The DeKalb County tax sale list is posted on the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s website at dekalbtax.org and also runs once a week for four consecutive weeks in The Champion Newspaper, the county’s legal organ, before each scheduled sale.1DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales2The Champion Newspaper. Legal Advertising Dept The website is the faster source and also carries bidder registration links and supporting documents describing sale conditions and property descriptions.
Where to Find the List
Two places, both official. The Tax Commissioner’s tax sales page publishes the upcoming parcels along with the registration portal and sale-condition documents.1DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales The Champion Newspaper carries the printed advertisement for four weeks running, immediately before the sale date. The overlapping publication is required by Georgia law to give property owners, lienholders, and prospective bidders time to see the notice.
What Each Listing Shows
Georgia law permits a tax sale advertisement to describe a property by its tax parcel identification number and current street address, together with a reference to the recording information for the deed that conveyed title.3Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-1 – Procedures for Sales Under Tax Levies and Executions On the DeKalb list, each entry typically shows:
- Parcel ID number, which is the unique identifier the county uses for that property’s tax records.
- Owner of record.
- Property address.
- Opening bid, which is the total of delinquent taxes, accrued interest, and costs.
Screen the list by opening bid first. That figure is your minimum investment on a given parcel, and it’s the fastest way to cut a long list down to what your capital can actually reach.
When and Where the Auction Happens
Georgia sales under tax executions follow the sheriff’s-sale schedule: the first Tuesday of the month, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If the first Tuesday falls on New Year’s Day or Independence Day, the sale moves to Wednesday.4Justia. Georgia Code 9-13-161 – Where and When Sales Under Execution Are Made DeKalb County holds its tax sales on the courthouse steps at 12:00 p.m. or sooner.1DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales
An auctioneer calls each parcel by identification number and address. Bidding opens at the amount printed on the list and moves up in set increments. When no higher bid follows, the parcel is announced sold, and the winning bidder is on the hook to pay right then.
How to Register and Pay
You must register before you bid. DeKalb offers pre-registration through an online portal or in-person registration on the morning of the sale.1DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales
Only three forms of payment are accepted once a property is scheduled for tax sale: cash, a bank-issued cashier’s check, or a bank wire transfer. All must be payable to the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner.5DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Delinquent Taxes Personal checks and credit cards won’t be accepted. Bring more than you expect to spend, because if bidding runs hot you don’t want to win a parcel you can’t cover. Failure to pay typically means the property is re-auctioned.
What You Actually Buy at the Sale
A winning bid does not make you the owner right away. You receive a tax deed, and that deed is subject to a right of redemption held by the former owner and anyone else with a legal interest in the property. That right lasts at least 12 months from the sale date.6Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-40 – Redemption of Property Sold for Taxes
During that year, you can’t occupy or develop the property. You’re waiting to see whether the former owner pays to redeem. If they do, you get your money back plus a premium. If they don’t, you can move to terminate the right of redemption.
What Redemption Actually Pays You
The redemption amount isn’t just your bid. Georgia stacks several components:7Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-42 – Amount Payable for Redemption
- Your auction bid as shown on the tax deed.
- Any taxes you paid on the property after the sale.
- Any special assessments on the property.
- A 20% premium for the first year (or any fraction of it) between the sale date and the redemption date, plus 10% for each additional year or fraction of a year after that.
- HOA or condo association dues you paid on the property after the sale, if applicable.
If redemption doesn’t happen within 30 days after you send the foreclosure notice, the former owner also owes the sheriff’s cost of serving that notice and any publication costs.7Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-42 – Amount Payable for Redemption Paying subsequent tax bills yourself during the redemption period keeps the property from going back to tax sale under someone else’s bid, and every dollar you pay gets added to what the former owner must repay to redeem.
Foreclosing the Right of Redemption
After 12 months, the right of redemption doesn’t expire on its own. You have to end it, and Georgia sets the exact steps:8Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-45 – Notice of Foreclosure of Right of Redemption
- Personally serve the former owner named in the execution, any occupant, and anyone with a recorded interest or lien, if they are in the county.
- Reach those same categories by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery if they are outside the county.
- Publish the notice once a week for four consecutive weeks in the county’s sheriff’s advertisement newspaper, within the six months immediately before the redemption deadline stated in the notice.
Missing a single required party can invalidate the barment. Most investors hire an attorney for this step, because starting over is more expensive than doing it right the first time.
Federal Tax Liens on the Property
If the IRS had a lien on the property before the sale, the federal government keeps a separate right of redemption for 120 days from the sale date, or the state redemption period, whichever is longer.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2410 – Actions Affecting Property on Which United States Has Lien Because Georgia’s period is 12 months, the federal window is absorbed by the state timeline. A federal lien still signals a more complicated title picture and can affect whether you can later obtain title insurance.
Getting Clean Title After Redemption Ends
A tax deed alone, even after successful barment, is not marketable title. Title insurers generally won’t insure a tax-sale property without a court order confirming ownership, because former owners, lienholders, or procedural gaps can still surface.
The fix is a quiet title action. A judge reviews the chain of events and declares your title valid and superior to all other claims. Georgia law expressly authorizes tax deed holders to bring the action against known and unknown claimants.10Justia. Georgia Code 23-3-61 – Who May Bring Proceeding Without that judgment, selling to a conventional buyer or using the property as loan collateral will be difficult. Quiet title actions run several months, and the attorney’s fees and court costs belong in your acquisition budget from the start.
Due Diligence Before You Bid
Drive by the property. Tax sale parcels are sold as-is, with no warranties as to condition, occupancy, or environmental issues, and a listing that looks like a bargain can hide structural damage, unpermitted construction, or contamination.
Search the county deed records for other liens and encumbrances. The tax lien outranks most claims, but seeing the full picture tells you whether the title cleanup will be quick or slow. Properties with layered debt and multiple claimants take more legal work after the sale.
Then run the total cost. The bid is only part of it. Add potential subsequent tax payments during redemption, attorney’s fees for the barment notice, the quiet title action, and the fact that your capital is locked up for a year or more before the property is usable.
If You’re the Former Owner: Surplus Funds
If a property sold for more than the taxes, costs, and expenses owed, the extra is not kept by the county. Georgia law requires the selling officer to notify the former owner, any mortgage holder, and anyone else with a recorded interest, by first-class mail within 30 days of the sale, that surplus funds are available.11Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-5 – Payment of Excess Funds are paid in order of the priority those interests held at the time of the sale, and disputes can be sent to superior court on an interpleader. If your property sold at a DeKalb tax sale for more than what was owed, contact the Tax Commissioner’s office; unclaimed surplus doesn’t sit there forever.