Oconee County, SC

Oconee County's 2026 tax sale is on Monday, November 9, at the Walhalla Performing Arts Center, 101 E. North Broad Street, starting at 10:00 a.m. The list of properties goes online and into the paper from Wednesday, October 21; the sale is advertised for three consecutive weeks in the Seneca Journal Tribune, in the name of the owner of record on December 31 of the year before the tax year. Every bidder must pre-register, online or at the office, between October 29 and November 5; registration is free, and none is taken on the day of the sale. It's a live auction only — no mail bids — though a registered representative can bid for you. All bids must be paid in full by 4:00 p.m. on sale day in certified funds (postal money orders, cashier's or certified checks); cash is accepted but discouraged, and personal checks and wire transfers aren't.

Oconee sells the property, not a lien certificate, and its delinquent tax office says so plainly: bidders should be prepared to own what they bid on. Each parcel opens with a bid placed for the county's Forfeited Land Commission; if no one outbids it, the commission wins, and those commission bids can be assigned to a buyer starting 15 days after the sale. A buyer takes the title without warranty and at their own risk — the county isn't liable for the quality or quantity of the land — and if the property isn't redeemed within the period set by S.C. Code § 12-51-90, the county issues a tax sale deed to the successful bidder. That redemption period is twelve months, and a redemption repays the bid plus 3% to 12% depending on the quarter, capped at the opening bid. The county doesn't handle anything after the deed; any further action, from quiet title to possession, is up to the new owner. A printed list costs $.50 a page at the Delinquent Tax Office, 415 S. Pine Street, Walhalla.