What is a Tax Sale?
A tax sale is an auction of parcels of property that have delinquent taxes. On April 1st of each year, the county trustee by law files unpaid real property taxes that were due by February 28th the year before with the Chancery Court. All tax sales are handled by the Clerk and Master of Jefferson County. To get more information, please go to the Clerk & Master of Jefferson County’s web page.
Tax Sales are public auctions. Bidding starts at the amount of taxes due at the date of the sale. Bidding does not start at zero. We cannot accept partial payments or a percentage of the bid. Payment must be made in full. A bidder must be present and can use one of the following methods of payment: • Cash • Money Order • Certified Cheque • Lawyers Trust Cheque If the property has six (6) years or less taxes owing, the property is subject to a six-month redemption. If the property has taxes owing over six (6) years, the deed is immediate. If the successful bidder bids over the amount due, they have three (3) working days to submit the balance due. You may view the Cape Breton Regional Municipality tax sales listings on our web site by clicking here.
A tax sale is a sale of unpaid prior year balances including taxes, water/sewer & CCMUA charges. This sale puts a lien against your property which would need to be redeemed upon sale of property if not sooner. Lien holders have the right to foreclose if the lien had not been paid off after 2 years. How do I pay off a tax lien? By contacting the Tax Office to find out the redemption figure. Payment must be made in full. I’ve changed my mailing address, what should I do? Notify the tax office right away so that all future mailings may be properly delivered. Notification must be in writing with signature of homeowner. Failure to properly deliver a tax bill or delinquent notice does not relieve the property owner from interest payments. Unpaid balances will continue to accrue interest until full balance is paid. My mortgage company is no longer paying my taxes, what should I do? The Tax Collector’s Office keeps track of who is responsible for paying the taxes on each property. If there is
Any property not redeemed by March 15 th following the lapse of four years from the date when the property tax became delinquent will be included in the annual real property Tax Sale held in May or June. The Tax Sale listing will be available in the Auditor’s Office and on the internet four weeks proceeding the date of the Tax Sale and will be updated regularly up to the day of the sale.
