Greene County, GA tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Greene County, seat of Greensboro: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 27, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Georgia tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Greene County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
Details are being verified for this county.
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Greene County Tax Commissioner (Celeste Thurmond)
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No fixed month or date is published. The county's Tax Sales page states only that "The Tax Commissioner generally only holds tax sales once annually" and that "Whenever the Tax Commissioner's Office warrants a tax sale, the date, time and location can be found (4 weeks prior to tax sale date) in the Greene County legal organ, The Herald Journal." Georgia sales run on the first Tuesday of the month under O.C.G.A. 48-4-1, but Greene has posted no month or date, so confirm the next sale by calling the Tax Commissioner at (706) 453-3358.
Registration and deposit
Not published online. The Tax Commissioner's Tax Sales page carries no bidder registration process, deposit requirement, or payment terms, and directs readers to the legal advertisement in The Herald Journal four weeks before the sale for date, time, and location. Contact the office at (706) 453-3358 for bidder terms.
Greene County publishes no online property list and no online bidding site. Sale notices are advertised in the county legal organ, The Herald Journal, for the four weeks before a sale, which is consistent with a traditional Georgia in person courthouse levy sale rather than an online auction. Verify the format, location, and terms with the Tax Commissioner before planning a bid. Georgia sells a redeemable tax deed: the owner may redeem for 12 months at a 20% premium, plus 10% for each added year, under O.C.G.A. 48-4-40 through 48-4-48, and the purchaser must serve notice to bar redemption under O.C.G.A. 48-4-45 and 48-4-46. Post-sale surplus is handled off site: the county's Excess Funds page states that "Weissman Law Firm oversees the administration of our excess funds" and warns that "You do NOT have to pay an Asset Recovery Firm to Claim Your Excess Funds." None published. No online auction platform is named or linked on the Greene County site or the Tax Commissioner site.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Greene County
- The Tax Commissioner is Celeste Thurmond, sworn in January 1, 2025. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, with the lobby closing at 4:45pm. Phone (706) 453-3358, fax (706) 453-1776, email [email protected].
- The county staff directory lists the tax offices at "1034 Silver Drive, Lower Level, Greensboro, GA 30642," while the Tax Commissioner's own site gives Suite 101 at the same Silver Drive address. Both refer to the same county government building in Greensboro.
- The Tax Assessor is a separate office at (706) 453-3355 (Debbie Moreno). Parcel and property records are hosted on qpublic at https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?App=GreeneCountyGA&Layer=Parcels&PageType=Search.
- The county's legal organ for tax sale advertising is The Herald Journal. Notices run four weeks before a sale, so a bidder monitoring only the county website will miss the announcement.
- Tax sales here are infrequent by the county's own description, held generally once a year at most, so inventory in any given year may be small or nonexistent.
Georgia statewide rules
- Redemption
- The right to redeem runs for 12 months from the date of the sale and does not end there. It continues after the year until the tax deed purchaser forecloses it by serving and publishing the statutory barment notice, which cannot be started until 12 months have passed. The purchaser delivers the notice to the sheriff at least 45 days before the redemption deadline named in it, and publishes it once a week for four consecutive weeks in the six months immediately before that deadline. Redemption puts title back in the defendant in fi. fa. subject to the liens that existed at the sale, and the purchaser must execute and record a quitclaim deed. Title under a tax deed recorded on or after July 1, 1996 ripens by prescription four years after recording. Judicial in rem foreclosures under Article 5 run on a different clock: the owner has 60 days after the sale to redeem by paying the minimum bid price into the superior court.
- Deed deposit
- Georgia sets no statewide percentage deposit. A purchaser at a judicial sale may tender cash or a cashier's or certified check drawn for the purchase price and issued or certified by a federally insured financial institution. Counties publish their own payment terms, and many require payment in full at the close of the sale, so confirm the terms with the tax commissioner before bidding.
- Surplus proceeds
- Excess funds left after taxes, costs, and the expenses of the sale belong to the former owner and to recorded lienholders in order of priority. The officer who sold the property must mail notice of the excess funds by first-class mail within 30 days to the record owner at the time of the sale, to the holder of each security deed, and to every other party with a recorded equity interest or claim, and may file an interpleader action in superior court. Funds still unclaimed five years after the sale are paid over to the Georgia Department of Revenue, after which only a court order from an interpleader action releases them.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Greene County, Georgia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Greene County follows Georgia's redeemable deed state system.
How often does Greene County hold tax deed sales?
- annual. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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