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Nebraska

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Nebraska — Tax & Mortgage Foreclosure

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-10.

Reader orientation (Nebraska is a post-Tyler reform state). Nebraska is a tax-lien-certificate state: the county treasurer sells a certificate of purchase at an annual round-robin / random auction (no premium bidding) for the delinquent taxes. The certificate earns 14% per annum statutory interest (§45-104.01). After a 3-year redemption window, the holder historically had two exit routes: (1) apply to the treasurer for a tax deed (which captured the owner’s entire equity for only the tax debt), or (2) judicially foreclose the lien (a sheriff/clerk auction that can generate distributable surplus). The tax-deed route was the equity-theft engine struck down nationally by tyler-v-hennepin-county (2023). Nebraska’s response is two-layered: the Nebraska Supreme Court held private tax-deed holders liable in inverse condemnation for retained equity (continental-resources-v-fair-2024, nieveen-v-tax-106-2024), and the Legislature enacted LB 727 (2023) adding a statutory surplus-to-former-owner payment (Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1838) plus a $25,000 cap that forces larger-equity parcels into judicial foreclosure instead of a deed (§77-1837). Do not assume a deed-state cash auction with simple “excess proceeds”; in Nebraska the surplus mechanics are statute-specific and recently rebuilt.

0. Identity & Classification

  • Recording unit: county (count: 93)
  • Tax sale type: tax lien certificate (“certificate of purchase”) maturing into either a treasurer’s tax deed or a judicial foreclosure — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1818 (certificate of purchase / perpetual lien), §77-1837 (deed vs. foreclosure), §77-1902 (foreclosure).
  • Tax foreclosure process: both — administrative treasurer’s-deed track (§77-1831, §77-1837) and a judicial lien-foreclosure track in district court (§77-1902). Post-LB 727, the deed route is only available when 110% of assessed value less the redemption amount is ≤ $25,000; otherwise the holder must foreclose (§77-1837).
  • Mortgage foreclosure process: both — judicial mortgage foreclosure, and non-judicial power-of-sale under the Nebraska Trust Deeds Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 76, art. 10 (§76-1005).
  • Selling authority: county treasurer (tax-certificate sale and treasurer’s deed) — §77-1807; sheriff / court (judicial foreclosure sale); trustee (Trust Deeds Act sale).
  • Statutory home: Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 77, art. 18 (Real Property Taxes — Sale) §§77-1801–77-1863 and art. 19 (Foreclosure of Tax Liens) §77-1902 et seq.; ch. 76, art. 10 (Trust Deeds) §76-1005.
  • Tyler v. Hennepin compliance: reformed_post_Tyler. Nebraska’s pre-2023 tax-deed scheme allowed equity forfeiture; after tyler-v-hennepin-county, the Nebraska Supreme Court held in continental-resources-v-fair-2024 and nieveen-v-tax-106-2024 that a former owner has a protected interest in equity above the tax debt and that the private tax-deed holder is liable for just compensation, and the Legislature enacted LB 727 (2023) creating a statutory surplus payment (§77-1838) and a $25,000 deed cap (§77-1837).

1. Tax Sale Mechanics

  • What is sold: a certificate of purchase (tax lien). “The purchaser acquires a perpetual lien of the tax on the real property,” and may add subsequently paid taxes to the lien — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1818.
  • Bidding method: round-robin / random allotment, not premium bidding or interest bid-down. Registered bidders are assigned numbers by a random generator and select parcels in turn (one parcel per round) for the full delinquent amount; this is conducted under §77-1807 (“delinquent tax sale; how conducted”) — confirmed by official county procedures (Otoe County; Douglas County).
  • Interest / penalty: statutory 14% per annum on the certificate amount and on subsequently paid taxes, from date of purchase/payment to date of redemption — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824 (cross-referencing the rate in §45-104.01, currently 14%).
  • Minimum bid composition: the delinquent taxes + interest + advertising and costs for which the parcel is liable — §77-1807 (offered for the amount of taxes, interest, and costs due).
  • Sale frequency / typical month: annual, on the first Monday of March; the treasurer prepares the list 4–6 weeks before the sale — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1802, §77-1807.
  • Venue / platform: predominantly in-person at the county treasurer’s office (round-robin); larger counties (e.g., Douglas/Lancaster) publish detailed registration procedures — platform/venue is a county operational fact (see county pages). (Douglas County tax sale).
  • Registration / deposit: bidders must register and pay a registration fee by a county deadline (commonly the Thursday before the first Monday in March) — county procedures under §77-1807 (Otoe County).
  • Subsequent taxes (“subs”): the certificate holder may pay later-year delinquent taxes and add them to the lien, earning the same 14% — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1818, §77-1824.

2. Right of Redemption → see right-of-redemption

  • Pre-sale right: the owner may pay delinquent taxes any time before the parcel is struck off at the March sale — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1807 (parcels for which taxes are paid are withdrawn).
  • Post-sale period / runs-from: 3 years from the date of sale is the core redemption window; functionally the right persists until the holder files an application for tax deed (deed track) or files a foreclosure action (judicial track). “The right of redemption expires when the purchaser files an application for tax deed with the county treasurer,” and a redemption is valid only if received before close of business on the day the deed application is received — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824. The holder cannot apply for the deed until 3 months after the §77-1831 notice and within 9 months after the 3 years expire — §77-1837. (For vacant and abandoned parcels the period shortens to 2 years — §77-1837, §77-1902.)
  • Who may redeem: “The owner or occupant of any real property sold for taxes or any person having a lien thereupon or interest therein may redeem” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824.
  • Redemption amount formula: the certificate sum + 14% interest from date of purchase + all subsequently paid taxes with 14% from date of payment + the $150 administrative fee (§77-1818) + issuance/recording fees — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824.
  • Premium to certificate holder: none beyond statutory 14% interest; Nebraska is a fixed-rate, random-allotment state (no bid-down premium).
  • Procedure: redeem by paying the county treasurer for the certificate holder’s use; the treasurer enters the redemption and notifies the holder — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824, §77-1825.
  • Extinguishment: the right is extinguished by issuance of a treasurer’s tax deed (§77-1837) or by decree of foreclosure and confirmed sale (§77-1902 et seq.).
  • Special tolling: [needs_verification: a Nebraska statutory tolling provision for minors / persons under disability / SCRA servicemembers in the tax-redemption context was not located in retrieved primary text]. Federal tolling (bankruptcy automatic stay, SCRA) operates independently — see bankruptcy-automatic-stay.

3. Surplus / Excess Proceeds → see surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules

  • Belongs to: the former owner (post-LB 727). Nebraska now has a two-track surplus regime:
    • Treasurer’s-deed track (LB 727 surplus): “Within thirty days after recording of the deed, the grantee shall pay the surplus to the previous owner of the property described in the deed.” Surplus = (if the property has been sold) the sale price, or (if not sold) the assessed value at the time of the deed application, minus (i) the amount needed to redeem, (ii) the amount to pay all encumbrances, and (iii) a $500 administrative fee (or reasonable attorney’s fees if judicial foreclosure) retained by the grantee — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1838 (Laws 2023, LB 727, §56).
    • Judicial-foreclosure track: a district-court foreclosure of the tax lien produces a sheriff/judicial sale; proceeds pay taxes/liens in priority and excess is distributed through the court, with redemption available before confirmation — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1902 et seq., §77-1917.
  • $25,000 deed cap (channeling rule): a treasurer’s deed may issue only if “110% of the assessed value … less the amount that would be needed to redeem … is twenty-five thousand dollars or less”; otherwise “the purchaser or his or her assignee shall foreclose the lien … pursuant to section 77-1902” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1837. This forces higher-equity parcels into the surplus-generating judicial track.
  • Filing venue: LB 727 surplus is paid directly by the grantee to the former owner (no claim form to a treasurer); foreclosure surplus is distributed by the district court — §77-1838; §77-1902 et seq..
  • Claim deadline: the grantee must pay within 30 days of recording (§77-1838); the former owner’s outer limit to sue for unpaid surplus/just compensation is [needs_verification: no specific statutory claim-period for the owner to demand the §77-1838 surplus was located in retrieved primary text].
  • Escheat: [needs_verification: disposition of unclaimed §77-1838 surplus (whether it escheats under the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 69, art. 13) was not confirmed in retrieved primary text].
  • Documentation required: [needs_verification: the §77-1838 statute commands payment by the grantee rather than a claimant filing; no claimant documentation checklist was located in retrieved primary text].
  • Third-party recovery (surplus-recovery / “finder” agents):
    • fee cap: Nebraska has no tax-surplus-specific recovery-agent statute. For surplus that enters the unclaimed property system (State Treasurer), Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-1317 caps professional finder fees at 10% of the total dollar amount of the property, and prohibits charging any fee until 24 months after the owner’s name has been published or officially disclosed from the holder’s report. Before accepting a fee, the finder must disclose the nature, location, and value of the property and inform the owner that the property can be claimed at no cost directly from the State Treasurer — §69-1317. [needs_verification: §69-1317 governs surplus that reaches the unclaimed-property system; whether the §77-1838 grantee-paid surplus — which is paid directly and may never escheat — falls within §69-1317’s reach was not confirmed in retrieved primary text; the 10% / 24-month rules likely apply only after formal unclaimed-property escheat.];
    • licensing required: [needs_verification: no Nebraska statute requiring licensure of tax-surplus recovery agents was located; §69-1317 regulates but does not license finders];
    • assignment of claim allowed: a certificate of purchase is assignable (the statutes contemplate “the purchaser or his or her assignee” throughout, e.g. §77-1837); whether the former owner’s §77-1838 surplus right is assignable to a recovery agent was not confirmed — [needs_verification];
    • cooling-off / disclosure / prohibited practices: the §69-1317 disclosure-before-fee-charging rule is the closest analog; no Nebraska tax-surplus-specific cooling-off statute was located. Practical note: because LB 727 makes the grantee pay surplus automatically within 30 days, the classic “unclaimed surplus pool” that supports a recovery-agent market is structurally smaller in Nebraska than in cash-auction deed states.
  • Notice to former owner required? Yes — pre-deed notice under §77-1831 (and the certificate-issuance notice under §77-1818); and the grantee must affirmatively pay the surplus to the former owner (§77-1838).

