Tax Delinquent Properties for Sale List: Virginia Court Auctions

Virginia does not publish a single statewide list of tax-delinquent properties for sale. Each county and city treasurer maintains its own inventory of parcels with overdue real estate taxes, and the sale lists appear in local newspapers of general circulation and on the websites of the law firms appointed as Special Commissioners for those jurisdictions. To find the properties available in a particular area, start with the treasurer’s office for that county or city and ask which law firm handles their tax sales.¹

Where the Lists Actually Live

Three places carry the information, and each has a different level of detail.

The treasurer or director of finance is the official custodian. Many local government websites post upcoming auction dates and sometimes the parcel list itself, though the depth of information varies widely from one locality to the next.

The Special Commissioner law firms are usually the more practical source. When a locality moves a property toward judicial sale, the Circuit Court appoints one of a handful of law firms in Virginia that specialize in this work. Those firms maintain searchable digital catalogs of upcoming auctions organized by county, parcel number, and sale date. If the treasurer’s website does not name the firm, a phone call to the treasurer’s office will.

Newspapers carry the legal notices required by statute. For judicial sales, Virginia law requires at least 30 days’ advance notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality before proceedings begin.¹ For nonjudicial sales, the notice window is at least seven days before the sale, and for properties with annual taxes under $500, the notice can appear on the treasurer’s website instead of in a newspaper.²

The published notice itself is thin. The statutory form requires only the date proceedings will commence and a description of the properties. It does not have to itemize the taxes, penalties, and interest owed on each parcel.¹ For the specific amount owed, call the treasurer or pull the court filing.

Judicial and Nonjudicial Sales Are Different

Two processes produce two different kinds of listings, and the process determines the timing, the paperwork, and the deed you receive.

Most sales are judicial. Under Virginia Code 58.1-3965 through 58.1-3970, the local tax collector files a lawsuit in Circuit Court once taxes remain unpaid through December 31 following the second anniversary of their due date. The court appoints a Special Commissioner to conduct the auction, and a judge must confirm the sale before ownership transfers.³ The buyer receives a Special Commissioner’s deed.

Lower-value parcels can move faster. Virginia Code 58.1-3975 lets the treasurer sell properties assessed at $15,000 or less at public auction without filing a court action, provided taxes have been delinquent through December 31 following the third anniversary of their due date. Properties assessed between $15,000 and $30,000 also qualify if they meet additional conditions such as being unimproved, condemned, or declared a nuisance. A narrower category covers certain parcels assessed up to $40,000 in designated urban redevelopment zones.² Nonjudicial sales skip court confirmation, and the treasurer conveys a special warranty deed to the winning bidder.

The Owner Can Pull the Property Off the Auction Block

A property on any list can disappear before you get to bid. The former owner has the right to redeem at any point before the sale date by paying all accumulated taxes, penalties, attorney fees, interest, and costs, including the pro rata cost of the newspaper publication. Partial payment does not stop the sale. Payment in full does.¹

Experienced buyers research several parcels rather than fixating on one, because last-minute redemptions are common enough to derail a single-property plan.

Researching a Listed Parcel

Tax sale properties are sold by legal description, not by inspection. The homework you do beforehand is most of the protection you get.

Start with the Map and Parcel ID from the published list. Use it to pull the current record at the local assessor’s office: legal description, owner of record, lot size, and assessed value. Cross-check the deed and recorded improvements at the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Compare all of that against what you can see from the road.

A title search is the step that most often saves money. You want every lien, deed of trust, and easement recorded against the property. In a judicial sale, liens held by parties named as defendants in the lawsuit are wiped out. Liens belonging to parties who were not named can survive.³ Read the defendant list in the court filing and match it to your title report. Any name that appears on one but not the other deserves a question to the Special Commissioner before you bid.

Check for environmental concerns, existing occupancy, and zoning problems as well. Any of them can affect whether the property is usable at all.

Registering and Placing a Deposit

You cannot walk up on auction day and start bidding. Registration with the Special Commissioner or auctioneer has to be done in advance, with government-issued photo identification and a form asking whether you are bidding personally or through an entity such as an LLC.

Every auction requires earnest money. The amount varies by locality and sometimes by parcel. Some sales require a flat deposit for each parcel you want to bid on. Others require a percentage of the purchase price, commonly 10%, or the flat deposit, whichever is greater. The specific deposit for each parcel is typically published with the property listing. Pull the registration forms from the auctioneer’s website well before the sale date.

Some localities also require bidders to certify that they do not own other property in that jurisdiction with delinquent taxes or zoning violations. Owning a delinquent parcel in the same county can disqualify you.

