For a Metter homeowner with unpaid taxes, the calendar is the friend. Most Candler tax issues can be addressed before the October sale if action gets taken in the spring or summer. Once the sale happens, the 12-month redemption period begins.
How Tax Liens / Tax Sale Works in Candler County
Candler County tax sales work differently from mortgage foreclosure. The Tax Commissioner issues a fi.fa. for unpaid property taxes, levies on the property, and advertises the tax sale in the Metter Advertiser for four consecutive weeks. The sale itself happens once a year — the first Tuesday in October — at the Candler County courthouse door, 35 SW Broad Street, between 10 AM and 4 PM.
After the sale, the original homeowner still has rights. OCGA § 48-4-40 gives a 12-month redemption period. The redemption price under § 48-4-42 equals the tax-sale amount plus a 20% premium for the first year and 10% for each year after, plus subsequent taxes paid by the tax-deed buyer and certain costs.
After 12 months, the tax-deed buyer can begin the barment process under § 48-4-45 — serving notice and publishing in the Metter Advertiser for four weeks. After the barment deadline passes, the redemption right ends.
For a Metter homeowner, the once-yearly tax-sale schedule is actually helpful. It gives a predictable runway. If you know your taxes are behind and we are in February, you have several months before the next sale runs.
The Georgia Timeline — In Plain English
A Candler tax-lien clock typically runs like this:
Property taxes go unpaid in the prior tax year. The Candler Tax Commissioner sends notices and assesses penalties and interest.
In the months before October, a fi.fa. issues, the property is levied, and the tax sale gets advertised in the Metter Advertiser for four consecutive weeks before the first Tuesday in October.
October tax sale day — The property sells at the courthouse door in Metter. A tax deed issues. The homeowner still has a 12-month redemption right.
12 months after the sale (the next October) — The redemption right under OCGA § 48-4-40 ends.
After 12 months — The tax-deed buyer can serve barment notice (§ 48-4-45) and publish for four weeks. After the barment deadline expires, the right of redemption ends permanently.
A pre-sale closing pays the tax bill and ends the process. A redemption-period closing pays the tax-deed buyer the redemption price plus any mortgage payoff — leaving the seller with clear title.
Georgia Statutes Cited Here
- OCGA § 48-4-40 — The defendant in fi.fa. or any party with a right, title, interest, or lien may redeem the property within 12 months of the tax sale.
- OCGA § 48-4-42 — Redemption price equals the tax-sale amount plus a 20% premium for the first year and 10% for each year after, plus subsequent taxes and costs.
- OCGA § 48-4-45 — After 12 months, the tax-sale purchaser can foreclose the right of redemption ("barment") by serving notice on the owner of record, occupant, and lienholders, and publishing in the legal-organ newspaper for four consecutive weeks.
How VP Buys Homes Helps in This Situation
A Metter tax-lien situation benefits from a buyer who knows Candler's annual schedule.
We figure out where you are in the calendar. Pre-October-sale, post-sale within the 12-month window, or post-barment all have different math.
We get the numbers from the Candler County Tax Commissioner at 25 W. Daniel Street. The exact payoff or redemption price drives the offer math.
We close clean. Taxes paid, tax-deed buyer paid the § 48-4-42 redemption price, any mortgage paid off. The Metter seller walks away with clear title.
We pay standard closing costs. No commissions, no listing fees.
We refer to a real-estate attorney before contracting on redemption-period sales. The math sometimes has wrinkles — for example, if there are stacked liens or interest holders with extended redemption rights.
- Pay the redemption price plus mortgage payoff at closing so the seller walks away with clear title
- Close well before the barment deadline ends the right of redemption
- Coordinate with the county tax commissioner and tax-sale purchaser directly
- Refer the seller to a Georgia real-estate attorney to confirm redemption rights are still alive
Local — Not a National Wholesaler
A real Candler operator knows the tax sale is once a year — first Tuesday in October at the courthouse door — knows the Metter Advertiser is the legal organ, and knows the Tax Commissioner is on W. Daniel Street. They know the difference between Candler's once-yearly tax sales and the more frequent mortgage foreclosure sales. Out-of-state buyers do not.
We work across Candler and the surrounding counties — Bulloch, Emanuel, Toombs, Evans. That gives us a comp set rooted in this rural Southeast Georgia stretch. A Metter tax-lien sale gets priced against actual recent Candler sales — including farmhouses, in-town homes, and rural acreage.
Local Court
Candler County Superior Court
35 SW Broad Street, Metter, GA 30439
Probate Court
Candler County Probate Court
35 SW Broad Street, Metter, GA 30439
Legal Notices
Metter Advertiser
Foreclosure ads run here, four consecutive weeks before sale