Alberta gives you no way out after the sale. Whatever you did not check
before the auction, you own afterwards. This is the list.
Title
Pull the current title. The legal description in the ad is the parcel, so make sure
it is the one you think it is.
Find out what is registered against it, and which of those interests survive a tax sale.
This is the question most worth paying a professional for.
Check whether it is a condominium unit. A unit title is a share of a building, not a
piece of ground, and the parcel boundary you see on any map is the whole building.
The land itself
Go and look at it. Satellite imagery is often years old. A “vacant”
lot may not be vacant, and a building on it may be a liability rather than an asset.
Access. Is there a legal road to it? Landlocked parcels exist and they sell.
Services. Water, sewer, power: connected, available, or nowhere near.
Condition. Derelict structures, fill, dumping, contamination. You inherit all of
it.
What you can do with it
Zoning and the municipal land-use bylaw, and what is actually permitted.
Outstanding orders on the property, and any local improvement levies.
What happens to taxes going forward, and what the municipality expects of the buyer.
The number
The reserve bid is council's estimate of market value, not a discount. See
how the reserve is set. Decide
your own ceiling before the room starts bidding, and stop there.
Budget the costs after the hammer: balance, transfer, cleanup, holding.
Ask the municipality
They are usually straightforward about this and they answer the phone. The conditions of
sale, what is known about the parcel, whether anything is outstanding on it. Ask
before the day. Confirm every listing you find here, including ours, against the
municipality's own notice.
Common questions
Can you inspect a property before an Alberta tax sale?
You can view it from public property and do your own research, but there is no right of entry or inspection. Parcels are sold as-is.
Do debts on the title disappear at an Alberta tax sale?
Some registered interests survive a tax sale and some do not. This is a title question specific to the parcel. Get it answered before you bid, because Alberta has no post-sale redemption to unwind the purchase.
Is the parcel size in a tax sale ad reliable?
Treat it as a starting point and confirm it against title and the municipality's notice.
General information about the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000, c. M-26, Part 10, Division 8. This is not legal advice. Confirm every detail with the municipality before you bid or buy.
AlbertaTaxSales is not affiliated with any Alberta municipality or the Government of Alberta. Every listing is a summary of a public notice. Always confirm it against the municipality's own notice before you bid or buy.