Alabama FAQs

1. What are First Rights?

First Rights (also known as First Rights Claims or First Rights of Refusal) are the claim a tax lien holder has to property; if a tax lien holder in the state of Alabama wishes to continue being the tax lien holder of a property or properties, they need to claim the property before it goes to sale by paying the previous year's taxes on the property (if the property has not been redeemed yet, and is still in the redemption period).

2. Why aren't my First Rights showing in my account?

Some counties are handling First Rights in their office, and you'll need to contact them to make your First Rights claims; others will have their First Rights claims handled online through our website. If your county is handling First Rights through our website, you'll need to be registered and approved before your First Rights will appear on your account. Once this is done, just log in to your account, select the proper county from the drop-down, and click on "First Rights Claims" on the left menu, then claim each property and make payment.

3. Where is the property I won in previous years? Why isn't it showing up in my claims?

If you are not registered and approved for the sale, you won't be able to see your First Rights properties (if it is a county GovEase is handling First Rights for); if you are registered and approved, contact us at 769-208-5050 Option 2 if you still aren't seeing your First Rights; it is possible the property got redeemed, or that we need to go in and update your previous year bidder I.D. so you can claim the properties.

4. Are deposits applied towards First Rights Claims?

Yes, deposits are applied towards First Rights Claims as soon as you hit the blue "Claim" button beside a property. If there are any funds left over, they will be refunded back to your bank account after the sale, 7-10 business days after the payment deadline for the sale.

5. Do I need to make two deposits if I am doing First Rights Claims and participating in the auction?

No, you can just make one deposit; deposits are 10% of the amount you wish to be approved for, so you'll be approved for that amount for the auction, even if you use the deposit for First Rights beforehand. If at any time you wish to be approved for more, however, you will need to deposit more and call us to approve you for more.

6. Why isn't the system accepting my bid?

For Alabama sales, you aren't bidding on the face value, but rather, the percent interest you wish to receive back from the county on the property; bidding will start at 12%, and can go as low as 0%, with the lowest bid once the timer runs out is the winner; the system will only accept the numbers 0-12 for any bids placed in county sales in the state of Alabama.

7. I bid 12% but lost to someone who bid 0%. Why did I lose?

In Alabama, you're bidding on the percent interest you're willing to receive back on the property, which is the lowest you're willing to accept. If someone bids lower than you, they will win.