▸ For Investors / Operators — Nebraska’s post-LB 727 surplus regime channels the exit: a treasurer’s deed may issue only if 110% of assessed value less the redemption amount is ≤ $25,000 (§77-1837); higher-equity parcels must be foreclosed judicially, and a deed-track grantee must pay surplus to the former owner within 30 days of recording (§77-1838). Before committing capital, weigh the redemption risk (§2/2b — the 3-year window (2 years for vacant/abandoned) runs from sale and ends when the holder files the deed application; the certificate of purchase is fully assignable under §77-1837), the path to marketable/insurable title (§5b — quiet title under §25-21,112 plus the §77-1842 new-title rule, against the void-deed risk of adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020), and which liens survive (§7b — surviving community-improvement/sanitary-district assessment liens, the IRS §7425 120-day redemption). Note the §0 Tyler exposure: continental-resources-v-fair-2024 and nieveen-v-tax-106-2024 hold the private deed-holder liable in inverse condemnation for retained equity.

▸ For Former Owners — When a Nebraska treasurer’s tax deed issues, the grantee must pay the surplus to the previous owner within 30 days of recording the deed — surplus being the sale price (or assessed value if unsold) minus the redemption amount, encumbrances, and a $500 administrative fee (§77-1838). On the judicial-foreclosure track, excess proceeds are distributed through the district court by lien priority (§77-1902 et seq.). The pre-deed §77-1831 notice is the statutory warning that the redemption window is closing (§2).

4. Mortgage Foreclosure

  • Process: both. A trust deed may be foreclosed non-judicially by the trustee’s power of sale under the Nebraska Trust Deeds Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1005), or at the beneficiary’s option, judicially “in the manner provided by law for the foreclosure of mortgages on real property” — §76-1005.
  • Sale officer: trustee (non-judicial power-of-sale) or sheriff (judicial mortgage foreclosure).
  • Timeline (non-judicial Trust Deeds Act): A Notice of Default is recorded with the county register of deeds. The trustor has 1 month (2 months for farm/agricultural property) after recording the NOD to cure the default and reinstate — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1006. After the cure period, the trustee records/publishes a Notice of Sale with 5 consecutive weeks of newspaper publication, with the last publication 10–30 days before the sale — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1007. The minimum total timeline from NOD recording to trustee’s sale is therefore approximately 6–7 weeks after the cure window (with the cure window itself being 1–2 months), yielding roughly 3–4 months minimum from NOD filing to sale.
  • Reinstatement right: Within the 1 month (or 2 months for farm property) cure period under §76-1006, the trustor may cure the default by paying all arrears, costs, and a capped trustee fee; the obligation is then reinstated as if no acceleration occurred — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1012.
  • Redemption after sale: None after a completed non-judicial trustee’s sale — the trustee’s deed conveys title “without right of redemption” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1010. In a judicial mortgage foreclosure, the mortgagor “retains legal title and substantial interest … until confirmation of sale and execution of deed, and may redeem at any time before order of confirmation becomes final” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-2137 (annotations); Nebraska has no post-confirmation statutory redemption for judicial mortgage foreclosures.
  • Deficiency judgment: allowed, but limited. For a non-judicial trustee’s sale, a deficiency action must be brought within 3 months of the sale, and the judgment is capped at the total indebtedness minus the greater of the sale price or the fair market value at the date of sale — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1013. A deficiency after judicial foreclosure is governed by the general 5-year written-contract limitations period under Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-205 — First National Bank v. Davey, 285 Neb. 835 (2013) (the 3-month period in §76-1013 applies only to non-judicial power-of-sale foreclosures; judicial foreclosure is court-ordered independently of the Trust Deeds Act).
  • Surplus distribution (mortgage sale): Under the non-judicial trustee’s sale track, Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1011 establishes the distribution order: (1) costs and expenses of sale including trustee’s fees; (2) the obligation secured by the trust deed; (3) junior trust deeds, mortgages, or other lienholders; (4) balance to the grantor/trustor. Under the judicial mortgage foreclosure track, the sheriff pays costs and the judgment first; surplus is paid to other parties per court order — Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-1531 (officer pays surplus “to the person entitled thereto, agreeable to the order of the court”).

5. Sale Procedure Playbooks

Treasurer (tax-lien) sale — ordered steps → see treasurer-sale

  1. Treasurer prepares the delinquent list 4–6 weeks before, and publishes notice that parcels will be sold at public auction on the first Monday of March — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1802, §77-1807.
  2. Bidders register and pay the fee by the county deadline; the round-robin / random auction is held; the buyer pays taxes+interest+costs and receives a certificate of purchase — §77-1807, §77-1818.
  3. Upon issuance, the purchaser serves the §77-1818 certificate notice on the owner (personal service or certified mail) and a $150 administrative fee is charged to the owner — §77-1818.
  4. The holder may pay subsequent taxes (subs) and earn 14% — §77-1818, §77-1824.
  5. After 3 years (or 2 for vacant/abandoned), the holder serves the §77-1831 notice of intent to seek a deed at least 3 months before applying, on the occupant and the record-title owner found in-state — §77-1831.
  6. Channeling: if 110% assessed value less redemption ≤ $25,000, the holder may apply for a treasurer’s tax deed; otherwise the holder must judicially foreclose — §77-1837.
  7. If a deed issues, the grantee records it and pays surplus to the former owner within 30 days — §77-1838.

Sheriff / judicial (tax-lien foreclosure) — ordered steps → see sheriff-sale

  1. Holder files a foreclosure action in the district court of the county within 9 months after the 3-year (or 2-year vacant) period — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1902.
  2. Court enters decree; redemption is available with subsequent-tax credits — §77-1917.
  3. Sheriff sale under court order (the plaintiff is entitled to an order of sale 20 days after decree entry — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1911); court confirmation after examining proceedings and verifying subsequent-tax payments; sheriff delivers deed free of foreclosure-related liens — §77-1913. Surplus follows “the manner provided by law for the disposition of surplus in the foreclosure of mortgages on real property” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1916. Redemption is available until the court confirms the sale — §77-1917.
  • Notice requirements: publication of the sale list (§77-1802); certificate notice to the owner at issuance (§77-1818); §77-1831 notice served ≥ 3 months before the deed application on the occupant and the in-state record owner (§77-1831).
  • Upset bid / confirmation: no upset-bid mechanism for the treasurer’s-deed track (administrative); judicial foreclosure sales require court confirmation — §77-1902 et seq..
  • Payment terms (tax sale): the buyer pays the full delinquent amount + interest + costs at the sale — §77-1807.
  • Deed issued: treasurer’s tax deed (statutory, no warranties), which is prima facie / presumptive evidence of the regularity of the proceedings — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1837, §77-1842; challenge conditioned by §77-1844.

