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Seneca County
Seneca County
Seneca County is in New York's Finger Lakes region between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, anchored by Waterloo (county seat) and Seneca Falls (largest town and home of the Women's Rights National Historical Park). The economy mixes wine tourism (Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake Wine Trails), del Lago Resort & Casino in Tyre, the former Seneca Army Depot (white-deer preserve and warehousing), and agriculture. The County Clerk operates from 1 DiPronio Drive.
Property in Seneca
What every owner, heir, and investor should know.
Owning a home in Seneca.
Seneca is a small, low-cost Finger Lakes market with lakefront second-home demand on both Cayuga and Seneca Lakes.
- STAR / Enhanced STAR, senior, veteran, and agricultural exemptions apply.
- Property tax cycle: school bills September; county/town bills January.
- Tax-foreclosure redemption under RPTL Article 11 (two-year window).
- Foreclosure surplus rights under RPAPL § 1361.
- Watch for Cayuga / Seneca Lake shoreline overlays and Seneca Falls historic-district approvals.
Investing in Seneca.
Seneca offers Finger Lakes lakefront / wine-country STR upside and del Lago casino-driven tourism demand.
- Tax-foreclosure auctions run by the County Treasurer (annual).
- Judicial foreclosure auctions held at the Seneca County Courthouse, Waterloo.
- Land records search via Seneca County Clerk records.
- Real Property parcel lookup at co.seneca.ny.us.
- NYSCEF case search for lis pendens.
- Watch for STR rules in Seneca Falls / Waterloo and lakefront overlays.
After a Seneca foreclosure or tax deed sale.
Seneca uses New York's judicial foreclosure process and runs in rem tax foreclosure under RPTL Article 11.
- Mortgage foreclosures filed in Supreme Court, 7th Judicial District.
- Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale executed by court-appointed Referee.
- Surplus money proceedings under RPAPL § 1361.
- County Treasurer holds annual tax-foreclosure auction.
- Post-Tyler v. Hennepin reforms require return of tax-foreclosure surplus to former owner.
- Notices published in the Finger Lakes Times and Reveille.
Courts and records in Seneca.
- Seneca County Courthouse — 48 West Williams Street, Waterloo, NY 13165 — 7th Judicial District
- County Office Building — 1 DiPronio Drive, Waterloo (County Clerk)
- Supreme Court & County Court — Seneca County Courthouse
- Family Court — 48 West Williams Street, Waterloo
- Surrogate's Court — 48 West Williams Street, Waterloo
- 7th Judicial District (Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates)
- Appellate Division, 4th Department — 50 East Avenue, Rochester
- County Clerk — 1 DiPronio Drive — (315) 539-7160 — co.seneca.ny.us
- Real Property Tax Service — 1 DiPronio Drive — (315) 539-1772
- County Treasurer — 1 DiPronio Drive — (315) 539-1700
- Sheriff — 6150 Route 96, Romulus — (315) 220-3200