This guide summarizes the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Terms of Sale (dated June 13, 2025, and linked from the official Foreclosure Sales page), the Sheriff's Sale Warning Letter, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Local Rule 27 (court copy dated April 3, 2024), the Sheriff's Foreclosure Sales page and FAQs, and Ohio Revised Code sections 2329.20, 2329.211, 2329.271, 2329.31, 2329.311, 2329.33 and 2329.52, all read November 12, 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current terms, fees and deposit deadlines on the official auction site and with the Sheriff's Civil Division before you rely on them. This is general information, not legal advice and not bidding advice. ACC Solutions is not a law firm and not a brokerage.
Where and when sales are held
All Cuyahoga County Sheriff foreclosure sales are held online only at cuyahoga.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov and cannot be attended in person. That rule appears in the Terms of Sale (PDF) and on the Sheriff's Foreclosure Sales page. Real Auction's terms must be met to participate. Account and registration questions go to Real Auction through that site, not to the county.
Non-tax foreclosure sales are conducted every Monday at 9:00 a.m., or the next legal business day at 9:00 a.m. if Monday is a holiday. Tax-delinquent sales (County Treasurer as plaintiff), when scheduled, are held on a Wednesday beginning at 9:00 a.m., per the June 2025 Terms of Sale. Local Rule 27 separately allows tax-delinquent sales on any day the court is open. The Sheriff's FAQ says a sale date is assigned approximately six weeks after the Clerk of Courts issues an order of sale, and that legal notices appear in the Saturday edition of The Daily Legal News. Properties pulled from a scheduled date stay on the auction site with a status such as withdrawn, bankruptcy, postponed, cancelled or unsold.
Registration, deposits and buying as an entity
The Sheriff's Sale Warning Letter (PDF) requires every bidder to register and submit a deposit by wire transfer or ACH debit through the official auction site. Registration and deposit requirements must be met before you can bid. The Warning Letter also states that any company, LLC or corporation that purchases must be registered with the Ohio Secretary of State, and that the information in the highest bidder's registration is used to prepare the Bidder's Form and the Sheriff's Deed — once that information is filed, it takes a court order to change it.
| Appraised value (or minimum bid, if no appraisal is required) | Sale deposit |
|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $2,000 |
| Greater than $10,000 and not more than $200,000 | $5,000 |
| Greater than $200,000 | $10,000 |
Those tiers come from Ohio Revised Code 2329.211 and Local Rule 27 (PDF). If the judgment creditor is the purchaser at a residential sale, no sale deposit is required. The statute says the timing of the deposit is established by the court or the person conducting the sale and is included in the advertisement of the sale. If the purchaser misses that timing, the sale is invalid. Check the official auction site and the advertisement for the deadline that applies to the sale you are considering; this page does not list a deposit cutoff time because that timing is not stated in the Terms of Sale or the Warning Letter.
After you bid, the Sheriff's Bidder's Form page asks the successful bidder to complete and email the Cuyahoga County Sheriff Bidder's Form (and an assignment of bid, if it applies) to sheriffcivilforeclosure@cuyahogacounty.gov by 4:00 p.m. on the day of sale, so the parcel can be confirmed and recorded in the correct name. If the form is not received by then, the sale may be confirmed in the bidder's name. ORC 2329.271 also requires purchaser identifying information, including, for an entity, proof of active status with the Secretary of State. If the property is intended as a residential rental, the statute requires a statement of that intent and contact information for the person the statute names for that type of entity. Local Rule 27 says that if the purchaser fails to provide the required information, including proof of active Secretary of State status for a non-individual purchaser, the sale will be vacated on the motion of any interested party.
The first-sale minimum and the second auction
ORC 2329.20 says that, except as otherwise provided, no tract of land shall be sold for less than two-thirds of the appraised value. The Warning Letter quotes that rule and then describes the second auction: when a residential property ordered sold in a residential mortgage-loan foreclosure remains unsold after the first auction, a second auction is held and the property is sold to the highest bidder without regard to that two-thirds minimum, but still subject to the statute on costs, allowances and real estate taxes. ORC 2329.52(B) requires that second auction to be held not earlier than seven days and not later than 30 days after the first auction (for an online auction, the first day the auction is open for bidding is the date of the auction). The Sheriff's FAQ says the Sheriff may offer an unsold parcel at a second sale two weeks later, which falls inside that statutory window. A residential property still unsold after two auctions may be offered again without the two-thirds minimum, or disposed of in another manner the chapter allows.
