1,800 in Berkeley County have delinquent tax bills
By Dave Munday
If you go
Berkeley County's delinquent tax sale is at 10 a.m. Dec. 7 in the main auditorium of the county building at 1003 Highway 52 in Moncks Corner.
The properties will be listed Nov. 13 on the county Web site at berkeleycountysc.gov (look under Departments for the Delinquent Tax Collector).
The list will be published in The Post and Courier Nov. 19 and 26 and Dec. 3.
Property owners and potential bidders can come into the Delinquent Tax Collector office in the county building, call 719-4030 or send an e-mail link from the office's Web site.
MONCKS CORNER -- About 1,800 Berkeley County residents are in danger of losing their properties because of overdue taxes.
The numbers are almost 30 percent higher than this time last year, according to county Tax Collector Virginia Hamilton, who attributes the increase to the economy.
"People are coming in and telling me they just don't have the money," Hamilton said this week.
Charleston County offered 1,437 properties at its overdue tax sale last month, a 63 percent increase over last year.
Few people actually lose their homes, land or businesses because of overdue taxes, Hamilton said.
After a property is sold at auction, the county sends the owner a notice. The owner has a year and a day to pay the overdue taxes before losing the property.
Most properties are redeemed, whether by the original owner or the mortgage holder, she said.
"Some people just wait until the last minute," Hamilton said.
As a result, tax sales mainly draw people hoping to make money off the interest between the sale and the time the owner pays up to get the property back. The interest rate, up to 12 percent for the full year, makes it a fairly lucrative investment.
Residents have until 5 p.m. Dec. 4 to keep their properties from being sold.
Taxes must be paid in full with cash, money order, certified check or attorney's trust/escrow check. The county cannot accept partial payments and does not offer payment plans.
Reach Dave Munday at 937-5553 or dmunday@postandcourier.com.
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