Mississippi Counties
State Auction Process of Mississippi
Mississippi operates as a tax-lien state, where overdue property taxes automatically become a lien on the home. If the tax amount remains unpaid, the sheriff may conduct a tax sale and sell the property to a new owner. At the auction, the highest bidder acquires a tax certificate. If the property owner fails to redeem the property by settling the tax debt, the auction winner can eventually obtain a tax deed (title) to the home.
Property owners who lose their homes to a tax sale in Mississippi have two options to reclaim the property: redemption or setting aside the sale. Redemption allows property owners to pay off the overdue amounts, along with interest, within a specified timeframe to regain ownership of the property. However, if the owner does not redeem the property in time, the chance to keep the home is lost, unless the completed tax sale can be invalidated, which is infrequent.
Under Mississippi law, property owners typically get a two-year redemption period after the sale. During this period, they can pay off the tax debt, preventing the purchaser from obtaining title to the property. If the overdue amounts are not settled within the redemption period, the purchaser can acquire a tax deed to the home.
Minors and individuals of unsound minds who lose their homes to a tax sale have a unique provision. They have the right to redeem the property for two years after attaining full age or being restored to sanity.
To redeem the home after the sale, the property owner must pay the following redemption amount to the chancery clerk, regardless of the purchaser’s bid at the tax sale:
- The amount of taxes due plus 5%
- Sale costs
- Interest on the taxes and costs at the rate of 1.5% per month (or any fraction thereof) from the sale date, and
- All costs that have accrued on the property since the sale, plus interest from the date the costs accrued at the rate of 1.5% per month or any fraction thereof.
For minors and individuals of unsound mind who attain full age or are restored to sanity and wish to redeem the property, they must also pay the value of any permanent improvements made by the purchaser to the property after the expiration of two years from the sale date.
Foreclosures in Mississippi
In Mississippi, lenders may foreclose on deeds of trust or mortgages in default using either a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process.
Judicial Foreclosure
The judicial process of foreclosure, which involves filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to foreclose, is used when no power of sale is present in the mortgage or deed of trust. Generally, after the court declares a foreclosure, your home will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Non-Judicial Foreclosure
The non-judicial process of foreclosure is used when a power of sale clause exists in a mortgage or deed of trust. A “power of sale” clause is the clause in a deed of trust or mortgage, in which the borrower pre-authorizes the sale of property to pay off the balance on a loan in the event of their default. In deeds of trust or mortgages where a power of sale exists, the power given to the lender to sell the property may be executed by the lender or their representative, typically referred to as the trustee. Regulations for this type of foreclosure process are outlined below in the “Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines”.
Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines
If the deed of trust or mortgage contains a power of sale clause and specifies the time, place and terms of sale, then the specified procedure must be followed. Otherwise, the non-judicial power of sale foreclosure is carried out as follows:
- The trustee must record a notice of sale containing, at minimum, the borrower’s name and the date, time, and place of the sale in the county where the property is located. This notice must also be posted at the courthouse door in the county where the property is located and published in a newspaper of general circulation in said county for a period of three (3) consecutive weeks before the scheduled date of the sale.
- The borrower may cure the default and stop the foreclosure process at any time before the foreclosure sale by paying the delinquent payments, plus costs and fees.
- The sale must be made at a public auction for cash to the highest bidder. The sale may be held in the county where the property is located, or, if different, in the county where the borrower resides. In either case, the sale must be conducted at the normal location for sheriff’s sales within the given county. Borrowers who lose their property as the result of a non-judicial foreclosure have no rights of redemption in Mississippi.
Quick Facts
– Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes
– Non-Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes
– Primary Security Instruments: Deed of Trust, Mortgage
– Timeline: Typically 60 days
– Right of Redemption: No
– Deficiency Judgments Allowed: No
Online Auction Resources
- Bid4Assets
- Auction.com
- Xome
- ServiceLink Auction
- Hubzu
- RealtyBid
- Govease
- HUD Homes USA
- All Auction Sales
- Williams Auction
- Bank Foreclosures Sale
- U.S. Treasury Auctions
- Mississippi Current Auctions
- Williams Auction Mississippi
- RealtyTrac Mississippi
- Head Auctions
- Housing Auctions Mississippi
- Mid South Auctioneers
- Land Search Auctions Mississippi
- Vicksburg Tax Forfeited Property Auction
- SuperTalk Tax Forfeited Property Auction