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Ouray County

Colorado · Upcoming sale ·

Sale dateOctober 22, 2026
Sale typelien
PlatformZeus Auction (online, Oct 22–26)
Colorado rate / penalty13% for 2026 (discount rate + 9), premium bidding

Ouray County, Colorado runs its 2026 tax lien sale online on Zeus Auction from Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 a.m. to Monday, October 26 at 4:00 p.m. Registration closes two days before bidding, on October 20 at 4:00 p.m.; the brochure calls that day a Monday, but October 20, 2026 is a Tuesday, so register by Monday the 19th to be safe. The listing showed 92 liens on October 16. Certificates pay 13%, and the Treasurer says deeds have followed in under 1% of purchases.

Dates and registration

Online registration at zeusauction.com opened Thursday, October 1 at 8:00 a.m. and closes October 20, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (printed as "Monday"; the date falls on a Tuesday) Bidding opens Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 a.m. and the auction closes Monday, October 26 at 4:00 p.m. The ACH debit for winning bids starts after midnight on October 26, or as soon as practical after that.

Registration is required, with no deposit. Every document must match the name tied to a U.S. taxpayer ID, because the W-9, the certificates, redemptions and refunds are prepared from it. Ouray adds a rule other counties do not print: registration is limited to one bidder. The Treasurer may also decline anyone's request to take part, and county employees, their immediate families and anyone acting as their agent cannot bid.

Bidders whose payment does not clear are barred from all future Ouray sales.

Before the sale: the list

The liens are advertised for three consecutive Thursdays in October in the Ouray County Plaindealer, in alphabetical order by the owner of record, and on the county website. Updated lists, with the taxes paid before the sale removed, are on zeusauction.com and in the Treasurer's office from about October 1.

Bidding on each lien starts at the taxes, interest, advertising and fees due. When more than one bidder wants a lien, it goes to the highest amount; the part above the advertised amount is a premium bid, at the investor's expense, and it is not recovered when the lien is redeemed.

The investment, as the county describes it

Ouray frames the purchase as an investment, not a property purchase: you become a lienholder, in effect lending the owner the money for the taxes at a set rate, and the Treasurer compares it to a long-range certificate of deposit with some risks, naming bankruptcy, destruction of the property and condemnation. The rate is set by the Colorado Banking Commissioner at nine points over the September 1 discount rate, 13% for the 2026 sale, and stays the same for the life of the certificate (C.R.S. 39-12-103). A certificate sold in error earns 8%.

Redemption can happen at any time before a Treasurer's Deed is issued, at the rate of the year you bought. Certificate holders also get first option to pay any later year's taxes still unpaid on August 1; those are endorsed onto the original certificate at the same rate.

In Ouray County, the Treasurer says, transfer of a deed has occurred in less than 1% of all purchases.

The deed process, step by step

If a certificate is held for three years, the investor may apply for a Treasurer's Deed. Ouray asks for a completed application and a $1,500 deposit against the deed expenses: advertising, certified mail, the title search and miscellaneous legal fees. The office then notifies everyone with a legal interest in the property and advertises the pending action, including the date of a public auction. Allow six to eight months from application to deed.

That public auction is new. The brochure says it is held because of Tyler v. Hennepin County and that it determines the property's fair market value (C.R.S. title 39, article 11.5, as rewritten by Senate Bill 26-144). The investor keeps a first right to redeem out the winning bidder. If the owner redeems before the deed is issued, or an outside bidder wins, your redemption money and deposit are returned.

The brochure also states the time limit: tax liens from 2025 onward are extinguished after seven years, while liens from 2024 or earlier are grandfathered at fifteen. The Treasurer suggests applying for a deed before the seven years run out if you want to protect the investment.

Three ways people lose money here

  1. 1. Registering on sale day

    Registration closes October 20 at 4:00 p.m., two days before bidding opens. The brochure's "Monday" does not match the date, so aim for the 19th.

  2. 2. Registering two people on one account

    Ouray limits each registration to one bidder.

