The DeKalb County tax sale list is published on the Tax Commissioner’s website at dekalbtax.org and advertised for four consecutive weeks in The Champion Newspaper, DeKalb’s official legal organ, before each monthly sale.1DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales2The Champion Newspaper. Legal Advertising Dept The website is faster and typically more current, and it also carries the bidder registration link and the supporting documents that describe sale conditions. The printed version in The Champion exists to satisfy Georgia’s legal notice requirements for property owners and lienholders.
Finding the list is the easy part. Understanding what you’re buying, how Georgia’s redemption rules work, and what it takes to get clean title afterward is where tax sale investing actually lives.
What’s on the List and How to Read It
Georgia law allows each advertised property to be described by its tax parcel identification number and current street address, with a reference to the deed recording information.3Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-1 – Procedures for Sales Under Tax Levies and Executions A typical DeKalb entry includes:
- Parcel ID number
- Owner of record
- Property address
- Opening bid amount, which equals the delinquent taxes, accrued interest, and costs owed
Read the opening bids first. That figure is your minimum investment on any given parcel, and it’s the fastest way to narrow a long list down to properties you can actually afford to pursue. From there, cross-check each parcel in the county’s deed records for other liens, drive by the property, and look at what’s around it. Tax sale properties are sold as-is, with no warranties about condition, occupancy, or environmental issues, so a cheap opening bid can hide expensive problems.
Bidder Registration and Accepted Payment
You must register before you can bid. DeKalb offers pre-registration through an online portal, and in-person registration is available on the morning of the sale.1DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Tax Sales
Payment is restricted. Once a property is scheduled for sale, the Tax Commissioner’s office accepts only cash, a bank-issued cashier’s check, or a bank wire transfer, all made payable to the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner.4DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Delinquent Taxes Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted. Bring more than you expect to spend. If bidding gets competitive and you win a parcel you can’t pay for on the spot, the property is typically re-auctioned.
When and Where the Auction Happens
Georgia requires tax execution sales to run on the same schedule as sheriff’s sales: the first Tuesday of each 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 shifts to Wednesday.5Justia. Georgia Code 9-13-161 – Where and When Sales Under Execution Are Made DeKalb holds its 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 ID number and address, bidding opens at the amount shown on the list, and the parcel goes to the highest bidder when no one offers more. The announcement of sale creates a binding obligation. Payment is due immediately.
The 12-Month Redemption Period
Winning the bid does not make you the owner in any practical sense. You receive a tax deed, but the former owner and anyone else with a legal interest in the property has at least 12 months from the sale date to buy the property back.6Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-40 – Redemption of Property Sold for Taxes During that year you cannot occupy, rent, or develop the property. You’re waiting.
If redemption happens, you get paid back with a premium. Georgia law sets what the former owner must tender:7Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-42 – Amount Payable for Redemption
- Your auction bid amount, as shown on the tax deed
- Any taxes you paid on the property after the sale
- Any special assessments
- A 20% premium for the first year or any fraction of it, then 10% for each additional year or fraction
- HOA or condominium association dues you paid after the sale, if applicable
That first-year 20% is the yield that draws investors to tax sales. If redemption doesn’t happen within 30 days after you serve the foreclosure notice described below, the former owner also owes the sheriff’s cost of serving notice and any publication costs.7Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-42 – Amount Payable for Redemption
One practical point about the waiting year: new tax bills keep arriving. You can pay them, and anything you pay gets added to the redemption amount, so you’re reimbursed if the owner redeems. Letting those taxes go unpaid risks the property being sold again at a future tax sale, this time potentially to someone else.
Foreclosing the Right of Redemption
The 12-month right doesn’t expire on its own. You have to terminate it by serving a formal foreclosure notice on everyone with a stake in the property. Georgia law lays out who gets notified and how:8Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-45 – Notice of Foreclosure of Right of Redemption
- The former owner named in the execution, any occupant of the property, and anyone with a recorded interest or lien who lives in the county must be personally served.
- The same categories of people, if they live out of county, must be reached by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.
- A foreclosure notice must be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in the county’s sheriff’s advertisement newspaper during the six months immediately before the redemption deadline stated in the notice.
These requirements are strict. Missing a party or botching service can invalidate the foreclosure and force you to start over. Most investors use an attorney for the barment process for exactly this reason.
Surplus Funds If Your Property Was Sold
If you’re searching the tax sale list because your own property was sold, there’s a separate issue worth knowing. When the winning bid exceeds what was owed in taxes, costs, and expenses, the extra money belongs to the former owner and lienholders in order of priority. The selling officer is required to notify them by first-class mail within 30 days of the sale.9Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-5 – Payment of Excess
If a dispute arises over who’s entitled, the tax commissioner can file an interpleader in superior court. Unclaimed surplus sits for five years before being turned over to the state, after which recovery requires a court order.9Justia. Georgia Code 48-4-5 – Payment of Excess If this applies to you, call the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s office before assuming the county kept the money.
Clearing Title After Redemption Ends
Successfully foreclosing the right of redemption still doesn’t give you clean, marketable title. Title insurers generally won’t insure a tax sale property without a court order confirming ownership, because unresolved claims, improperly noticed lienholders, or procedural defects in the sale can resurface.
The fix is a quiet title action, a court proceeding where a judge reviews the chain of events and declares your title valid against all known and unknown claimants. Georgia law expressly allows holders of tax deeds to bring one.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 is going to be difficult. Quiet title actions take several months and cost attorney’s fees and court costs. Build both into your acquisition budget.
A Federal Lien Wrinkle
If the IRS held a lien on the property before the sale, the federal government retains its own right of redemption for 120 days from the sale date or the state redemption period, whichever is longer.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2410 – Actions Affecting Property on Which United States Has Lien Because Georgia’s redemption period is 12 months, the federal window is absorbed by the state timeline, but a known federal lien signals a more complex title history that may affect insurability later.
Before You Bid
Treat the list as the beginning of due diligence, not the end. Drive each parcel you’re serious about. Pull deed records to see what other liens exist. The tax lien is superior to most other claims, but the number and type of competing interests tells you how messy the title cleanup will be.
Then calculate the real cost. The bid is one line. Add subsequent property taxes you may pay during the redemption year, attorney’s fees for the barment notice, the quiet title action, and the opportunity cost of capital sitting idle for a year or more before the property is usable. A parcel that looks like a bargain on the list can still be a bad buy once those numbers are added up.