The Auction, Court Confirmation, and Final Payment

Judicial sales happen on the courthouse steps or through an online bidding portal, depending on the locality. Bidding continues until no one offers more, and the winning bidder usually signs a memorandum of sale on the spot, binding them to the purchase at the bid price. The deposit is applied toward the balance.

Winning does not guarantee you get the property. If the bid is very low compared to the assessed or appraised value, the Special Commissioner can reject it and either re-auction the parcel or negotiate an increase to a level the court is likely to accept. The sale is provisional until a judge signs the decree of confirmation.⁴

Once the court confirms, the balance is due. The window is commonly 15 to 30 days after confirmation, though some jurisdictions require payment in as few as 10 days. Missing the deadline can forfeit your deposit and void the sale. Any party served by publication rather than personal service can also petition to have the case reheard within 90 days of the confirmation order on a showing of good cause.³ That leaves a short window of legal uncertainty even after confirmation.

Recording the Deed and Paying Transfer Taxes

After full payment, the Special Commissioner executes a deed to you.⁵ You are responsible for recording it with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and the recording carries costs beyond the clerk’s fee.

Virginia imposes a state recordation tax of 25 cents for every $100 of consideration paid or actual value, whichever is greater.⁶ A grantor tax of 50 cents for every $500 of value above $100 also applies.⁷ Localities can add their own recordation tax on top of the state amount. The clerk’s recording fee itself is $18 for a deed of 10 pages or fewer, $32 for 11 to 30 pages, and $52 for 31 or more pages.⁸ On a $50,000 purchase, the state grantee tax alone comes to $125, before the grantor tax and local additions. Factor these into your maximum bid.

Title Risks You Take Home With the Property

The deed you receive is only as clean as the lawsuit was. The statute is explicit: title passes free of all claims by any creditor, person, or entity, including deed of trust and mortgage holders, but only if that party was made a defendant. Recorded easements predating the sale always survive.³ If the locality’s attorney missed a lienholder, that lien follows you.

Federal tax liens add another layer. If the IRS has a recorded lien on the property, the federal government has a 120-day right of redemption after the sale, meaning the IRS can buy the property back from you at the price you paid plus certain costs.⁹ You get your money back and lose the property.

Title insurance companies are often reluctant to insure tax sale properties immediately after purchase. Some require a quiet title action or a waiting period before issuing a policy. Plan on time and legal fees to clear title if you intend to resell or finance the property.

Environmental and Occupancy Issues After Purchase

Contaminated property can make you liable for cleanup under federal environmental law. Under CERCLA, a buyer can qualify as an “innocent landowner” and avoid liability for pre-existing contamination only by conducting “all appropriate inquiries” before the purchase and having no reason to know about the contamination.¹⁰ In practice this means a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment complying with the ASTM E1527-21 standard.¹¹ A Phase I typically costs several thousand dollars, but cleanup costs can dwarf the purchase price of the property.

For residential properties built before 1978, federal law requires disclosure of known lead-based paint hazards before a buyer is obligated under contract. In a tax sale the seller is a court-appointed commissioner rather than a former homeowner, so the disclosures you receive may be limited. Ask the Special Commissioner what will be provided and plan your inspection budget accordingly.

Occupancy is the last surprise. A property may still be occupied by the former owner, tenants, or unauthorized occupants when the sale closes. Buying it does not let you change the locks. Virginia requires a formal unlawful detainer action in General District Court to remove anyone in possession. If tenants have a lease, the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act may give them the right to stay for at least 90 days after ownership transfers or through the end of the lease, whichever is longer. Whether a Virginia judicial tax sale qualifies as a “foreclosure” under that Act is worth discussing with an attorney before bidding on an occupied residential property. Budget several weeks and several hundred dollars in filing and service costs for any eviction you may need to bring.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3965 – When Land May Be Sold for Delinquent Taxes; Notice of Sale; Owner’s Right of Redemption
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3975 – Nonjudicial Sale of Tax Delinquent Real Properties of Minimal Size and Value
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-3967 – How Proceedings Instituted; Parties; Procedure Generally; Title Acquired; Disposition of Surplus Proceeds of Sale
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 8.01 Chapter 3 Article 11 – General Provisions for Judicial Sales
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-110 – Appointment of Special Commissioner to Execute Deed; Effect of Deed
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-801 – Deeds Generally; Charter Amendments
7
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Chapter 8 – State Recordation Tax
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 17.1-275 – Fees Collected by Clerks of Circuit Courts; Generally
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7425 – Discharge of Liens
10
US EPA. Third Party Defenses/Innocent Landowners
11
Federal Register. Standards and Practices for All Appropriate Inquiries