The sale of mobile homes for unpaid taxes will be moving forward by the end of the summer. Any taxes not paid for 2017 and years prior will be sold in a public auction to the highest bidder at the courthouse.
Tax Collector Hope Herrington informed the board that once the sale date is set in late September or early October, residents will once again be served delinquent notices by deputies with the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department about the upcoming sale. Those notices must be served 60 days prior to the sale.
The county began the process in 2016 to sell mobile homes for unpaid taxes but decided to delay the sale to allow residents more time to pay.
“The board requested I delay the sale in order to give people more time to get their income tax checks to pay the mobile home taxes,” said Herrington.
The total amount of unpaid mobile home taxes is $295,785.95 plus an additional $118,923 in penalties for a total of $414,686.18. State law will not allow penalties to be waived and taxpayers will be required to pay the taxes plus the accrued penalties or risk losing their mobile home.
The county has never held a mobile home tax sale but with the amount of revenue the county is losing, the board is moving forward with the sale and each year thereafter.
Once a mobile home has been sold and registered by the tax collector, the mobile home then becomes the property of the highest bidder. There is no redemption period. The time frame that the resident would have to vacant the premises would be an issue between the taxpayer and the buyer. The tax collector’s office will have to notify the mortgage holder that the property was sold.
Once the county has set a definite date, notices will be placed in the Tribune of the upcoming sale.
Land and mobile home tax bills are mailed out annually to taxpayers. If you have any questions concerning unpaid mobile home taxes, contact the tax collector’s office at 601-776-6931.
