Two days set aside for delinquent tax sale.

By LOLITA HUCKABY
BEAUFORT TODAY

If the “for sale” signs posted around the community aren’t enough of a “sign of the times,” next week’s county delinquent tax sale should get your attention.

When the Beaufort County Treasurer’s office first published the list of delinquent tax owners, it included more than 2,800 properties.

In the past four weeks, the number has dropped to 1,700, which is still considerably more than the 600 parcels of property that went on the auction block last year.

Over the last decade, the county Treasurer Joy Logan’s staff has managed to handle all delinquent tax sales in one day. This year, because of the number of properties being offered, two days have been scheduled for the sale.

And for the second year in a row, the sale will be held at the Charles L. Brown Community Center on Greene Street instead of the county administration building on Ribaut Road.

In years past, then-Treasurer Elrid Moody held the sales – which lasted for several days – on the courthouse steps on Bay Street.

Property owners have until 5 p.m. today to pay their 2007 taxes.

Bidders are required to pay the unpaid 2007 taxes as well as the 2008 taxes.

Bidders are also required to pay a $25 fee to register and must pay the sale price on the day of the sale.

The property owner then has one year to redeem his or her property by paying the taxes plus an interest penalty that starts at 3 percent of the bid and increases to 12 percent.

In the past, about 90 percent of the owners have redeemed their property.

Boats and planes sold at the auction do not have a redemption period.

The County Council is in the process of amending the tax ordinances to allow property owners to pay next year’s taxes through an installment plan. Sign-up for that program will begin Dec. 1 and continue until Jan. 15.

In addition to the delinquent tax sale, the county master-in-equity will be conducting the monthly sale of foreclosed properties, with an increased number of parcels going through that process as well.

“It’s true we’re seeing about 100 properties a month hitting the foreclosure point,” Judge Marvin Dukes said.

For the October sale, as of mid-week, the master-in-equity had 156 parcels on the list, a majority of them from south of the Broad River.

In all of 2007, there were 274 foreclosure sales. As of September, the office had handled 678.

“The sales are spread between residential and commercial as more and more owners opt to just walk away from property they can’t pay for,” Dukes said.

”In some cases, they’re able to make arrangements at the lat minute because of extenuating circumstances but we’re not seeing that happen a lot,” he added.

ABOUT THE SALE:
The Beaufort County delinquent tax sale begins at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, and Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Charles L. Brown Community Center, Greene Street, Beaufort.
For a list of properties on the delinquent tax list or the foreclosure list, go to: www.begov.net/treasurer/delinquent_sale or www.bcgov.net/departments/master