plaza South, Suite 170, Canton, OH 44702-1409330-451-7443https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/recorder
SheriffEric Weisburn4500 Atlantic Blvd. N.E., Canton, OH 44705330-430-3800https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/
Stark County Land Bank (SCLRC)—c/o Stark County Regional Planning Commission330-451-7389https://www.starkcountylandbank.org

Sources:

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • Two-tier sale system: Stark County runs a dual-track sale system. Mortgage-foreclosure (court-ordered) sales are fully online via RealAuction. Delinquent-tax sales (in the judicial/tax lien path) are conducted in person at the Fairgrounds on the first Tuesday of each month. Bidders need to check which sale type applies to a given property.
  • Tax certificate sales: Conducted via RealAuction (online), separately from both the in-person delinquent tax sales and the mortgage foreclosure online sales. Certificate sales may be infrequent or consolidated; none were scheduled Jan–Jun 2026.
  • Delinquent tax contract: The Stark County Treasurer offers a two-year installment contract to delinquent taxpayers as a pre-foreclosure workout. Foreclosure referral to the Prosecuting Attorney does not occur until the account has been delinquent ≥ 18 months with no active contract.
  • Land bank (SCLRC): The Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation has returned 800+ properties to productive use. It operates four programs: Side Lot ($100), Vacant Lot (assessed value + fees), TAAP (municipal/nonprofit acquisition assistance), and Demolition Assistance (up to 50% reimbursement). Land bank properties can be found through the Auditor’s real estate search. Source: https://www.starkcountylandbank.org (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Newspaper publication: Foreclosure sale notices are published in the local newspaper for three consecutive weeks prior to sale. Source: https://www.starkcountyohio.gov/government/offices/treasurer/departments/delinquent_tax/index.php (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Sheriff sale contact email: STARKSALES@STARKCOUNTYOHIO.GOV Source: https://sheriffsales.starkcountyohio.gov/DelinquentTaxSales.aspx (retrieved 2026-06-02)
  • Recorder name discrepancy: [needs_verification] The Kofile document portal references “Jamie Walters” as the Recorder, while the main county website at starkcountyohio.gov does not prominently display the Recorder’s name on the pages retrieved. Verify current elected Recorder’s name via official county site.

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

sources:

needs_verification:

  • Confirm current elected Recorder’s name (retrieved document portal references “Jamie Walters”; main county website Recorder page returned HTTP 404 on direct fetch — cross-check against official starkcountyohio.gov Recorder office page when available).
  • Next scheduled Stark County tax certificate sale date (none listed Jan–Jun 2026 as of research date).
  • Confirm whether the Stark County Treasurer’s Unclaimed/Excess Funds page includes tax-foreclosure residue (R.C. 5721.20 funds) in the online kiosk, or only general unclaimed-property remittances from the Ohio Department of Commerce. The page language is ambiguous — the kiosk may be limited to Ohio-DOC unclaimed property rather than local surplus proceeds.
  • Confirm that the in-person delinquent tax sale venue (Stark County Fairgrounds) has not changed since the website was last updated.
  • Confirm Stark County has not enacted any local ordinance or Common Pleas Local Rule setting a stricter deadline for surplus/excess proceeds claims shorter than the R.C. 5721.20 three-year window.
  • Verify current Auditor’s Sales (forfeited land) schedule for 2026 — only the 2025 December sale was listed at time of research.
  • Direct-to-land-bank path (R.C. 323.78) — confirm SCLRC’s current process for returning any surplus/excess to the county treasurer after a subsequent resale, per the 45-day rule in R.C. 323.78; verify whether SCLRC publishes any resale surplus notices.

cross_links: ohio, surplus-funds, right-of-redemption, tyler-v-hennepin-county, land-bank-direct-transfer, sheriff-sale, treasurer-sale, due-process-notice, third-party-recovery-rules

changelog:

  • 2026-06-02 — Initial population. Fetched 20 official Stark County government URLs: Treasurer (main + delinquent + unclaimed), Sheriff (main + sheriff sales portal + 3 sale pages), Auditor (main + auditor’s sales), Clerk of Courts (main), Recorder (main), payment portal, real estate search, GIS, land bank. Key findings: dual-track sale system (in-person delinquent tax sales 1st Tuesday monthly at Fairgrounds; online mortgage foreclosures via RealAuction at stark.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov); tax certificate sales also online via RealAuction but none scheduled Jan–Jun 2026; 10% same-day deposit for in-person sales; $2K/$5K/$10K tiered deposit for online; Treasurer holds unclaimed/excess funds; kiosk at scwebnet.starkcountyohio.gov; SCLRC land bank active. Seven needs_verification items (all Row 2 honest gaps).

▸ For Investors / Operators — Stark County runs a dual-track system: in-person delinquent tax sales on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at the Stark County Fairgrounds (305 Wertz Ave N.W., Canton) with a 10%-of-bid cashier’s check deposit due by 4:30 p.m. that day; and online mortgage-foreclosure/tax-certificate sales every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern via RealAuction (stark.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov) with tiered deposits ($2,000/$5,000/$10,000 by value, wire or ACH, no cash). All properties sold “AS IS” with no title guarantee; balance due within 30 days of the confirmation filing date. The Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation (SCLRC) land bank may receive direct transfers under R.C. 323.78 and offers four acquisition programs (Side Lot, Vacant Lot, TAAP, Demolition Assistance); those parcels bypass the public auction.

▸ For Former Owners — Tax-foreclosure residue is held by the Stark County Treasurer (110 Central Plaza South, Suite 250, Canton, OH 44702; 330-451-7814) under R.C. 5721.20; the Treasurer’s office maintains a searchable “Unclaimed and Excess Funds” kiosk at scwebnet.starkcountyohio.gov/unclaimedmoneykiosk/. The claim form (PDF) and General Instructions are downloadable from the Treasurer’s unclaimed-funds page. The deadline under R.C. 5721.20 is three years from the Treasurer’s receipt of the residue, after which the funds forfeit to the delinquent tax and assessment collection fund. Amounts under $50 may not appear online; contact the Treasurer’s office directly.

Legal information, not legal advice. This page describes Stark County’s operational procedures as found on official county websites as of the last-verified date. Law and administrative procedures change. Verify all facts against primary sources before acting on them. Seek qualified legal counsel for advice specific to your situation.

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