Columbia County, Wisconsin

Oct 15, 2026 · in 13 days

Tax Deedscheduledvia County site

Parcels

1 land-only hidden

Opening bids

—

no parcel list yet

Redemption

None

clear title at sale

Quiet title

$2K–$5K

typically required

What survives this sale

County in-rem foreclosure is intended to convey title free of most prior private liens, subject to federal tax liens and sale-specific exceptions. Special assessments and municipal charges can require separate analysis. Quitclaim from the county is not a warranty deed — full title search mandatory.

Columbia County rules

Sale type: Tax Deed
Redemption period: None once the county forecloses (roughly 2 years of delinquency before that)
Investor return: N/A — outright deed transfer
Governing statute: Wisconsin Statutes Ch. 75
Population: 58,113 residents
Checked: 2026-07

Auction logistics

Format: Sealed bid (blind) to highest bidder; county may reject
Frequency: As foreclosure inventory is ready — published in Portage Daily Register and on the Land Sales page; no fixed annual auction day
Platform: Columbia County Treasurer — Land Sales (sealed bid)608-742-9644
Deposit rules: Submit a County Bid form in a sealed envelope marked "Land Sale Bid" with parcel number on the exterior, delivered to the Treasurer on or before the Notice of Sale deadline. Bid must meet at least the published minimum (appraisal). Earnest money: certified check, cashier's check, money order, or cash equal to 10% of the bid, accompanying the bid. Balance due within 30 days of the County's Notice of Acceptance or earnest money is forfeited. Rejected-bid earnest money returned within 15 days of bid opening.

Title risk

Judgment of foreclosure is the primary clearing step; quiet title or extended review is still common when insurers want residual comfort on occupied or chain-of-title-complex parcels.

Offices and records

Tax collector: Columbia County Treasurer — Land Sales608-742-9644
Clerk of court: Columbia County Register of Deeds / land records608-742-9677
Property appraiser: Columbia County Land Information — real property listing / assessment608-742-9616
GIS / parcel map: Columbia County Interactive Map / Tax Parcel Application

Areas trending up

Portage city / I-39 county-seat core — Local government, rail/logistics, and highway access with more turnover than rural townships
Lodi / Wisconsin River recreation fringe — Madison-commute and lake/river demand supporting stronger SF liquidity
Columbus / US-151 east corridor — Highway access toward Madison–Beaver Dam with attainable workforce inventory

Notes

Wisconsin in-rem tax foreclosure county. Columbia County Treasurer (Portage) sells tax-delinquent foreclosure properties by blind sealed bid after foreclosure, not a live courthouse outcry. Notices publish in the Portage Daily Register and on the county Land Sales page. Minimum bid equals appraised value; county may accept or reject any bid; bidders currently owing Columbia delinquent taxes are disqualified. Quitclaim deed after full payment. Distinct from weekly Sheriff mortgage foreclosure sales at the courthouse (Ch. 846) — those are not the tax-foreclosure land-sale track. Madison–Portage I-39/90/94 corridor market (Portage, Lodi, Poynette, Columbus).

4 sources

Inherited from Wisconsin rather than researched for Columbia: type, redemption, returns, statute.

Parcels — ranked by assessed value over opening bid

Show 1 land-only parcel(s)

Nothing left to show

Every parcel in this sale is hidden: 1 land-only. Land-only means no street address, a house number of zero, or a street with no number; withdrawn parcels are no longer on offer.

Spread is not profit.It compares the opening bid to the county's assessed value, which is not market value — Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1) requires real property to be valued at the full value which could ordinarily be obtained at private sale, and § 70.05(5)(b) requires each taxation district to assess at full value at least once in every 5-year period. The Department of Revenue computes the actual assessed-to-full-value ratio for every district annually under § 70.05(5)(c) and notifies districts that drift more than 10% off over four years. Open a parcel to run the full max-bid analysis, which accounts for the assessment ratio, surviving liens, quiet title, and holding costs.