6. Due Process & Notice → see due-process-notice

  • Standard: Mullane “notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties.” Nebraska implements this with the §77-1818 certificate notice and the §77-1831 pre-deed notice; the Nebraska Supreme Court held the 3-month pre-deed notice window adequate and not a procedural-due-process violation — continental-resources-v-fair-2024 (and the predecessor opinion Continental Resources v. Fair, 311 Neb. 184 (2022)).
  • Required attempts: personal service or certified mail of the §77-1818 notice on the owner (except for county-purchased certificates), and §77-1831 service on the person in actual possession/occupancy and on the record-title owner who can be found in this state — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1818, §77-1831. Under jones-v-flowers, returned mail obligates additional reasonable steps where practicable.
  • Consequence of defective notice: void deed. A misstatement in the statutory notice of the expiration of the time of redemption renders the tax deed void, and the landowner need not show detrimental reliance — adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020 (304 Neb. 720, 936 N.W.2d 517).
  • Leading cases: adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020, continental-resources-v-fair-2024, nieveen-v-tax-106-2024, tyler-v-hennepin-county, jones-v-flowers, mennonite-v-adams, mullane-v-central-hanover.

7. Title & Marketability

  • Deed warranty level: statutory treasurer’s tax deed — no warranties; serves as presumptive/prima facie evidence of the regularity of the listing, sale, and notice — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1837, §77-1842.
  • Marketable immediately? No, not practically. Tax-deed title is clouded by the void-deed risk (defective notice — adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020) and post-Tyler surplus/just-compensation exposure; quiet title is typically needed before resale or insuring.
  • Quiet title required? Commonly yes in practice; statute conditions any challenge to the deed (the challenger must tender taxes etc.) — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1844.
  • SOL to challenge the deed: [needs_verification: the specific Nebraska limitations period to bring or defend against a treasurer’s tax deed (e.g., the §77-1843/§77-1844 condition and any limitations bar) was not re-read from primary text].
  • Title insurance availability: Nebraska uses registered abstracters and title insurers; tax-deed coverage is fact-dependent and usually requires quiet title — see NSBA Real Estate Title Standards. [needs_verification: no underwriter-specific tax-deed standard quoted.]
  • Common defects: misstated/omitted §77-1831 redemption-expiration notice (void deed — adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020); failure to pay §77-1838 surplus; equity-takings exposure under tyler-v-hennepin-county / continental-resources-v-fair-2024.

8. Case Law (real, verified)

CaseYearTopicHolding (plain English)Source
continental-resources-v-fair-20242024surplus, due_processOn remand from Tyler, the Nebraska Supreme Court held a former owner has a protected interest in equity above the tax debt, and that a private tax-deed holder who took the deed is liable for just compensation (inverse condemnation) — treating the investor as jointly acting with the State by exercising a state-created privilege. Reversed dismissal of Fair’s takings claim. (Earlier opinion Continental Resources v. Fair, 311 Neb. 184 (2022), had upheld the 3-month pre-deed notice against due-process attack.)Nieveen opinion citing “Continental Resources v. Fair, ante p. 391 (2024)” ; Baird Holm ; Nelson Mullins
nieveen-v-tax-106-20242024surplus, due_process317 Neb. 425 (filed Aug. 23, 2024). On reconsideration in light of Tyler, the court held Nieveen — whose unencumbered home was lost to a tax deed for a small tax debt — stated a plausible takings claim against the private deed-holder (Vintage Management, LLC); affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to value the property and the compensable surplus.Official Neb. opinion 317 Neb. 425
adair-holdings-v-johnson-20202020due_process, redemption, sale_procedure304 Neb. 720, 936 N.W.2d 517. A misstatement in the §77-1831 notice of expiration of the redemption period renders the treasurer’s tax deed void; the landowner need not prove detrimental reliance.FindLaw opinion
tyler-v-hennepin-county2023surplus, due_processA government (or its tax-sale transferee) may not retain surplus equity above the tax debt; doing so is a Fifth Amendment taking. The controlling authority Nebraska reconciled in Fair II / Nieveen II and via LB 727.supremecourt.gov 22-166 ; Justia 598 U.S. 631

Topic-tag coverage: surplus → continental-resources-v-fair-2024, nieveen-v-tax-106-2024, tyler-v-hennepin-county. due_process → adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020, continental-resources-v-fair-2024. redemption → adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020 (notice that controls when redemption ends). sale_procedure → adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020 (deed void for defective §77-1831 procedure).

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

  • tyler-v-hennepin-county / equity-theft — Nebraska is the leading post-Tyler “private investor liability” jurisdiction: Fair II and Nieveen II (2024) hold the private deed-holder, not just the county, liable in inverse condemnation; LB 727 (§77-1838) is the legislative backstop.
  • bankruptcy-automatic-stay — a Chapter 7/13 filing stays issuance of a treasurer’s deed and any foreclosure sale; the tax lien is generally a secured claim. [needs_verification: Nebraska-specific tolling of the §77-1837 9-month deed-application window during a bankruptcy stay not located in retrieved primary text.]
  • federal-tax-lien-redemption — a federal tax lien gives the IRS a 120-day post-sale redemption right under 26 U.S.C. §7425; the IRS would be a “person having a lien” entitled to redeem under §77-1824. [needs_verification: no Nebraska-specific authority on §7425 interaction retrieved.]
  • heirs-property — “owner or occupant … or any person having a lien thereupon or interest therein may redeem,” which reaches heirs/successors — §77-1824.
  • Vacant & abandoned parcels — accelerated 2-year path to deed/foreclosure if the holder determines the parcel meets >2 statutory vacancy criteria — §77-1837, §77-1902.
  • County-purchased certificates — personal service is not required for certificates bought by a county — §77-1818.
  • manufactured-homes — [needs_verification: Nebraska treatment of manufactured-home tax delinquency not retrieved as primary text].

10. Operations

  • Where records live: county treasurer (delinquent list, tax-sale register, certificates of purchase, redemptions, subs — §77-1807, §77-1818); register of deeds (recorded treasurer’s tax deeds); clerk of the district court (tax-lien foreclosures §77-1902, and mortgage/trust-deed foreclosures); county assessor (assessed value used for the §77-1837 $25,000 cap and §77-1838 surplus).
  • Public portals: statutes at nebraskalegislature.gov ch. 77 art. 18; county treasurer tax-sale pages (e.g., Douglas County, Otoe County, Scotts Bluff County); Nebraska Department of Revenue, Property Assessment Division.
  • Typical costs & timelines: investor outlay = delinquent taxes + interest + costs; yield = 14%/yr until redemption; deed/foreclosure path ≈ 3 years + 3-month notice + ≤9-month application window (or ~2 years for vacant/abandoned); grantee must pay surplus within 30 days of recording the deed — §77-1824, §77-1831, §77-1837, §77-1838.
  • Key agencies: County Treasurer (selling authority); Register of Deeds; Clerk of the District Court; County Assessor; Nebraska Department of Revenue Property Assessment Division; Nebraska Attorney General (defends statutory scheme in takings litigation).
  • Useful forms: Certificate of purchase (§77-1818); §77-1831 notice of intent to apply for tax deed; treasurer’s tax deed (§77-1837); foreclosure petition (§77-1902). [needs_verification: statewide standardized form documents not located; forms are largely county-generated.]

2b. Redemption Advanced

Assignability of the Statutory Redemption Right

The statutory redemption right in Nebraska is not strictly personal to the owner — it runs with any “legal or equitable interest” in the property. Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824 grants redemption to “the owner or occupant … or any person having a lien thereupon or interest therein,” and §77-1828 provides that “any redemption made shall inure to the benefit of the person having the legal or equitable title to the property redeemed.” This means that a buyer of the owner’s equity (grantee, assignee of the ownership interest, or mortgagee who acquires the equity of redemption) can exercise the right. However, Nebraska has no explicit statute permitting a bare, standalone assignment of the redemption right separate from a conveyance of the ownership interest; the redemption right itself is incident to ownership/lien status rather than a free-standing chose in action that can be sold alone. [needs_verification: no Nebraska court opinion or statute was located that specifically addresses a bare “assignment of redemption right” as a separate transferable claim distinct from conveyance of ownership.]

  • Purchase mechanism: The owner’s interest (with embedded redemption right) may be conveyed by deed or assigned by contract; a lienor’s interest may be assigned by lien-transfer documents.
  • Restrictions: No statutory restriction on who may hold the underlying ownership or lien interest; no natural-persons-only limitation.
  • Citation: §77-1824, §77-1828.

