How to Buy Government Surplus Land and Lots

Governments accumulate land they do not need. Highway departments buy more right-of-way than a project uses and later declare the remnants excess. Counties and cities end up with lots struck off at tax sales that no one bought. Land banks acquire abandoned parcels to return them to use. States hold trust land that they lease or sell for school funding. Federal agencies dispose of parcels under their own statutes. Each seller has a different procedure, but all of them publish the offering and sell to the public.

GovAuctionAlerts indexes land offerings from these sellers in the real estate directory. State surplus programs in California, Michigan and Washington, land banks in Ohio, Michigan, New York and Georgia, and county struck-off inventories in Texas all appear there with links to the official seller. The sources directory lists each program.

The sale method changes your strategy. A sealed bid is a single shot: you submit one number with a deposit and learn the outcome at the opening, so bid what the parcel is worth to you rather than a fraction of the minimum. An auction lets you react to competition, but set a ceiling first. A fixed-price or over-the-counter sale rewards speed and eligibility rather than price; the first qualified buyer wins. An application-based sale (typical of land banks and city lot programs) is a written proposal judged on your plan, your ability to complete it, and sometimes your address, with price a secondary factor.

Surplus land is where the phrase “the parcel is what you are buying” matters most. Many offerings are unusable to anyone but a neighbor, and the price reflects that.

Visit before you bid, from public roads or with permission. Look for the stakes or monuments, encroachments from neighbors (fences, driveways, sheds), dumping, standing water, steep grades, and the actual condition of the road. A survey is the only reliable way to know where the lines are; for anything you plan to build on, price a boundary survey into the purchase. For a remnant strip you intend to add to your own lot, the survey may cost more than the land, and that can be fine.

Cheap land is rarely cheap to own. Build the whole number before you bid.

Land banks are the friendliest sellers for a buyer who wants to use the land. Many post an inventory with a price, accept applications online, and sell side lots to adjacent homeowners for nominal amounts. The trade is conditions: build or renovate within a set period, keep the lot maintained, owner-occupy for several years, or forfeit the parcel back. Investors who want to hold and flip are usually screened out. Read the purchase agreement’s performance and reversion clauses before applying, and remember that a land-bank deed derived from a tax foreclosure may still need title work for financing.

Transportation departments and utilities sell remnants that often abut a highway or rail corridor. They commonly offer the parcel first to adjoining owners, then to the public by sealed bid at or above an appraised minimum, and they routinely retain drainage, slope, and utility easements and deny direct access to the highway. These parcels are ideal for the neighbor who wants a larger yard or a buffer, and difficult for anyone else. Confirm access and easements before spending on an appraisal or survey.

For rural acreage from state land offices and trust-land programs, expect auctions with an appraised minimum, retained mineral rights in many states, and existing grazing or agricultural leases that carry over. See the real estate sale types guide for how those deeds compare with tax and sheriff deeds, and the fees guide for the deposit and premium mechanics.

Before bidding on any surplus parcel, answer four questions in writing.