Rhode Island tax sale properties, straight from county records. Auction dates and opening bids can change at the county. Check the county link on a listing before you bid.
Rhode Island sells the property at auction, but the former owner can still buy it back for a set time after the sale by repaying your price plus a premium set by state law. You own it outright only after that window closes (subject to certain surviving liens and title clearing requirements).
Redemption Period
Until a court judgment
Municipality sells a collector's (tax title) deed (44-9-12). Owner may redeem for at least 1 year and until the purchaser petitions Superior Court and obtains a decree foreclosing redemption (44-9-25). Redemption cost = purchase price + 10% penalty (within 6 mo), +1%/mo thereafter, + 1%/mo interest on later charges (44-9-19/21).
The owner can redeem until the Superior Court forecloses the right; the buyer may petition only after one year. The owner pays your price plus 10% within six months, then 1% more per month (R.I.G.L. 44-9-19, 44-9-25).
Avg Property Tax Rate
1.63%
Above the national average (1.1%). Higher tax rates mean larger opening bids and lien amounts.
Homestead Rules
Special Rules Apply
Varies by municipality.
Words used on this page
Redemption period
A window after the sale when the old owner can pay up and take the property back.
Tax deed
The county sells the property itself. The winner owns it.
Before you bid in Rhode Island
What can survive the sale and become yours
IRS federal tax liens
Other things to check
Cities and towns run their own cash tax sales.
The law lets bidders compete for the smallest share of the property that pays the tax bill, but some towns simply sell to the highest bidder (Narragansett does).
You get no possession or rent during the first year, and good title only after a Superior Court decree.
Small state with limited inventory.
Check for coastal flood zone issues and environmental restrictions.
How we rate these
Every listing says one of four things. Next to it is how many facts we hold
for it, and what that much evidence is good enough for.
Worth a look
We hold the four basics (what is being sold, when, for how much, and what the property is) and nothing we hold argues against it. A claim about our record, not a promise about the property.
Needs review
We hold the basics, but a named finding wants a human first: a possible lien under the owner's name, a flood or environmental record, no mapped public road, a property check that fired, an opening bid at or above the value we hold for the parcel, or a sale the county reports as postponed.
Screened out
We hold positive evidence of a problem: recorded debt or an IRS lien that survives the sale, a lot too small to be a real parcel, a sale the county reports as over, or a sale date already past. The card names it.
Not enough data yet
One of the four basics is missing. This is not a bad rating: missing data can never produce a negative verdict.
N of 12 facts on file
How many of the 12 facts we track for this parcel we actually hold: sale kind, auction date, entry price, property class, value, lot size, living area, legal description, road access, title search, condition, sale terms. The same count on the board, the deal page and in Flexy. Hover the bar on any card to see which are still missing.
One number cannot say both how good a parcel looks and how much we actually know
about it, and a low number reads as a verdict. So we do not print one.
“Not enough data yet” is not a judgement about the property.
Rhode Island is a tax deed state. Municipality sells a collector's (tax title) deed (44-9-12). Owner may redeem for at least 1 year and until the purchaser petitions Superior Court and obtains a decree foreclosing redemption (44-9-25). Redemption cost = purchase price + 10% penalty (within 6 mo), +1%/mo thereafter, + 1%/mo interest on later charges (44-9-19/21).
In Rhode Island the owner can redeem until the Superior Court forecloses the right, and the buyer cannot petition until one year after the sale. The owner pays the price plus a 10% penalty within six months, then 1% more of the price for each later month (R.I.G.L. 44-9-19, 44-9-21, 44-9-25).
DeedFlex aggregates Rhode Island tax sale listings from county auction platforms and gives each property a plain-English verdict: Worth a look, Needs review, Screened out, or Not enough data yet. Next to it is how far the research has got on it. Start with Pro ($59/mo, flat) to browse all available Rhode Island properties with full deal analysis.
Key risks include: IRS federal tax liens. Cities and towns run their own cash tax sales. The law lets bidders compete for the smallest share of the property that pays the tax bill, but some towns simply sell to the highest bidder (Narragansett does). You get no possession or rent during the first year, and good title only after a Superior Court decree. Small state with limited inventory. Check for coastal flood zone issues and environmental restrictions.
Opening bids vary widely by county and property. Rhode Island has an average property tax rate of 1.63%, which influences opening bid amounts. DeedFlex shows the opening bid for every listed property. Where we hold a market value we can stand behind, we show it; where we do not, we say so rather than print a number we cannot support.
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