If you have been buying at Ohio sheriff sales and you are looking at Florida, the auction mechanics are not what you expect. The terminology is different, the entity running the sale is different, the valuations work differently, and the lien rules will bite you if you assume they match Ohio's.
We track auctions across all 88 Ohio counties and 39 Florida counties. We see investors make the same cross-state mistakes repeatedly. Most of them come down to five system-level differences that, once you understand them, make both markets easier to work.
This is not a "which state is better" article. Both markets produce deals. But they produce them under different rules, and the investors who know those rules have a real edge over the ones who assume everything works the same.
Before we start: terminology matters
Ohio calls its foreclosure sales "sheriff sales." They are run by the county sheriff.
Florida calls them "foreclosure auctions" or "foreclosure sales." They are run by the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Not the sheriff. If you search "Florida sheriff sale" online, you will come up empty. This is not just a naming quirk. The Clerk of Court is a completely separate office with different procedures, different filing systems, and different websites.
Throughout this guide, we will use the correct term for each state. Get in the habit now, because using the wrong term when searching for properties, filings, or sale dates in Florida will waste your time.
Difference 1: Who runs the sale (and why it matters for research)
In Ohio, the county sheriff's office handles everything. They schedule the sale, post the listings, accept deposits, conduct the auction, and issue the sheriff's deed. You deal with one office. Every county in Ohio uses this same structure, and all 88 counties now conduct their sales online through the RealAuction platform.
In Florida, the Clerk of the Circuit Court handles foreclosure auctions. The Clerk is an elected official separate from the sheriff, with a separate website, separate staff, and separate procedures. Florida's 67 counties each have their own Clerk's office, and while most have moved to online auctions through the same RealAuction/RealForeclose platform, you will still find county-specific quirks in how listings are posted and how results are reported.
Why does this matter for you as an investor? Research. In Ohio, you go to one type of office for everything. In Florida, you go to the Clerk for the auction itself, but the county property appraiser for valuations, the county recorder for deed history, and the circuit court for the case docket. These are separate offices with separate websites. Investors used to Ohio's more centralized process sometimes miss steps in Florida because they do not realize they need to check multiple county offices.
Our county recap pages pull this data together in one place for both states. You can compare auction volume, sale rates, and pricing trends across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach the same way you compare Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton counties.
Difference 2: The number on the listing (assessed value vs. sheriff's appraisal)
This is the difference that costs the most money.
In Ohio, the sheriff orders an appraisal before the sale. The sheriff's appraisal is meant to approximate market value, and it usually lands in the right range. It is not perfect, but it gives you a useful anchor for calculating your maximum bid.
In Florida, there is no pre-sale appraisal. The number attached to a property on a foreclosure auction listing is the county property appraiser's assessed value. And that assessed value is almost certainly wrong as a market indicator.
Florida's Save Our Homes amendment caps how much a homesteaded property's assessed value can increase each year (3% or inflation, whichever is lower). For properties owned for five or more years in appreciating markets, the assessed value can be 30% to 50% below actual market value. A listing might show $190,000 on a property that would sell for $320,000 on the open market.
Ohio investors who see that $190,000 and treat it like an Ohio sheriff's appraisal will either walk away from profitable deals (thinking the property is underwater relative to the judgment) or bid without a real anchor and overpay.
The fix: ignore the assessed value for valuation purposes. Pull the "just value" from the county property appraiser's website (that is Florida's term for fair market value), run comps, and use AuctionScout's AI predictions to triangulate the real number. We wrote a full guide on this specific problem if you want the deep dive.
Difference 3: Minimum bids and second sales
Ohio and Florida handle minimum bids completely differently.
Ohio first sale: The minimum bid is two-thirds of the sheriff's appraised value. If a property is appraised at $150,000, nobody can win it for less than $100,000. This creates a price floor that protects both the borrower and the lender.