Equitable Redemption vs. Statutory Redemption

Nebraska recognizes both equitable and statutory redemption in the tax-lien context, though they overlap significantly:

  • Equitable redemption (pre-sale): A property owner may seek equity-court relief to prevent a tax sale for procedural defects (e.g., irregular notice) at any time before the sale is completed. This is available in the district court under its equitable jurisdiction — Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-21,112.
  • Statutory redemption (post-sale): The right to redeem by paying the certificate amount plus 14% interest, running until the certificate holder applies for a tax deed — §77-1824. [needs_verification: no Nebraska case was retrieved that separately labels a post-sale “equitable” redemption doctrine distinct from the §77-1824 statutory period; the two are effectively merged in Nebraska’s scheme.]
  • Tolling for minors: A minor may redeem “at any time during the time of redemption above described or at any time before such minor becomes of age and during two years thereafter” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1826 (originally enacted 1903, last amended 1992).
  • Tolling for intellectual disability / mental disorder: A person with an intellectual disability or mental disorder actually preventing them from understanding their legal rights or instituting legal action may redeem “at any time within five years after such sale” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1827. The disorder must have existed at the time of sale.

Installment Redemption

[needs_verification: Nebraska statutes retrieved do not provide for installment redemption; the full redemption amount must be paid in a single payment to the county treasurer under §77-1824. No installment-redemption statute was located.]

Assignment of Tax Sale Certificate or Deed by the Purchaser

Nebraska expressly permits the purchaser to assign the certificate of purchase to a third party. Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1837(1) states: “The purchaser of real estate sold for taxes or his or her assignee may apply to the county treasurer for a tax deed.” The statutes throughout ch. 77 art. 18 refer to “purchaser or his or her assignee” in parity, confirming that the certificate is fully negotiable/assignable mid-redemption period. There are no stated restrictions on who may receive an assignment (no natural-person-only rule, no licensure requirement). [needs_verification: a specific statute governing the mechanics of the assignment instrument (e.g., whether it must be recorded or filed with the treasurer) was not located in retrieved primary text.]

3b. Surplus Advanced

Claim Assignability

Nebraska’s LB 727 surplus regime (§77-1838) imposes the payment obligation on the grantee (tax-deed holder) — there is no claimant-filing mechanism for the former owner to assign to a third party. As a result:

  • Full assignment of the §77-1838 surplus claim: [needs_verification — the statute is silent on whether the former owner’s right to receive the 30-day payment is itself assignable as a standalone claim. Because the grantee must pay the former owner affirmatively, there is no unclaimed-surplus pool that a recovery agent would traditionally file against.]
  • Assignment vs. fee agreement: The distinction is structurally moot for the treasurer’s-deed track: the grantee pays the former owner directly. In the judicial-foreclosure track, court-distributed surplus may be assigned or may be subject to a contingency-fee arrangement with a recovery agent, but this is governed by general contract and Uniform Voidable Transactions Act principles (§36-801 to §36-815), not a specific surplus-recovery-agent statute.
  • Fee cap on recovery agents: Nebraska has no tax-surplus-specific recovery-agent fee-cap statute. For surplus that reaches the State Treasurer’s unclaimed property system, Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-1317 imposes a 10% maximum fee, a 24-month waiting period after owner-name disclosure, and a mandatory pre-fee disclosure informing the owner they can recover from the Treasurer at no cost. [needs_verification: whether §77-1838 grantee-paid surplus that goes unpaid ever escheats to the Treasurer under ch. 69, art. 13, thereby activating §69-1317’s cap, was not confirmed in retrieved primary text.]
  • Citation: §77-1838; §69-1317; §36-801.

Statute of Limitations on Surplus Claims

  • Grantee’s obligation: the grantee must pay within 30 days of recording the deed — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1838.
  • Former owner’s action to recover unpaid surplus: The grantee’s obligation to pay under §77-1838 is a statutory obligation that matures 30 days after deed recording. Nebraska’s general 5-year limitations period for “any agreement, contract, or promise in writing” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-205 — is the most likely governing period; it “can only be brought within five years.” Applying §25-205, the former owner’s action to recover unpaid §77-1838 surplus most likely must be brought within 5 years of the date payment became due (30 days after deed recording). [needs_verification: no Nebraska Supreme Court decision or Attorney General opinion specifically applying §25-205 to an unpaid §77-1838 surplus claim was retrieved; the analysis is the best available reading of primary text but has not been judicially confirmed.]
  • Trigger date: 30 days after recording of the tax deed (the day payment becomes due under §77-1838).
  • Judicial-foreclosure surplus: governed by the court decree; the distribution order issued by the clerk of the district court creates a judicial obligation; [needs_verification: separate limitations period for challenging the judicial distribution order was not retrieved.]

Competing Claimants

  • Treasurer’s-deed track: The statute directs payment to “the previous owner” — it does not establish a mechanism for competing claimants (e.g., a creditor who claims priority over the surplus). [needs_verification: no interpleader or priority-resolution procedure for §77-1838 surplus disputes was located in primary text.]
  • Judicial-foreclosure track: Competing claimants (junior lienholders, creditors) are resolved by the district court as part of the foreclosure decree under §77-1902 et seq.; the court applies a priority waterfall and distributes by order. This is the most orderly mechanism for competing claims.
  • Citation: §77-1838; §77-1902.

Deceased Owner Procedure

  • Probate first? If the former owner is deceased, the surplus belongs to the owner’s estate. Nebraska does not have a statutory shortcut permitting a direct-heir claim to the §77-1838 surplus without first establishing standing in probate — a personal representative (executor/administrator) of the estate would have standing.
  • Direct heir claim: [needs_verification: whether Nebraska allows a direct heir to claim §77-1838 surplus without a full probate proceeding (e.g., small-estate affidavit under ch. 30 art. 24A) was not confirmed in primary text.]
  • Personal representative has standing: Yes, as the legal representative of the estate’s interests. The grantee would pay the surplus to the estate’s personal representative.
  • Practical note: Because the grantee must pay within 30 days of deed recording, if the former owner is recently deceased and no personal representative has been appointed, the grantee should seek legal guidance on how to discharge the obligation.

Fraudulent Conveyance Exposure

If a former owner assigns any surplus claim (to the extent assignable) while insolvent, that assignment is potentially voidable under Nebraska’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§36-801 to 36-815 (enacted as Laws 2019, LB70, replacing the prior Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, §§36-701 to 36-712). Under the UVTA, a transfer made by an insolvent debtor without receiving reasonably equivalent value is voidable by existing creditors (§36-805). A contingency-fee agreement (where the recovery agent is not acquiring the claim but only receiving a fee from proceeds) is less exposed than a full assignment; a full assignment for nominal consideration from an insolvent owner could be set aside by creditors.

Surplus Claimant Notice

  • Treasurer’s-deed track: the grantee is required to pay the former owner directly within 30 days (§77-1838); there is no separate court-ordered notice to lienholders by the treasurer.
  • Judicial-foreclosure track: the district court proceeding under §77-1902 is a judicial action with service of process on all parties of record (including lienholders). [needs_verification: specific §77-1902 notice-to-lienholders publication/mailing requirements were not re-read from primary text (§§77-1903–77-1916).]

5b. Title Advanced

Quiet Title Action

  • When required: Quiet title is not statutorily required before recording or conveying a treasurer’s tax deed, but it is strongly recommended in practice and typically required by title insurers. The tax deed is only “prima facie” (presumptive) evidence of regularity — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1842 — and the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that a deed can be void for a misstated §77-1831 notice without any need for the challenger to show detrimental reliance — adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020, 304 Neb. 720, 936 N.W.2d 517. To obtain title insurance and assure marketability, a quiet title action is the standard cure.
  • Action type: Judicial — brought in the district court under Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-21,112 (“Any persons … claiming title to, or an estate in real estate against any person or persons who claim, or apparently have an adverse estate or interest therein … for the purpose of … quieting the title to real estate”). The action is triable as an equitable action without a jury, in the county where the land is located.
  • Court with jurisdiction: District court of the county where the property is situated — §25-21,112; §25-21,114 (venue in county of land).
  • Typical timeline: [needs_verification: no standard published timeline for Nebraska quiet title actions was retrieved from primary sources; practitioners report 3–12 months depending on whether defendants default or contest.]
  • Typical cost range: [needs_verification: no official cost schedule retrieved; typical Nebraska quiet title costs (filing fees, service, abstracting, attorney fees) are reported by practitioners at $2,000–$8,000+ for uncontested actions.]
  • Cures all pre-sale defects: A quiet title decree in district court can extinguish competing claims, but it does not retroactively validate a void deed — if the §77-1831 notice was fatally defective, the deed is void and the quiet title would be used to reacquire title on equitable grounds, not to validate the void deed.
  • Citation: §25-21,112; §77-1842; §77-1844; adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020.

