Lee County, SC tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Lee County has a standalone Delinquent Tax Office, separate from the Treasurer, staffed by Clarence Caudill as Delinquent Tax Collector at 803-483-3191, Gwen Walker as Delinquent Tax Specialist at 803-483-3149, and Cathy Graves as Delinquent Tax Assistant at 803-483-3189.
• •The Treasurer's office is a separate department at 123 S. Main Street, Room 110, Bishopville, SC 29010, mailing PO Box 428, phone 803-484-5341 ext. 3145, fax 803-484-1771, open Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Its FAQ points delinquent owners to the November sale.
• •Two Delinquent Tax pages exist on the county site. The department directory links to lee_county_delinquent_tax.php as the current one. The older delinquent_tax.php page still shows a tax title cost deadline dated 2019 and directs bid payment to the Treasurer's office, while the current page directs bid payment to the Delinquent Tax Office in Room 301. Treat the current page as authoritative and confirm by phone.
• •The Forfeited Land Commission is referenced only as the source of the opening bid. No separate Lee County Forfeited Land Commission page or surplus property list was found on the county site.
• •No sale list, bidder registration form, or sale notice appears on the county calendar or site search. The exact sale date, registration deadline, and property list come from the Delinquent Tax Office and the tax sale advertisement in the Lee County Observer.

South Carolina rules

Redemption

The redemption clock runs twelve months from the date of the sale. Neither more than forty-five days nor less than twenty days before it ends, the delinquent tax officer must mail a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested and restricted delivery, to the defaulting taxpayer and to any grantee, mortgagee, or lessee of record, stating the amount needed to redeem and the date the tax title passes. Certified mail returned undelivered is not grounds to withhold the tax title. If nobody redeems, the officer makes a tax title to the purchaser within thirty days or as soon after that as possible. Personal property sold at a delinquent tax sale has no redemption period at all. A mobile or manufactured home runs on the same twelve-month clock, but it must not be moved from its location during that year without notice to the purchaser and the delinquent tax collector, and the redeeming owner or lienholder also owes the purchaser rent of up to one twelfth of the last completed tax year's taxes for each month between sale and redemption, with a ten dollar monthly minimum. If the official in charge discovers before the tax title passes that a required step was not properly performed, the official may void the sale and refund the bidder the amount paid plus the interest the county actually earned on it.S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-90, the twelve-month redemption right and the quarterly interest scheduleS.C. Code Ann. 12-51-90Verified Aug 6, 2026

Deed deposit

South Carolina fixes no percentage deposit. The successful bidder pays the full amount of the bid on the day of the sale in legal tender, meaning cash, a cashier's check, a certified check, or a money order. If a defaulting taxpayer has more than one item advertised, the officer stops selling once enough has been raised to cover the delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs.S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-50, public auction of the advertised property and accepted tenderS.C. Code Ann. 12-51-50Verified Aug 6, 2026

Surplus proceeds

If the sale produces more cash than the taxes, assessments, penalties, and costs, the overage first pays any outstanding municipal tax liens on the property. What remains belongs to the owner of record immediately before the end of the redemption period, to be claimed or assigned according to law. Those sums are payable ninety days after execution of the deed unless another claimant files a judicial action inside that window, and they escheat to the general fund of the governing body if neither claimed nor assigned within five years of the sale. Once a tax deed has been issued, Section 12-51-60 requires the delinquent tax collector to notify the defaulting taxpayer and that owner of record in writing that an excess is due, mailed the same certified way the officer took possession, and the cost of that notice counts as a cost of the sale.S.C. Code Ann. 12-51-130, delivery of the tax title, purchaser-paid costs, and the overage rulesS.C. Code Ann. 12-51-130Verified Aug 6, 2026

Governing statute

S.C. Code Ann. Title 12, Chapter 51South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 12, Chapter 51 (Alternate Procedure for Collection of Property Taxes)S.C. Code Ann. Title 12, Chapter 51Verified Aug 6, 2026

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.

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