Ohio second sale: If the property does not sell at the first sale, the court can order a second sale within 7 to 30 days. On the second sale, there is no minimum bid. This is where deep discounts happen in Ohio, and it is a common strategy for patient investors to wait for second sales in counties with lower demand.
Florida: There is no statutory minimum bid tied to a percentage of value. The opening bid is typically the plaintiff's (usually the lender's) total judgment amount, which includes the outstanding loan balance, accrued interest, legal fees, and court costs. If a third party bids, they need to beat the judgment amount or whatever the plaintiff sets as their opening bid.
In practice, this means Florida auctions sometimes produce properties at steep discounts when the judgment amount is well below market value. It also means you can not count on a price floor the way you can with Ohio's two-thirds rule on first sales.
Strategically, this changes how you build your pipeline. In Ohio, the two-sale structure creates a built-in timeline. You can identify properties heading to second sale and plan accordingly. In Florida, the auction is a single event (though the plaintiff can request re-sale if the property does not sell). Understanding which structure you are working under changes how you build your pipeline.
Difference 4: Liens that survive the sale
This is where investors get hurt the most, in both states. The rules about which liens survive a foreclosure sale are different in Ohio and Florida, and getting this wrong can turn a profitable deal into a loss overnight.
In Ohio, liens that survive a sheriff sale include:
- Property tax liens (always first priority)
- Special assessments (street, sidewalk, sewer projects certified to the county auditor)
- Water and sewer liens (when certified to the county auditor)
- Municipal code violation liens (demolition, boarding costs certified to the tax duplicate)
- IRS federal tax liens, which survive the sale and give the IRS a 120-day right to buy the property from you at the price you paid
- Any junior lien whose holder was not properly served in the foreclosure action
That last point is worth repeating. In Ohio, junior liens are only wiped out if the holders were properly named as parties in the foreclosure and served with notice. If a lienholder was missed, their lien survives. Always check the case docket and verify every named defendant.
In Florida, the lien picture has its own complications:
- Property taxes survive (same as Ohio)
- HOA and condo association liens get special treatment. Florida law gives associations a "safe harbor" claim on the proceeds, but the mechanics differ from Ohio's municipal liens
- IRS federal tax liens survive here too, with the same 120-day redemption period
- If the foreclosure was brought by a junior lienholder (say, a second mortgage), the senior mortgage survives the sale. This is the most dangerous trap for new Florida auction buyers. You can win a property for $40,000 at a junior lien foreclosure and inherit a $250,000 first mortgage. Check the case filing to see who is foreclosing and what position their lien holds.
In both states, the rule is the same: never bid on a property without reviewing the case docket. Know who is foreclosing, what priority their lien has, and whether all other lienholders were properly served. In Ohio, you are looking at the sheriff sale case file. In Florida, you are looking at the circuit court docket through the Clerk's website.
Difference 5: Surplus funds and what happens after the sale
When a property sells at auction for more than the judgment amount, the excess is called surplus funds. Both states have surplus fund processes, but they work differently.
Ohio: Surplus funds are held by the court. The borrower and any junior lienholders can file a claim. The court distributes the surplus according to lien priority. As the buyer, you do not interact with this process at all. You pay, you get the deed.
Florida: Surplus funds are held by the Clerk of Court. The former owner has 60 days to claim the surplus. If no claim is filed within 60 days, junior lienholders can claim it. After that, if funds remain unclaimed, they go to the state.
This difference matters less for your day-to-day buying process than the other four, but it is worth knowing because surplus funds create an entirely separate business in Florida. Some investors and attorneys specialize in finding former homeowners who never claimed their surplus and helping them file (for a fee). If you buy in Florida, you will see ads and mailers targeting this market.
From your side as the buyer, nothing changes. You pay what you bid, you get the deed. The surplus process is between the former owner, the lienholders, and the court.
What stays the same across both states
With all those differences laid out, it is worth noting what does not change when you cross state lines.