Winning a second, no-minimum auction is not the last word. Under ORC 2329.311, in residential sales sold at an auction under section 2329.52(B), the judgment creditor and the first lienholder each have the right to redeem the property within 14 days after the sale by paying the purchase price to the clerk of the court. If both seek to redeem, the first lienholder has priority. Ask your attorney how that right applies to the sale you are watching.
What it costs after you win, and when the balance is due
The June 2025 Terms of Sale list these fees, paid in addition to the purchase price:
| Fee | Amount (Terms of Sale, June 2025) |
|---|---|
| Recorder's fee | $47 for the first three pages |
| Sheriff's recording fee | $75 |
| Auditor's conveyance fee | 0.4% of the purchase price, rounded up to the nearest $100, plus $0.50 per parcel |
| Sheriff's deed fee | $50 |
| Fiscal Officer's deed fee | $5, tax-delinquent and tax-lien certificate sales only |
The balance of the purchase price must be paid to the Sheriff within 30 days of the confirmation date, which is also the rule in ORC 2329.31 and Local Rule 27. Unless the price is paid in full within 15 days of the date of sale for tax-delinquent sales, or within eight days for all other sales, the balance due bears interest at 10% per year from the date of sale to the date of payment. The purchaser may move for an extension for good cause; the court has discretion to grant or deny it. If full payment is not received, the Warning Letter states that contempt proceedings may begin immediately. Local Rule 27 adds that, on motion, the sale and confirmation can be vacated and the purchaser's deposit forfeited, with sale-related costs taken from the deposit and any remainder refunded unless the court orders otherwise.
Payments to the Sheriff must be a certified bank check or money order (money orders not to exceed $10,000 in total). Cash is not accepted. The Foreclosure Sales page, current as of November 12, 2026, also lists cashier's checks, says credit-union checks are not accepted, and allows a plaintiff's law-firm check. Funds must be payable to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department. The Civil Administrative Unit accepts payments from 8:00 a.m. through 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Civil Division, 2nd Floor, 1215 West 3rd Street, Cleveland, OH 44113. The Civil Division records the Sheriff's Deed before pickup; recorded deeds are not mailed, and a signature is required to pick one up in person.
Caveat emptor: research before you bid
The Warning Letter uses the term caveat emptor — buyers beware. The Terms of Sale put the responsibility on the prospective purchaser to check the property for back taxes, delinquent utility bills, liens and any additional costs. Real estate taxes, including assessments, penalties and interest, may be paid from the sale proceeds, with the County Treasurer estimating the apportionment under ORC 323.47. The county expects every purchaser to have contacted their own real estate attorney and title company before the sale.
The Sheriff's official FAQ, asked "How can I go about viewing a property before I decide if I want to bid on it?", answers: "There are no allowances for viewing properties before the sale." That sentence is not in the Terms of Sale PDF; it is on the official Foreclosure Sales page. The Terms of Sale do state that the Sheriff's Office Civil Division does not have access keys to the properties. Occupancy after you take title is not guaranteed. The Sheriff's site has separate eviction and writ-of-possession instructions; that is a legal process you would handle with your attorney, not with ACC.
You can review the foreclosure case on the Clerk of Courts Sheriff Search docket (you will need the case number). The Appraisal Department, on the 2nd floor of the County Administration Building, 2079 East 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, can provide a copy of the building card for a fee if you have the parcel number or address. Questions about a scheduled parcel go to the Sheriff's Civil Land Sales Department at (216) 443-6000, extension 1226. Remote buyers can also start with our Cleveland remote-buyer FAQ.
Out-of-state and overseas buyers
The sale is already online, so you do not have to be in Cleveland on Monday morning to bid. You do have to meet the same registration, deposit, Secretary of State, bidder-form and 30-day payoff rules as a local buyer, and you still cannot view the property before the sale. If you bid in an entity's name, that entity must already be registered with the Ohio Secretary of State, and the name on the registration is the name that will appear on the deed unless a court later orders a change. Line up an Ohio real estate attorney and a title company before you bid, as the Sheriff expects, and have certified-fund payment ready for the 30-day clock that starts at confirmation — not at the auction itself. After you take title, city and county rental rules still apply; see Cleveland-area rental rules for investors and our page on out-of-state rental property management. We work asynchronously, so you can reach us by email or the contact form from any time zone; you do not need to catch us during Ohio business hours.
