The same county website runs both kinds of sale, and the listing pages look alike. The rules underneath do not.
1. Who is selling
A tax deed sale is the county selling for unpaid taxes. A foreclosure sale is a court selling for an unpaid debt. A bank, or a homeowners association, sued and won a judgment. The clerk runs the sale for the court.
2. The starting number
At a tax deed sale the opening bid is the taxes and costs owed. At a foreclosure sale there is no fixed opening bid. The lender who won the judgment usually bids up to the judgment amount without paying cash, since it is owed to them anyway. That number on the listing is the final judgment, not a floor.
See the numbers
| Tax deed | 51% (middle half 33% to 69%) |
| Foreclosure | 68% (middle half 50% to 79%) |
Source: GovDeed, from county clerk sale results and the Florida Department of Revenue property roll. Homes with a county value of $40,000 to $400,000 · As of October 29, 2026
3. When redemption ends
Tax deed: the owner can pay up until the winning bidder's money reaches the clerk. Foreclosure: the owner can pay the judgment until the clerk files the certificate of sale, which is usually the day of or the day after the auction. After that, no.
4. What survives the sale
A tax deed usually clears mortgages. A foreclosure sale only clears liens that came after the one being foreclosed. If a homeowners association forecloses, the bank's first mortgage is still on the house and the buyer takes it subject to that mortgage. Read the lien post twice.
5. What paper you get
A tax deed comes from the clerk after the sale. A foreclosure buyer gets a certificate of sale, then a certificate of title ten days later if nobody objects.
6. What can go wrong after
Tax deed buyers worry about title: the deed is real, but a title company wants a quiet title action before insuring a resale. Foreclosure buyers worry about surviving liens and about the people still living there.
GovDeed labels every parcel with its kind, and the score treats a foreclosure judgment differently from an assessed value. See how the score works.