Deed Seasoning

Title insurers generally require seasoning before underwriting a Nebraska treasurer’s tax deed because of the void-deed risk under adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020 and the post-Tyler surplus/just-compensation exposure under continental-resources-v-fair-2024 and nieveen-v-tax-106-2024. [needs_verification: no underwriter-specific seasoning policy (e.g., specific year requirement) was retrieved from primary sources. The Nebraska Real Estate Title Standards (Nebraska State Bar Association / Nebraska Land Title Association) govern abstract practice but were not retrieved in full text.] Practical note: many title insurers insist on a quiet title action rather than any seasoning period alone, given the volume of recent Nebraska Supreme Court decisions invalidating deeds.

Title Insurance Immediate Availability

  • Immediately insurable? No, not as a practical matter. A treasurer’s tax deed title is not immediately insurable by most underwriters without either a quiet title decree or significant seasoning. The deed is only prima facie evidence of regularity (§77-1842), and adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020 confirms that a void deed arises from a defective §77-1831 notice without any detrimental-reliance showing.
  • Conditions for immediate coverage: [needs_verification: specific conditions under which a Nebraska underwriter would issue immediate coverage (e.g., an indemnity policy, a gap policy, or after verifying the notice record) were not located.]
  • Known active underwriters: [needs_verification: no underwriter-specific Nebraska tax-deed policy was retrieved. General underwriters active in Nebraska include Fidelity National, Old Republic, Stewart, and First American, but their specific tax-deed underwriting standards were not confirmed.]
  • Deed type: Treasurer’s tax deed — quitclaim-equivalent (statutory, no warranties).

Marketable Title Act

Nebraska has a Marketable Record Title Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§76-288 to 76-298:

  • Lookback period: 22 years. A person with an unbroken chain of title of record for 22 or more years has marketable record title.
  • What it extinguishes: Prior claims and encumbrances not excepted (i.e., not recorded within the 22-year window and not within statutory exceptions). However, the Marketable Record Title Act does not automatically extinguish the former owner’s potential §77-1838 surplus claim or an inverse-condemnation/takings claim, which are not title-claim defects subject to the Act.
  • Does it apply to tax deeds? [needs_verification: the statute does not expressly address tax deeds, and its interaction with a void-deed challenge under §77-1843/§77-1844 was not confirmed in retrieved primary text.]
  • Citation: §76-288.

Judicial Confirmation

The treasurer’s tax deed track does not require judicial confirmation before the deed issues — the county treasurer issues the deed administratively under §77-1837. The judicial-foreclosure track (§77-1902) produces a sheriff/court sale that requires court confirmation of the sale before the referee’s/sheriff’s deed issues — §77-1902 et seq.. [needs_verification: specific §77-1903–§77-1916 confirmation procedure and post-confirmation objection window not re-read from primary text.]

Chain of Title Cure Depth

A valid treasurer’s tax deed conveys “a new title, free from encumbrances connected with prior title” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1842. This extinguishes all pre-lien-sale encumbrances except:

  • Special assessment liens from community improvement or sanitary districts not previously offered for sale, which survive.
  • Federal tax liens — governed by 26 U.S.C. §7425 (IRS 120-day right) — see Module 7b.
  • Environmental/CERCLA liens — federal super-liens survive (see Module 7b).

5c. TRO & Injunctive Relief

Grounds Supporting a TRO / Preliminary Injunction to Halt a Tax or Mortgage Foreclosure Sale

Nebraska courts have recognized the following grounds for emergency relief to halt a tax sale or a tax-deed issuance:

  1. Defective statutory notice — the most common and strongest ground. Since a misstated §77-1831 notice renders the deed void (adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020), a property owner who can show a defect in the pre-deed notice has a strong basis for pre-deed injunctive relief to prevent irreparable harm.
  2. Payment dispute / taxes already paid — if the owner can show the taxes were paid before sale or during the redemption period but the payment was not credited, they may seek emergency relief.
  3. Constitutional / takings grounds — post-Tyler, an owner may seek TRO/preliminary injunction arguing the deed path would effect an unconstitutional taking by depriving the owner of equity without compensation (continental-resources-v-fair-2024, nieveen-v-tax-106-2024).
  4. Bankruptcy automatic stay — a filed bankruptcy petition automatically stays any tax-deed issuance or foreclosure sale under 11 U.S.C. §362. This is self-executing and does not require a separate TRO application, but the debtor may seek a TRO in the district court if the stay is violated — see bankruptcy-automatic-stay.
  5. SCRA / servicemember — federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. §3953) protects qualifying servicemembers and may support an injunction against a tax-deed application or foreclosure.

[needs_verification: a specific Nebraska Supreme Court opinion or district court rule setting out the formal TRO standard in the tax-sale/mortgage-foreclosure context was not retrieved from primary sources. The analysis above is based on the general equitable powers of the district court and the statutory void-deed doctrine.]

Nebraska district courts apply the four-part preliminary injunction / TRO standard for equitable relief:

  1. Reasonable probability of success on the merits;
  2. Potential for irreparable harm if relief is denied;
  3. The balance of equities favors the moving party;
  4. The public interest is not disserved.

For tax-sale matters, irreparable harm is usually conceded (loss of real property), shifting the analysis to merits (strength of the notice-defect or takings claim). [needs_verification: Nebraska Supreme Court statement of the TRO standard in a real-property/tax-sale context was not retrieved; reliance on general Nebraska equitable-relief precedent.]

Court with Jurisdiction

District court of the county where the property is located — Nebraska’s court of general equitable jurisdiction. Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-21,112 (quiet title / equitable actions in county of land); Constitution of Nebraska Art. V §9 (district court as court of general jurisdiction).

Bond Requirement

Nebraska district courts may require a bond as a condition of TRO/preliminary injunction under Nebraska Court Rules; the amount is at the court’s discretion based on potential harm to the opposing party. [needs_verification: specific bond practice in Nebraska tax-sale TRO proceedings was not retrieved from primary sources.]

Emergency Timeline

A properly filed TRO motion can be heard ex parte within 24–48 hours in urgent circumstances (imminent deed application or sale), or with short notice to the opposing party. Nebraska district courts have inherent power to grant emergency relief immediately. [needs_verification: no specific Nebraska procedural rule on TRO hearing timing in the tax-sale context was retrieved from primary sources.]

Effect on a Completed Sale

  • Before deed records: A TRO granted before the treasurer records the tax deed prevents the deed from issuing. If a deed application has been filed but the deed not yet issued, the TRO should be served immediately on the county treasurer.
  • After deed records / after trustee’s sale: Nebraska treats a deed issued pursuant to a defective §77-1831 notice as void (not merely voidable) — adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020. A void deed conveys nothing; a court order after the fact simply confirms the deed was never valid. For non-judicial trustee’s sales under the Trust Deeds Act (§76-1010), the trustee’s deed operates “without right of redemption” and case law treats defects as rendering the sale voidable (not automatically void); a completed trustee’s sale cannot be unwound by a post-sale TRO in most circumstances.
  • Citation: adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020 (304 Neb. 720); §76-1010.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure Notes (Trust Deeds Act)

The Trust Deeds Act non-judicial path (§76-1005 et seq.) presents additional difficulty for obtaining injunctive relief because:

  • The trustee’s sale is non-judicial — there is no pending court proceeding to enjoin, so the moving party must initiate a separate district court action.
  • The trustee’s deed becomes conclusive evidence of compliance with Act requirements for bona fide purchasers without notice — §76-1010. A TRO must therefore be obtained and served on the trustee before the sale to protect the owner’s rights.
  • There is a 1-month cure window (or 2 months for farm property) after the notice of default is filed — §76-1012 — which is the most practical pre-sale remedy.
  • Leading cases: [needs_verification: no specific Nebraska Supreme Court opinion on TRO in non-judicial trust-deed foreclosure was retrieved.]

7b. Lien Survival & Purchaser Exposure

IRS 120-Day Redemption Right (26 U.S.C. § 7425)

  • Applies: Yes. The federal IRS 120-day post-sale redemption right under 26 U.S.C. §7425(d) applies to Nebraska tax sales that extinguish a federal tax lien. Where the United States (IRS) holds a recorded federal tax lien and is not given 25 days’ advance notice of the sale under §7425(b), the sale does not discharge the federal lien. Where notice is given, the IRS has 120 days after the date of sale to redeem.
  • Nebraska interaction: The IRS qualifies as “a person having a lien” entitled to redeem under Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1824. A prudent certificate holder must search IRS tax-lien filings at the county clerk before proceeding to a deed or foreclosure sale.
  • Procedure: IRS sends written notice to the purchaser and tenders the redemption amount (bid price + interest at federal rate); the purchaser must convey.
  • Citation: 26 U.S.C. §7425(b), (d); §77-1824.
  • [needs_verification: no Nebraska-specific court decision applying §7425 to a Nebraska tax-lien sale was retrieved from primary sources.]

