What Is a Tax-Delinquent List?

A tax-delinquent list (also called a "tax arrears list," "delinquent tax roll," or "back-tax list") is a record maintained by county treasurers of all property owners who have failed to pay their property taxes by the statutory deadline.

When property owners don't pay their taxes, the county treasurer creates a running list to track who still owes money. This is the same list counties use to mail out delinquent tax notices—and it's your gateway to finding motivated sellers who may be willing to sell their property for pennies on the dollar.

💡 Why This Works

Property owners on tax-delinquent lists are often motivated to sell because they're facing potential tax lien sales or foreclosure. Many have inherited property they don't want, moved away, or simply can't afford to keep paying taxes on land they're not using.

Where to Get The List

There are two primary ways to obtain tax-delinquent property lists:

1. Direct From The County (Recommended)

Contact the County Treasurer's Office (sometimes called the Tax Collector's Office) directly. Every county in the US maintains these records as part of their tax collection process.

How to request the list:

  1. Identify target counties in states with favorable tax sale laws (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Florida)
  2. Find the County Treasurer's contact information on the county website
  3. Call or email requesting the "tax-delinquent property list" or "delinquent tax roll"
  4. Specify you want: APN/Parcel ID, Owner Name, Mailing Address, Property Address, Assessed Value, Amount Owed, and Years Delinquent
  5. Ask about the cost and format (CSV or Excel preferred)
  6. Submit payment and wait for delivery (typically 1-2 weeks)
💰 Typical Costs

Low: $0.01 per parcel or flat $100 (great value)
Average: $100–$500 for the full list
High: $1.50 per parcel (avoid—too expensive)

Never pay more than $0.50 per parcel. If a county charges too much, move on to another county.

2. Third-Party Data Services

If you want to save time or access multiple counties at once, consider these data aggregation services:

Service Coverage Pros Cons
DataTree Nationwide Comprehensive data, professional-grade Higher cost, subscription-based
PropStream Nationwide User-friendly, skip tracing included Monthly subscription ($99+)
The Land Portal Land-focused Built for land investors Limited to certain counties
AgentPro247 Nationwide Pay-per-use option Learning curve

What Data You Need

When requesting your list, make sure it includes these essential fields:

  • APN (Assessor's Parcel Number) – Unique identifier for each property
  • Owner Name(s) – Current owner(s) on record
  • Mailing Address – Where to send your offer letters
  • Property Address/Legal Description – Location of the land
  • Assessed Value – County's valuation (use to calculate offers)
  • Acreage – Size of the parcel
  • Tax Amount Owed – How much they're behind
  • Years Delinquent – How long they've been behind
  • Property Type/Zoning – Vacant land, residential, agricultural

Scrubbing & Preparing Your List

Raw county data is messy. Before sending offers, you need to clean and organize your list:

Remove These Records

  • Duplicate owners – Keep only one record per owner (they'll get one letter)
  • Government/municipal properties – Cities, counties, states can't sell to you
  • HOA-owned parcels – Usually common areas, not saleable
  • Known investors/LLCs with many properties – They know the game
  • Properties with zero assessed value – Often unbuildable slivers
  • Properties in your "do not mail" list – From previous campaigns

Data Cleanup Steps

  1. Import CSV into Excel or Google Sheets
  2. Remove rows missing owner name or mailing address
  3. Standardize address formatting (USPS format)
  4. Use VLOOKUP to remove duplicates from previous mailings
  5. Filter to your target criteria (acreage, value, years delinquent)
  6. Add calculated "Offer Price" column (25-30% of assessed value)
# Example: Calculate offer at 25% of assessed value =B2 * 0.25 # VLOOKUP to flag duplicates from previous mailings =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A2, PreviousList!A:A, 1, FALSE), "NEW")
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don't skip scrubbing. Sending offers to the wrong addresses, duplicate owners, or government entities wastes money and hurts your response rate. Budget 2-3 hours per 1,000 records for proper list preparation.

Choosing Target Counties

Not all counties are created equal for land investing. Consider these factors when selecting where to mail:

Factor What to Look For
Tax Sale Type Tax deed states are easier than tax lien states
List Availability County provides list at reasonable cost
Competition Avoid oversaturated markets (Mohave, AZ)
Land Values Sweet spot: $1,000–$20,000 assessed value
Market Demand Check sold listings on LandWatch for your area
Closing Process Self-closing states save title company fees

How Greenlane Land Helps

Our platform streamlines the entire list acquisition and preparation process:

  • County Database – Contact info and pricing for 500+ counties
  • One-Click Import – Upload CSV and auto-map fields
  • Smart Scrubbing – Automatically remove duplicates, government entities, and known investors
  • Do-Not-Mail Integration – Syncs with your previous campaign history
  • Offer Calculator – Auto-generate 25-30% offers based on assessed value
  • Export to Mail – One click to send to Lob or your mail house