  3. 3. Letting a lien run out

    Liens from 2025 onward are extinguished after seven years; apply for a deed before then if needed.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-16.

County snapshot

Population (2024)5,197
Change since 2020+6.5%
Net migration (2024)+33

Ouray County has grown 6.5% since 2020 and still shows positive net migration (33 people in 2024). Demand for housing usually means owners redeem rather than walk away — good for the interest, less good if you were hoping to take the deed.

By population, Ouray County is the 52nd largest of Colorado's 64 counties. It has grown faster than the state average (+1.9% across Colorado), so competition at the auction is likely to be heavier here than in the quieter counties. Of the 2024 change, 33 came from people moving in and 20 from deaths outnumbering births.

Counties of similar size in Colorado with a sale on our calendar: Gilpin County, Clear Creek County, Gunnison County. Useful if this county's sale has already closed and you want the next comparable one.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Census population estimates. Population figures are estimates, not a count.

Property & tax profile

Median home value$739,800
Median tax / year$2,050
Tax / home value0.3%
Owned outright50.8%
“Other vacant”2.0%
Median year built1995

The median homeowner in Ouray County pays $2,050 a year in property tax — below the Colorado median of $2,602 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes after one missed year — about the face value of a one-year certificate, before interest, fees and any premium. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $2,276; homes owned outright, $1,874.

On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In Ouray County, 50.8% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (Colorado: 30.6%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is more than the state as a whole, so a larger share of the delinquent bills here have no lender behind them.

25.7% of all housing units in Ouray County are vacant. 19.3% of all units are seasonal or vacation homes, empty by design rather than abandoned. The figure that matters for a lien buyer is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 2.0% of all units (Colorado: 1.7%, U.S.: 3.6%). Close to the state rate.

Half of the homes in Ouray County were built in or before 1995 (Colorado: in or before 1988). The typical tax bill is 2.3% of the median household income of $91,020 (Colorado: 2.7%).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.

Note

92 liens. Registration closes Oct 20 at 4pm.

View official source ↗

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Quick answers

When is the Ouray County tax sale?+

The Ouray County, Colorado tax sale is scheduled for October 22, 2026, hosted via Zeus Auction (online, Oct 22–26).

Is Ouray County a good county to buy tax liens in?+

Ouray County has grown 6.5% since 2020 and still shows positive net migration (33 people in 2024). Demand for housing usually means owners redeem rather than walk away — good for the interest, less good if you were hoping to take the deed. Population in 2024: 5,197. These are U.S. Census Bureau estimates, not a recommendation — the county's own delinquency and redemption history matters more, and only the Colorado treasurer publishes that.

How much is the property tax in Ouray County?+

The median homeowner in Ouray County pays $2,050 a year, about 0.3% of the median home value of $739,800 (Colorado: 0.5%). Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $2,276, homes owned outright $1,874. These are U.S. Census Bureau survey estimates (American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates); the exact bill for a parcel depends on its assessed value and local rates, and the county tax collector has it.

What type of sale is it?+

Ouray County holds a tax lien sale. Colorado's statewide system: tax lien certificate. What the buyer earns: 13% for 2026 (discount rate + 9), premium bidding.

What's the redemption period in Ouray County?+

Ouray County follows Colorado's statewide redemption period: 3+ years.

Other Colorado sales near this date

Every Colorado page →

Other sales in October 2026

All October 2026 sales →

Want the full statutory picture for Colorado, not just Ouray County? Read the Colorado state page for the rate, redemption period, and every other county we've sourced, or compare it with tax lien interest rates in every state. If a past sale left money over, how surplus funds are claimed in Colorado.

Before you bid: how to research a tax sale property, what a tax lien or deed really costs and the risks investors run.

See every other scheduled sale on the full auction calendar, every sale in October 2026, the upcoming Colorado sales, or sign up for deal alerts to hear about new Colorado dates as soon as we add them.

This page is general information, not financial or legal advice. Auction dates get postponed, cancelled, or rescheduled — always confirm against the official source above before showing up or bidding. Verified 2026-10-16.