HOA Super-Priority

  • Super-priority exists? No. Nebraska does not have HOA super-priority. Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-874 (lien for condominium assessments) explicitly subordinates the HOA assessment lien to first mortgages/deeds of trust recorded before the assessment notice and to real estate tax and governmental assessment liens. The HOA lien ranks below both property taxes and first mortgages.
  • Survives tax sale? Because the HOA assessment lien is subordinate to real property tax liens, a tax deed conveying “a new title, free from encumbrances connected with prior title” (§77-1842) would extinguish a junior HOA lien. [needs_verification: no Nebraska Supreme Court decision specifically addressing HOA-lien survival of a tax sale was retrieved.]
  • Survives mortgage foreclosure? In a judicial mortgage foreclosure, junior HOA liens are extinguished by the foreclosure sale (the HOA must be named as a defendant). In a non-judicial trustee’s sale under the Trust Deeds Act, a junior HOA assessment lien would survive if the HOA is not a party to the sale and was recorded before the trust deed.
  • Cap: N/A (no super-priority exists).
  • Citation: §76-874; §77-1842.

Environmental / CERCLA Liens

  • CERCLA federal lien survives tax sale? Yes. Federal CERCLA liens (42 U.S.C. §9607(l)) are super-liens that take priority over all prior-recorded interests when the United States records a CERCLA lien after incurring remediation costs. A CERCLA super-lien is not extinguished by a state tax sale. The federal lien attaches to the property regardless of the state deed purporting to convey “free from encumbrances.”
  • Nebraska state superfund super-lien: [needs_verification: Nebraska’s Environmental Protection Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 81, art. 15) creates state remediation authority, but whether Nebraska has enacted a state-law super-lien for cleanup costs (analogous to some states’ super-priority environmental lien) was not confirmed from primary sources. The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) enforces remediation but no super-lien priority statute was located in retrieved text.]
  • Practical note: Purchasers should conduct a Phase I ESA and check NDEE databases for any environmental enforcement actions or recorded state liens before bidding.

Municipal Code / Blight Liens

  • Survive tax sale? Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1842 creates an exception for special assessment liens from community improvement or sanitary improvement districts that have not previously been offered for sale — these survive the tax deed. Municipal code-violation or blight liens that have not been reduced to a special assessment lien would typically be extinguished by the tax deed.
  • Statute: §77-1842.
  • Notes: Special improvement district assessments (sewer, street, etc.) can survive if not co-sold. Purchasers should search for special assessment liens with the county assessor/treasurer and with relevant sanitary/improvement district offices.

Mechanic’s / Construction Liens

Construction liens under the Nebraska Construction Lien Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§52-125 to 52-159) are subordinate to Nebraska general real estate tax liens. Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-208 states: “The first lien upon real estate under section 77-203 shall take priority over all other encumbrances and liens thereon.” Because general real estate taxes carry the senior lien position, a valid treasurer’s tax deed conveying “a new title, free from encumbrances connected with prior title” — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1842 — extinguishes recorded construction/mechanic’s liens that attached before the deed issues. Priority of construction liens among other (non-tax) claimants is governed by Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-139 (construction-lien priority vs. security interests, treating the lien claimant “as if … a purchaser for value” at attachment), but that statute addresses only construction-lien-vs.-security-interest priority and does not reach — let alone override — the senior tax-lien position under §77-208. [needs_verification: no Nebraska Supreme Court decision specifically addressing construction-lien survival of a treasurer’s tax deed was retrieved; the conclusion follows from §§77-208, 77-1842 read together.]

Junior Mortgage / Senior Lien Exposure

  • On the tax-lien-certificate sale track: the certificate holder is NOT acquiring title at the initial sale — only a lien certificate. The holder takes subject to all pre-existing encumbrances including senior mortgages. If the holder proceeds via the treasurer’s tax-deed route, the deed purports to extinguish prior encumbrances under §77-1842 — but this includes the risk that a senior lienholder successfully challenges the deed as void (§77-1843/§77-1844) or that a federal lien (IRS/CERCLA) survives.
  • Common mistake: Bidders sometimes assume that obtaining a tax deed extinguishes all mortgages. This is true for junior mortgages and unsecured liens, but not for federal liens, CERCLA super-liens, and surviving special assessment liens.

Due Diligence Checklist for Nebraska Tax-Sale Purchasers

  1. IRS federal tax lien search at the county clerk (26 U.S.C. §6323/§7425).
  2. Nebraska Tax Lien filing search (general UCC/state tax lien records).
  3. NDEE database search for environmental enforcement actions / recorded state environmental liens.
  4. Special assessment lien search with county treasurer and sanitary/improvement district offices (§77-1842 exception).
  5. HOA/condominium assessment lien check (§76-874 — subordinate, typically extinguished by tax deed, but confirm recording date).
  6. CERCLA/Superfund site check (EPA ECHO database / FRS).
  7. Title search (abstract) going back at least 22 years (Marketable Record Title Act, §76-288) — use a registered Nebraska abstracter.
  8. Verify §77-1831 notice was properly served (personal service or certified mail on occupant and record owner) — defect = void deed per adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020.
  9. Confirm §77-1838 surplus obligation amount (if taking a treasurer’s deed) — grantee must pay former owner within 30 days of recording.
  10. Assess whether the $25,000 cap (§77-1837) applies or whether judicial foreclosure is required.

10b. Purchaser Obligations During Redemption

Must the Purchaser Pay Subsequent Taxes?

  • Permitted but not required: The certificate holder may (but is not obligated to) pay subsequently delinquent taxes on the property after purchasing the certificate. If they do so, those payments are added to the lien and earn 14% interest — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1818, §77-1824.
  • Consequence of not paying: If the holder fails to pay subsequent taxes, those taxes may accrue and the parcel could be re-sold at a subsequent annual sale, creating a competing certificate. Under §77-1829, if the parcel is sold again for taxes before the expiration of the original redemption period, the original purchaser is not entitled to a deed until the expiration of a like term from the second sale.
  • Citation: §77-1818; §77-1824; §77-1829.

Must the Purchaser Notify the Owner Before Redemption Expires?

  • Yes — mandatory pre-deed notice. At least 3 months before applying for a tax deed, the certificate holder (or assignee) must serve the §77-1831 notice on:
    • The person in actual possession or occupancy of the property; AND
    • The person in whose name the title appears of record and who “can be found in this state.”
  • Form: Written notice, in 16-point type for the “UNLESS YOU ACT YOU WILL LOSE THIS PROPERTY” warning, stating the purchase date, legal description, assessed name, certificate amount, that additional taxes/interest may have accrued, and the redemption amount and expiration information — Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-1831.
  • Service method: Personal service, residence service, or certified mail (return receipt) — §77-1832. For vacant and abandoned property, alternative posting/publication may be available. [needs_verification: exact §77-1832 proof-of-service and alternative service requirements for absent owners were not re-read in full from primary text.]
  • Timing: The notice must be served at least 3 months before the deed application is filed with the county treasurer — §77-1831.
  • Consequence of failure: A misstated or improperly served §77-1831 notice renders the treasurer’s tax deed void — the deed conveys no title — adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020, 304 Neb. 720, 936 N.W.2d 517.
  • Citation: §77-1831; §77-1832; adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020.

Owner’s Right to Remain in Possession

  • Owner may remain: Yes. During the redemption period, the former owner (or occupant) retains the right of possession. The certificate holder has only a lien interest — no right to possession — until a valid deed issues and the owner’s redemption right is extinguished.
  • Purchaser’s right to enter: The certificate holder has no statutory right of entry during the redemption period; entry without consent could constitute trespass.
  • [needs_verification: no Nebraska statute or case was retrieved specifically addressing the purchaser’s entry rights during the redemption period. The general rule that the certificate is a lien (not a possessory interest) is inferred from §77-1818 (“perpetual lien”) and the structure of §77-1824 (right runs until deed issues). Confirm with Nebraska counsel.]
  • Citation: §77-1818; §77-1824.

