Dorchester County

When and where: October 19, 2026

The Delinquent Tax Sale is Monday, October 19, 2026 at the Lovely Hill Convention Center, 5905 W Jim Bilton Blvd., St. George, SC 29477. The sale is planned and run by the Delinquent Tax Office, headed by Delinquent Tax Collector Lourenza G. Thumbtzen, at 201 Johnston Street, St. George (phone (843) 563-0110 or (843) 832-0110, [email protected], open 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday). The county's page also says plainly that there is no tax office in Summerville: everything for this sale happens in St. George.

Real property is sold in alphabetical order by the name of the delinquent taxpayer, following as closely as possible the format of the newspaper and online advertisements. Mobile homes are in the sale too: the county says all real property and mobile homes with delinquent taxes are subject to sale. Pay close attention to the Tax Collector, her deputy and the auctioneer, the Notice to Bidders warns, because they are in control of the sale and may change the information given beforehand. The County's own warning: "all property advertised might not be sold."

Registration, the lists and the owner deadline

Registration opened on Wednesday, October 1 and runs through Wednesday, October 14 at 5:00 p.m., online only. The county states: "There will be no bidder registration on the day of the sale." If you read this after October 14, you have missed the 2026 registration window and the practical choices are to watch the sale, to buy an assignment later if the county offers one, or to prepare for the next year's sale. The form is linked from the Delinquent Tax page on dorchestercountysc.gov.

Real property was advertised for three consecutive weeks starting September 30, 2026 in the Summerville Journal Scene and The Dorchester Leader and online on the county website; mobile homes for two consecutive weeks starting October 7. The ads name the current owner and defaulting taxpayer, which South Carolina law defines as the owner of record on December 31 of the year before the tax year. The county page also links a Delinquent Real Estate Property List and a Delinquent Mobile Home Property List: use those, and do your own research on each parcel, rather than relying on anything copied elsewhere.

Owners can still stop a sale. To keep a property from being auctioned, all tax payments must be received and processed by the Delinquent Tax Office by Friday, October 16, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at 201 Johnston Street. Payments are not accepted on the day of the sale. Expect parcels on the list to disappear before October 19.

Where the opening bid comes from

The bill grows in steps before it reaches the auction, and the county lists each one. Taxes become delinquent after March 16, when a 15% penalty is added and the bill goes to the Delinquent Tax Office. A $5.00 fee follows if the bill is unpaid at 5:00 p.m. on March 31, 2026. Another $35.00 is added to real property bills ($45.00 for mobile homes) after May 1. A $35.00 posting fee comes after June 30, and an $80.00 advertising cost after September 25 for real property (October 2 for mobile homes).

Under S.C. Code § 12-51-55 the Tax Collector submits a bid on behalf of the Forfeited Land Commission equal to all unpaid taxes, penalties and costs, including taxes levied for the year in which the redemption period ends. The Notice to Bidders describes the same thing, and calls it the opening bid amount. Investors bid up from there, and bidding on each item continues until a high bid is reached. The successful bidder shows their bidder number, and the amount of the bid goes with that unique number onto a list kept by the Tax Collector's staff, which is the official record of bid amounts.

Paying: same day, no business or personal checks

The Notice to Bidders is firm on payment. All successful bids must be paid at the Delinquent Tax Office in St. George by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the sale, in full, by cash, cashier's check or money order. No business or personal checks are accepted. A bid that is not paid leaves the defaulting bidder liable for a $500.00 charge per bid default (S.C. Code § 12-51-70) and may bar them from future tax sales at the Delinquent Tax Collector's discretion.

Bidders pay following the end of bidding for the day. A permanent receipt is issued and must be kept until the real property is redeemed or deeded, or, for a mobile home, until title is obtained. For personal property the buyer receives a tax receipt with a notation. These receipts are the only proof of your claim to the property, so treat them like the deed itself. At the Tax Collector's discretion, any item can also be pulled from the sale.

What you buy, and what you do not

The Notice to Bidders says it in capitals: the purchaser of property at a tax sale acquires the title without warranty and buys at their own risk, and the county is not liable for the quality or quantity of the property. Property is conveyed by quitclaim deed without warranties; neither the Delinquent Tax Office nor the county makes any representation about title, value, size, access or any other warranty.

During the twelve-month redemption period you have no right to access the property. If it is a mobile home, it is the successful bidder's responsibility to take possession and remove it, and the county does not deliver it. If a mobile home is redeemed, the defaulting taxpayer also pays the buyer rent at the time of redemption, an amount not to exceed one-twelfth of the taxes for the last completed property tax year, exclusive of penalties, costs and interest, for each month between sale and redemption.

Redemption, interest and the deed

Any real property or mobile home bought at the sale is subject to a twelve-month redemption period starting on the date of the sale. The defaulting taxpayer, a grantee from the owner, or a mortgage or judgment creditor can redeem by paying the delinquent taxes, penalties and costs plus interest on the amount you bid. The county's schedule is the one in S.C. Code § 12-51-90: 3% in the first three months, 6% in months four to six, 9% in months seven to nine and 12% in the last three months.

The county flags one limit in bold: in every redemption, the interest due must not exceed the amount of the bid submitted on behalf of the Forfeited Land Commission, the opening bid. Because of that cap, if you bid far above the opening bid, your return on the whole amount is much lower than the headline rate. If the owner redeems, your bid amount comes back with the appropriate interest, and the county remits it no later than thirty days after it receives the redemption. The office does not accept credit cards for redemptions of property sold at the tax sale.

If nobody redeems, the property is conveyed to you by tax deed. The Notice says it is not a warranted deed: it conveys the interest held by the county. You are notified by mail and pay the cost of deed preparation and of recording for real property, and the deed is recorded with the Dorchester County Register of Deeds. You then receive a copy of the recorded deed and the current year's tax notice, with 30 days to pay it without penalties. For a mobile home, a bill of sale is issued instead, and you pay a transfer fee to the Dorchester County Assessor's Office and a title transfer fee to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.

Surplus, voided sales and assignment

If your bid is more than the taxes, penalties and costs, the excess is not yours. Under § 12-51-130 the overage goes first to any municipal tax liens and then to the owner of record before the redemption period ended, and an unclaimed overage passes to the county's general fund after five years. Ask the Delinquent Tax Office about a specific overage.

The Notice also covers two rarer events. First, under § 12-51-150, if the official finds before a tax title has passed that an action required to properly perform the sale was not taken, the sale may be voided, and the successful bidder is refunded the bid plus only the county-earned interest. Second, if you want to assign your bid to someone else during the redemption period, you must contact the Tax Collector's office and fill out the necessary form, and the office must be told of any change in bidder information.

The last point in the Notice is a rule for the day: these notes are offered for guidance only. Questions go to the Tax Collector during the periodic breaks, and advice from anyone else, including people who work for the Tax Collector, does not bind her. The best source of accurate information is the Tax Collector herself.

Four ways people lose money here

1. 1. Planning to register at the door

   Registration was online only and closed October 14 at 5 p.m. There is no bidder registration on sale day.

2. 2. Arriving with a personal or business check

   Full payment is due by 5 p.m. on the day, in cash, a cashier's check or a money order, at the Delinquent Tax Office. A non-paying bidder owes $500 per bid and may be barred from future sales.

3. 3. Counting on one parcel

   Owners can pay until 5 p.m. on October 16, and the Tax Collector can pull any item. The county itself says not all advertised property may be sold.

4. 4. Expecting 12% on a big bid

   Interest can never exceed the opening bid, and it is 3% only if the owner redeems in the first three months. Bidding far above the opening bid dilutes the return.