The debtor's right of redemption, and tax-delinquent sales
On all real estate parcels sold, the Warning Letter points to a statutory right of redemption under ORC 2329.33. Until confirmation, the debtor may redeem by depositing with the clerk the amount of the judgment, plus costs and interest at 8% per year on the purchase money from the day of sale to the deposit (with a different interest calculation if the judgment creditor was the purchaser). If redemption is exercised, the court sets the sale aside and, after a court order to release funds, the Warning Letter says your deposit is refunded. Confirmation itself can also be stayed. None of that is a reason to treat a winning bid as a closed purchase until confirmation has entered and the payoff is complete.
Tax-delinquent sales have extra steps. Effective April 9, 2025, and pursuant to ORC 5721.19(J), the Foreclosure Sales page and the June 2025 Terms of Sale require a notarized Affidavit of Non-Delinquency for each tax-delinquent property purchased (there is a separate form for organizations). The county will not transfer title until the purchaser swears that the purchaser (or a related pass-through entity) does not own property in any Ohio county on which delinquent taxes have been assessed and are unpaid, or that circumstances in the statute would still permit the transfer. Submit the original affidavit to the Civil Division by mail or in person; the county strongly suggests including it with your payment. A false statement can constitute falsification under ORC 2921.13(A)(11).
After you win: rehab and management
ACC Solutions does not bid for clients and does not list auction homes. If you win, take title and want the property rehabbed and then rented, we handle full-house rehab and rental property management in the Cleveland area. We quote after we know the property; we do not publish a fee here, and we do not guarantee title, occupancy, rents or returns. Because you generally cannot walk the house before the sale, a first estimate from the address is only a screen. The A.I. Deal Assistant gives you an ARV from recent comps, a rehab estimate and a property snapshot from an address or listing link. Results are estimates, not appraisals or inspections. The Free plan includes 10 searches with 72-hour access, and no credit card is needed. Investor Pro - Solo is $47 per month for 3,000 searches per month, with batch search support, as shown on the live pricing page on November 12, 2026. You can also use the rental cash-flow calculator or our free remote-buyer checklist.
A simple plan: read the official terms and research the address first, register and fund the required deposit on the official auction site if you decide to bid, and if you win and take title, request a rehab and management consultation. We do not bid for you.
If you have won a Cuyahoga sheriff sale and need rehab or management.
Call (216) 238-5999, email support@accmgmtsolutions.com or use the ACC consultation form. Have the address, the case number and your confirmation or payoff timeline ready.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Cuyahoga County sheriff sales held?
All Cuyahoga County Sheriff foreclosure sales are held online only at https://cuyahoga.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov/ and cannot be attended in person, according to the Sheriff's Terms of Sale (June 2025) and the official Foreclosure Sales page, both read November 12, 2026. Non-tax foreclosure sales are conducted every Monday at 9:00 a.m., or the next legal business day if Monday is a holiday. Tax-delinquent sales, when scheduled, are held on a Wednesday beginning at 9:00 a.m.
How much is the deposit to bid at a Cuyahoga County sheriff sale?
For residential sales, Ohio Revised Code 2329.211 and Local Rule 27 set the deposit by appraised value (or by the minimum bid in cases that do not require an appraisal): $2,000 if that amount is $10,000 or less; $5,000 if it is greater than $10,000 and not more than $200,000; and $10,000 if it is greater than $200,000. The judgment creditor who purchases is not required to make a sale deposit. Deposits are submitted by wire transfer or ACH debit through the official auction site. Check that site and the sale advertisement for the current deposit deadline; the statute leaves timing to the court or the person conducting the sale.
Can I view a Cuyahoga County sheriff sale property before I bid?
The Sheriff's official Foreclosure Sales FAQ, read November 12, 2026, says there are no allowances for viewing properties before the sale. The Terms of Sale also state that the Sheriff's Office Civil Division does not have access keys to the properties. Research the address on the public record instead, and contact your own real estate attorney and title company before you bid.
How long do I have to pay the balance after I win?
The balance of the purchase price must be paid to the Sheriff within 30 days of the confirmation date. Unless the price is paid in full within 15 days of the date of sale for tax-delinquent sales, or within 8 days for all other sales, the balance due bears interest at 10% per year from the date of sale to the date of payment. If full payment is not received, the Sheriff's Warning Letter states that contempt of court proceedings may begin immediately, and Local Rule 27 provides that the sale can be vacated and the deposit forfeited.
Does ACC bid for me or guarantee title, occupancy or returns?
No. ACC Solutions is not a law firm and not a brokerage. We do not bid for clients, list auction homes or guarantee title, occupancy or returns. After you take title, we handle rehab and property management. We quote after we know the property.