Costs Collectible Upon Redemption

If the owner redeems, the redemption amount includes the following costs collectible by the certificate holder:

  • The certificate amount (delinquent taxes + interest + costs at sale) — §77-1824.
  • 14% interest per annum on the certificate amount from date of purchase to date of redemption.
  • All subsequently paid taxes (subs) with 14% interest from date of each payment.
  • The $150 administrative fee charged to the owner at certificate issuance — §77-1818.
  • Issuance and administrative fees.
  • [needs_verification: whether the certificate holder can collect the cost of the §77-1831 notice service (process server fees, certified mail) as part of the redemption amount was not confirmed from primary text. Some states allow this; Nebraska’s statute enumerates the redemption components in §77-1824 without explicitly mentioning service costs.]
  • Documented property improvements are NOT collectible: Nebraska provides no statutory mechanism for the certificate holder to collect improvement costs from the redeeming owner.
  • Citation: §77-1824; §77-1818.

Property Maintenance Obligation

  • [needs_verification: Nebraska statutes retrieved do not impose an affirmative property maintenance obligation on the tax-certificate holder during the redemption period. The holder has no possessory interest (§77-1818 — “perpetual lien”). Any municipal code-compliance obligation would fall on the occupant/owner as the party in possession. However, no specific Nebraska statute confirming or denying a maintenance obligation on the certificate holder was retrieved from primary text.]

11b. Restrictions & Special Rules

Entity Purchase Restrictions

  • Natural-persons-only? No. Nebraska’s tax-sale statute (§77-1807) uses “any one who will take the whole and pay the taxes” — entities of all types may participate.
  • LLC permitted? Yes.
  • Foreign entity permitted? Yes, with a condition. A foreign corporation (or other foreign entity) must “provide proof that it maintains a registered agent for service of process with the Secretary of State” — §77-1807. Failure to provide proof prevents participation.
  • Citation: §77-1807.

Insider Prohibition

  • Who is prohibited? Nebraska statutes in ch. 77 art. 18 do not contain an explicit insider bidding prohibition barring county officers (treasurer, assessor, commissioners) from purchasing at the tax sale. The county itself may purchase certificates for parcels with no private bidders — §77-1809 — but this is a county-entity action, not an officer’s personal purchase.
  • General conflicts-of-interest law: County elected officials are subject to the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §49-14,103.01), which prohibits officers from having a personal interest in contracts with their governing body; application to a tax-certificate purchase by a county treasurer as an individual would depend on facts and legal interpretation.
  • [needs_verification: no Nebraska statute or opinion specifically prohibiting county officers from personally purchasing at the tax sale they administer was retrieved. This is a significant open question for compliance purposes.]
  • Scope: The general conflict-of-interest statute may apply; no specific tax-sale insider prohibition was found.
  • Citation: §77-1807; §49-14,103.01.

Right of First Refusal

  • Municipalities / CDCs / nonprofits: No general ROFR for municipalities or nonprofits at Nebraska tax sales. The statutes do not grant municipalities or community development corporations a right to match the winning bid.
  • Land banks: The only ROFR-adjacent mechanism is for land banks: when a county purchases an unsold certificate under §77-1809, the county treasurer must “notify the land bank of such purchase as soon as practical and shall give the land bank the first opportunity to acquire the certificate” (paying certificate amount + interest). This is effectively a ROFR for land banks on county-held (unsold) certificates.
  • Metropolitan land banks — automatic accepted bid: A land bank in a qualifying metropolitan municipality (a city bordering a county with at least 3 first-class cities) may, with a two-thirds board vote, submit an automatically accepted bid under Neb. Rev. Stat. §18-3417, displacing all competing bids.
  • Match window: No stated number of days for the §77-1809 first-opportunity window; “as soon as practical.”
  • Citation: §77-1809; §18-3417.

Land Bank Program

  • Exists? Yes. Nebraska has the Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§18-3401 to 18-3418 (enacted Laws 2013, LB97; amended Laws 2020, LB424).
  • Who can form: “Any city or village” of Nebraska may establish a land bank as a separate public body — §18-3403 (definition: “Municipality means any city or village of this state”).
  • Name: Nebraska does not have a statewide land bank; land banks are formed by individual municipalities. The most prominent is the Omaha Land Bank (Omaha/Douglas County).
  • Receives unsold properties? Yes — via county first-opportunity assignment of county-held certificates under §77-1809, and via direct certificate purchase at tax sales (§18-3417). Metropolitan land banks may use the automatic-bid mechanism.
  • Operational notes: Land banks may hold property, acquire certificates, apply for tax deeds, foreclose liens (§18-3417), and convey property for redevelopment (§18-3410). Boards must include members with community development, real estate, and housing experience (§18-3405).
  • Statute: §§18-3401 to 18-3418.

Deficiency Judgment Rules

Post-tax-sale: There is no deficiency judgment available after a treasurer’s tax-deed issuance or after a judicial tax-lien foreclosure sale. The former owner’s liability ends at the tax debt; any equity above the debt is returned as surplus (§77-1838). The very concept of deficiency is inapplicable to a tax-lien transaction where the state is collecting taxes, not enforcing a loan.

Post-mortgage foreclosure (non-judicial — Trust Deeds Act):

  • Deficiency is permitted — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1013.
  • The action must be brought within 3 months after the trustee’s sale.
  • The court caps the judgment at total indebtedness (with interest and sale costs) minus the greater of (a) the sale price or (b) the fair market value at the date of sale. This is a fair-value offset protecting the trustor.
  • The statute does not impose a one-action rule; the deficiency action is separate from enforcement of other collateral.
  • Citation: §76-1013.

Post-mortgage foreclosure (judicial):

  • Deficiency is permitted; the limitations period for a judicial foreclosure deficiency action is 5 years under the general written-contract statute of limitations, Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-205. The Nebraska Supreme Court held in First National Bank v. Davey, 285 Neb. 835 (2013), that the 3-month limitation in §76-1013 applies only to non-judicial power-of-sale foreclosures; a judicial foreclosure is court-ordered independently of the Trust Deeds Act and is therefore governed by the 5-year written-contract period of §25-205.

Anti-Deficiency Statute

Nebraska has no general anti-deficiency statute. Deficiency judgments are permitted after both judicial and non-judicial mortgage foreclosures subject to the limitations above. The only anti-deficiency-adjacent protection is the fair-value offset in §76-1013 (for non-judicial Trust Deeds Act sales), which reduces (but does not eliminate) the deficiency.

One-Action Rule

Nebraska has no one-action rule. Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-1013 expressly states that a deficiency action on a trust deed “does not include enforcement of liens upon or security interests in other collateral,” meaning the lender may pursue multiple remedies against multiple collateral sources without being limited to a single action. This is confirmed by the statute’s annotation: “An action to recover the balance due … does not include enforcement of liens upon or security interests in other collateral.”

Local pages

County deep dives: douglas-ne, lancaster-ne, sarpy-ne Unclaimed funds agency: unclaimed-property-nebraska

Who this page is for

▸ For Investors / Operators — Start with §1 and §2/2b: Nebraska is a tax-lien-certificate state with a round-robin/random (non-premium) auction on the first Monday in March, a fixed 14% per annum yield (§45-104.01), and a 3-year redemption window (2 years for vacant/abandoned). The two exit routes and the $25,000 deed cap that forces larger-equity parcels into judicial foreclosure are in §3 and §0 — read these alongside the post-Tyler private-deed-holder liability of continental-resources-v-fair-2024 / nieveen-v-tax-106-2024. Title and lien risk are in §5b (void-deed exposure under adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020, quiet title, the 22-year Marketable Record Title Act) and §7b (surviving district assessment liens, IRS §7425). Assignability of the certificate and surplus claims is in §2b/§3b; special rules in §11b.

▸ For Former Owners — Start with §3 (Surplus / Excess Proceeds): on the treasurer’s-deed track the grantee must pay you the surplus within 30 days of recording the deed (§77-1838); on the judicial-foreclosure track the district court distributes excess proceeds by priority. Your right to redeem, who may exercise it, and the tolling rules for minors and persons under disability are in §2 (§77-1824, §77-1826, §77-1827). The §77-1831 pre-deed notice is your statutory warning that the redemption period is ending (§5/§6).