Both states conduct online auctions through the RealAuction platform. If you have bid on Ohio properties online, the Florida bidding interface will feel familiar.
Both states use judicial foreclosure, meaning a court is involved in every sale. This is different from states like Georgia or Texas where foreclosures can happen without court involvement. Judicial foreclosure is slower, but it also means title insurance is generally available for both Ohio sheriff sale deeds and Florida foreclosure auction deeds, since the court process provides a paper trail.
Both states require deposits at the time of sale. Ohio's deposits are statutory flat-dollar tiers based on the appraised value ($2,000, $5,000, or $10,000). Florida's deposit requirements vary by county and are typically a percentage of the bid or a flat dollar amount set by the Clerk. Check your target county's specific rules before bidding.
And in both states, you are buying the property as-is. No inspections before the sale. No contingencies. What you see from the street and what you find in public records is all you get before you commit your money.
How to work both markets without losing your mind
Running deals in two states with different rules is manageable if you have a system.
Build separate checklists. Your Ohio due diligence checklist and your Florida due diligence checklist should not be the same document. The research steps are different, the offices you contact are different, and the risks you check for are different.
Pick your counties. Do not try to cover all 88 Ohio counties and all 39 Florida counties at once. Start with two or three in each state based on volume, pricing, and your investment strategy. The county recap pages on AuctionScout show weekly sale rates and average discounts across counties, so you can narrow your focus before committing research time.
Set up alerts for both states. AuctionScout covers Ohio and Florida on the same platform, same interface. Set your criteria (county, price range, property type) and let the alerts bring properties to you instead of manually checking multiple county websites.
And the one that trips up everyone: do not mix up the rules. When you are analyzing 10 properties across two states in the same week, it is surprisingly easy to apply Ohio assumptions to a Florida property. The assessed value mistake alone (treating Florida's assessed value like Ohio's sheriff's appraisal) is the single most common error we see from cross-state investors.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bid on Florida foreclosure auctions from Ohio?
Yes. Florida foreclosure auctions are conducted online through the RealAuction/RealForeclose platform, the same platform Ohio uses. You register with the Clerk of Court in your target county, fund your account, and bid remotely. You do not need to be physically present.
Which state has better deals right now?
It depends on your strategy. Florida has the highest foreclosure rate in the country (0.27% of housing units, according to our data), which means more volume. Ohio tends to have deeper discounts on individual properties, especially on second sales in smaller counties. Both produce profitable deals for investors who do their homework.
Do I need a real estate license to buy at foreclosure auctions in either state?
No. Neither Ohio nor Florida requires a real estate license to purchase property at a foreclosure auction. You are buying as a private individual or entity. If you plan to wholesale (assign contracts), check your state's rules on marketing properties you do not own, as some states regulate this activity.
Is title insurance available in both states?
Yes. Both Ohio and Florida use judicial foreclosure, which means the court process provides a clear chain of title. Title companies will generally insure a sheriff's deed (Ohio) or a certificate of title from a foreclosure auction (Florida), provided the title search comes back clean. If there are defects, you may need a quiet title action, which typically costs $1,500 to $3,000 and takes two to six months.
How do deposits work in each state?
Ohio uses statutory flat-dollar deposit tiers based on the sheriff's appraised value: $2,000 for properties appraised at $10,000 or less, $5,000 for $10,001 to $200,000, and $10,000 for properties above $200,000. Franklin County is the exception, where the plaintiff's attorney sets the deposit. Florida deposit requirements vary by county and are set by the Clerk of Court. Check your target county's requirements before registering to bid.
Start comparing both markets
AuctionScout tracks auctions across all 88 Ohio counties and 39 Florida counties on one platform. County recap pages, AI predictions, and deal analysis work the same way in both states, so you can compare properties side by side without switching tools or learning a new interface.
Set up alerts in both states. Takes 30 seconds per county. Try it free for 14 days, no credit card required, at auctionscout.app.