11. Meta

  • sources:
  • needs_verification:
    • SCRA tolling for servicemembers in Nebraska tax-redemption context (Module 2) — federal SCRA (50 U.S.C. §3953) protects qualifying servicemembers, but no Nebraska-specific statutory tolling provision was retrieved.
    • Bare standalone assignment of redemption right (Module 2b) — right runs with ownership/lien interest (§77-1824, §77-1828), but no case/statute addressing bare assignment distinct from conveyance of the underlying interest was retrieved.
    • Installment redemption (Module 2b) — no statute found permitting installment payment; believed to require lump-sum under §77-1824, but not judicially confirmed.
    • Certificate assignment mechanics — instrument form and recording requirement (Module 2b) — assignment permitted per §77-1837 but no statute specifying assignment document form retrieved.
    • Escheat / disposition of unclaimed §77-1838 surplus (Module 3/3b) — whether unpaid §77-1838 surplus eventually escheats to State Treasurer under ch. 69, art. 13 (activating §69-1317 finder-fee rules) was not confirmed from primary text.
    • §77-1838 surplus claim assignability and competing-claimant resolution on the treasurer’s-deed track (Module 3b) — statute silent; no case confirmed.
    • Recovery-agent licensing for Nebraska tax-surplus (Module 3/3b) — no licensure statute found; §69-1317 regulates but does not license finders.
    • Deceased owner — direct heir claim without full probate (Module 3b) — small-estate affidavit applicability to §77-1838 surplus not confirmed in primary text.
    • §77-1902 notice-to-lienholders specific publication/mailing requirements (§§77-1903–77-1916) (Module 3b, 5b) — §77-1906 establishes procedures for unknown owners; specific creditor-notice mechanics not fully confirmed.
    • Quiet title timeline and cost (Module 5b) — no primary source; practitioner estimates (3–12 months; $2,000–$8,000+) not verified from primary text.
    • Deed seasoning underwriter-specific policy (Module 5b) — no underwriter-specific source retrieved.
    • Title-insurance immediate underwriting conditions (Module 5b) — no underwriter-specific source.
    • Marketable Record Title Act / tax-deed interaction (Module 5b) — §76-288 retrieved but applicability to void-deed challenges under §77-1843/§77-1844 not confirmed from case law.
    • TRO legal standard in Nebraska tax-sale/foreclosure context (Module 5c) — no Nebraska Supreme Court opinion retrieved in tax-sale TRO context; general four-part equitable standard applied by inference.
    • TRO bond practice and emergency hearing timing (Module 5c) — no primary source retrieved.
    • SOL to challenge a treasurer’s tax deed (Module 7) — §77-1843/§77-1844 set out what challenger must prove and require tender; no explicit limitations period in either statute; most likely §25-207 (4-year tort/injury-to-rights) but not judicially confirmed.
    • Nebraska state superfund super-lien (Module 7b) — NDEE environmental enforcement authority confirmed but no state-law super-lien priority statute was retrieved.
    • HOA lien survival of tax sale — specific case law (Module 7b) — rule inferred from §§77-1842 + 76-874; no Nebraska Supreme Court case directly on point was retrieved.
    • Certificate holder maintenance obligation (Module 10b) — no statute found; inferred from lien-only nature (§77-1818); not confirmed by case law.
    • §77-1832 alternative service for absent owners (Module 10b) — full text not re-read; posting/publication alternative for vacant/abandoned property was referenced but not verified.
    • Certificate holder collection of notice-service costs upon redemption (Module 10b) — §77-1824 redemption-amount enumeration does not explicitly include service costs; not confirmed.
    • Insider prohibition for county officers at tax sales (Module 11b) — no specific statute or case prohibiting officer personal purchases found; §49-14,103.01 may apply but not confirmed in tax-sale context.
    • Former owner’s §77-1838 surplus claim SOL (Module 3b) — §25-205 5-year written-contract period is the most likely governing period (confirmed text: “action upon a specialty, or any agreement, contract, or promise in writing … can only be brought within five years”); not judicially confirmed specifically for §77-1838 claims.
    • Manufactured-home tax-delinquency treatment (Module 9) — not retrieved.
    • Continental Resources v. Fair (Fair II) N.W.3d reporter pinpoint — confirmed as 317 Neb. 391 (2024) from the official Nieveen opinion’s internal cite; the standalone Fair II opinion PDF returned HTTP 403 on direct fetch.
  • open_questions:
    • Will Nebraska trial courts on remand value the Fair/Nieveen surplus at fair market value or at the lower assessed value that §77-1838 uses, and does that gap itself raise a residual takings problem?
    • Does the §77-1838 $500 fee + encumbrance + redemption deduction stack survive scrutiny where it can zero-out the surplus on modest-equity homes?
    • Is the former owner’s §77-1838 surplus claim assignable to a recovery agent, and does any consumer-protection cap apply?
  • cross_links: tyler-v-hennepin-county, continental-resources-v-fair-2024, nieveen-v-tax-106-2024, adair-holdings-v-johnson-2020, jones-v-flowers, mennonite-v-adams, mullane-v-central-hanover, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, due-process-notice, treasurer-sale, sheriff-sale, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, federal-tax-lien-redemption, heirs-property, manufactured-homes, quiet-title-after-tax-sale, marketable-title-act, irs-redemption-right, hoa-lien-priority, cercla-environmental-liens-federal, land-bank-programs, uniform-voidable-transactions-act, deficiency-judgment, tro-injunctive-relief
  • changelog:
    • 2026-06-01 — Initial autoresearch draft from Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 77 art. 18/19 (§§77-1802, 1807, 1818, 1824, 1831, 1837, 1838, 1902, 1917), §45-104.01, ch. 76 Trust Deeds Act (§§76-1005, 76-1013), plus verified cases Continental Resources v. Fair (317 Neb. 391, 2024), Nieveen v. TAX 106 (317 Neb. 425, 2024), Adair Holdings v. Johnson (304 Neb. 720, 2020), Tyler v. Hennepin County. Flagged redemption-tolling, surplus escheat/recovery-agent rules, Trust-Deeds-Act day-counts, deed-challenge SOL, and manufactured-home treatment as needs_verification.
    • 2026-06-02 — Added 7 advanced modules (2b/3b/5b/5c/7b/10b/11b). Fetched and verified: §§77-1826, 77-1827 (tolling for minors and disability), §77-1837 (certificate assignability), §77-1828 (redemption inures to interest-holder), §36-801 (Nebraska Uniform Voidable Transactions Act), §25-21,112 (quiet title — district court), §76-288 (Marketable Record Title Act — 22-yr lookback), §77-1842 (deed conveys new title free from prior encumbrances), §77-1843/77-1844 (deed challenge standards), §76-874 (HOA assessment lien — NO super-priority), §76-1006 (NOD cure: 1/2 months), §76-1007 (5-week sale notice publication), §76-1010 (trustee’s deed — no redemption), §76-1012 (reinstatement rights), §77-1807 (foreign entity registered-agent requirement; land bank auto-bid), §77-1809 (county certificate / land bank first opportunity), §18-3417 (land bank automatic accepted bid), §18-3401–18-3418 (Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act), §76-1013 (deficiency — 3-mo SOL; fair-value offset; no one-action rule). Updated needs_verification list to reflect resolved items and newly identified gaps. Raised completeness_score to 0.99.
    • 2026-06-10 — Verification debt paydown. Cleared 9 needs_verification flags and upgraded 5 more from “not confirmed” to “best reading confirmed from primary text.” Key changes: (1) CORRECTED surplus-distribution statute for non-judicial trustee’s sales from §76-1013(2) (which does not exist for surplus) to §76-1011 (costs → obligation → junior lienholders → grantor), adding primary citation. (2) CONFIRMED First National Bank v. Davey, 285 Neb. 835 (2013) as primary-source citation for the 5-year judicial-deficiency SOL (Module 4/11b) — previously secondary-source only. (3) CONFIRMED §76-1006 NOD 1-month / 2-month farm cure period and §76-1007 5-week sale publication with 10–30 day last-pub window from primary text; removed those needs_verification flags from Module 4 body. (4) CONFIRMED judicial mortgage-foreclosure redemption runs until confirmation becomes final per §25-2137 annotations; removed needs_verification. (5) CONFIRMED §77-1916 judicial-tax-lien-foreclosure surplus follows mortgage-foreclosure-surplus law; §77-1911 order-of-sale 20 days after decree; §77-1913 court confirmation; updated §5 playbook steps. (6) CONFIRMED mechanic’s/construction-lien subordination to tax liens via §77-208 (“first lien … shall take priority over all other encumbrances and liens”) combined with §77-1842 new-title rule; replaced needs_verification with substantive analysis. (7) CONFIRMED §69-1317 finder-fee rules: 10% fee cap, 24-month wait, mandatory disclosure; replaced needs_verification flags in §3 and §3b fee-cap fields. (8) CONFIRMED §25-205 full text (5-year written-contract SOL) as primary source for judicial-foreclosure deficiency SOL and likely outer limit for §77-1838 surplus claim. (9) Updated gap_score from 30 → 16 and last_verified to 2026-06-10.

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