Clarke County, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Clarke County, seat of Berryville: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
New to tax sales? Read how Virginia tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.
- Next sale
- Clarke County does not hold its sale on a fixed annual date.
- Format
- County site
- Registration
- Bidding is online only at bid.forsaleatauction.biz.
- County office
- (540) 955-5160
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Clarke County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Clarke County Circuit Court, Margaret F. Hardy, Esq. of Sands Anderson PC, with For Sale At Auction as auctioneer and every sale subject to approval of the Clarke County Treasurer
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Clarke County does not hold its sale on a fixed annual date.
- Registration
- Bidding is online only at bid.forsaleatauction.biz.
When it runs
Clarke County does not hold its sale on a fixed annual date. The Special Commissioner schedules one when enough parcels have cleared the statutory delinquency period, which has worked out to roughly once a year, and each is a timed online auction that begins closing at 11:00 a.m. The 2026 notice reads: "Online Bidding Begins Closing on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. (EST)." The two sales before it closed on Friday, March 28, 2025 and Tuesday, November 28, 2023, both at 11:00 a.m. Full parcel details post about a month before an auction closes, so watch the auction company's calendar rather than a county date.
Registration and deposit
Bidding is online only at bid.forsaleatauction.biz. Registration takes two steps: create a username and password, then submit a government issued photo ID for approval. Requests sent after 10 a.m. on the day an auction closes may not be accepted, so register several days early. Bidders who cannot bid online can call For Sale At Auction at (540) 899-1776 for help placing a bid, and the same account works in the For Sale At Auction mobile app. Every bidder must accept the written terms of sale before bidding.
Sale format and venue
Clarke County uses two routes to the same auction house. Low value parcels are sold administratively as a non-judicial sale under Va. Code 58.1-3975; the rest go through a suit in the Clarke County Circuit Court under Va. Code 58.1-3965 et seq. Sands Anderson PC of Fredericksburg acts as Special Commissioner on both, and For Sale At Auction conducts the bidding. A 10 percent buyer's premium is added to the winning bid and becomes part of the purchase price, with a stated minimum of $150 on the 2025 sale and $250 on the 2026 sale. On a non-judicial sale the winner owes the full bid, the premium and recording costs by close of business about one week after the auction, paid by wire transfer, cash or certified funds, and title passes by Treasurer's Deed subject to recorded easements and covenants and to any rights of persons in possession. On a judicial sale the winner posts a 10 percent deposit and pays the balance within 15 days of court confirmation. Every sale is subject to approval of the Clarke County Treasurer. Bidders may walk unimproved parcels to inspect them. An owner may redeem at any time before the sale date by paying all taxes, penalties, interest, costs and court set attorney fees; a partial payment does not stop the sale.
Source: Notice of Non-Judicial Sale of Real Estate, Clarke County· Verified Aug 23, 2026
Clarke County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Clarke County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.
Get the advertised list
Use Current tax delinquent real estate auctions, For Sale At Auction for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Clarke County does not hold its sale on a fixed annual date. Bidding runs on County site; check posted sale dates, registration status, and bidding windows there.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Clarke County Circuit Court, Margaret F. Hardy, Esq. of Sands Anderson PC, with For Sale At Auction as auctioneer and every sale subject to approval of the Clarke County Treasurer as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Clarke County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Current tax delinquent real estate auctions, For Sale At Auction. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Bidding is online only at bid.forsaleatauction.biz. Registration takes two steps: create a username and password, then submit a government issued photo ID for approval. Requests sent after 10 a.m. on the day an auction closes may not be accepted, so register several days early. Bidders who cannot bid online can call For Sale At Auction at (540) 899-1776 for help placing a bid, and the same account works in the For Sale At Auction mobile app. Every bidder must accept the written terms of sale before bidding.
Check the state rules that change the bid
Read the Virginia due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.Set a walk-away number
Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.
Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.
County offices
Tax sale office
Clarke County Treasurer's Office
Berryville-Clarke County Government Center, 101 Chalmers Ct., Suite B, Berryville, VA 22611 (mail: P.O. Box 537, Berryville, VA 22611)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Clarke County contracts its delinquent real estate collections to Sands Anderson PC of Fredericksburg, which serves as Special Commissioner of Sale. Redemption figures and requests to be notified of a coming auction go to that firm at (540) 373-2504 or 1-800-664-5699, or by written request to P.O. Box 907, Fredericksburg, VA 22404-0907.
- The county website carries no standing tax sale page or auction calendar. Sale notices are posted as county news items and published in The Winchester Star, the county's newspaper of record, and the parcel list appears on the auction company's site about a month before bidding closes.
- The Treasurer's Office describes a tax sale as one of several enforcement steps: a "Judicial or non-judicial sale of real property by Clarke County to fund payment of tax debt, subject to administrative fees by Clarke County, as well as cost-of-sale fees incurred throughout the process."
- Delinquent enforcement questions go to Julie Sweetser, Deputy I and Delinquent Enforcement Manager, at (540) 955-5160 option 1 or [email protected]. Sharon Keeler is the elected Treasurer.
- Clarke County real estate taxes are billed in two halves due June 5 and December 5, with a 10 percent late payment penalty and interest at 10 percent a year assessed monthly, so the balance an investor bids against grows steadily before a sale.
- A judicial sale notice published for Clarke County states that the County of Clarke commences proceedings under Va. Code 58.1-3965 et seq. to sell parcels "at a date and time to be announced," and cautions that the notice itself "is not an advertisement for a public auction."
- Recent Clarke County offerings have concentrated in the Shenandoah Retreat subdivision off Va. 7, where 28 parcels were offered in the March 2025 sale and 17 in the April 2026 sale. Expect small unimproved lots rather than improved homes.
- Clarke County is a separate government from the Town of Berryville, its county seat. A past sale combined tax delinquent Town of Berryville and County of Clarke parcels in one auction, so read each parcel's taxing jurisdiction on the notice.
Virginia rules
- Redemption
- An owner listed in the published notice, or the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, and assigns, may redeem the real estate at any time before the date set for the judicial sale by paying into court everything due. The right ends when the sale happens; Virginia gives no redemption window after the hammer falls and no redemption window after the deed is recorded. Partial payment does not redeem the property and does not suspend, invalidate, or moot the suit. The treasurer may instead suspend the sale by entering an installment agreement with the owner running no more than 72 months, and an owner who defaults on such an agreement cannot enter a second one for the same property for three years. The same before-the-sale-only cutoff applies on the nonjudicial track under 58.1-3975. What does exist after the sale is not redemption but a challenge: a party served only by publication may petition for a rehearing for good cause within 90 days of the order confirming the sale.
- Deed deposit
- No statewide deposit percentage exists. Article 4 leaves the terms of sale to the special commissioner and the confirming court, so the deposit is whatever the advertised terms of that sale require. Read the terms of sale published with each auction and confirm accepted funds with the commissioner before bidding.
- Surplus proceeds
- The former owner and the owner's heirs, devisees, successors, or assigns are entitled to the surplus received from the sale above the taxes, penalties, interest, reasonable attorney fees, costs, and any liens chargeable on the parcel, and the burden is on the claimant to prove entitlement. If no claim is made within two years after the date the sale is confirmed, the clerk pays the money to the locality that received the sale proceeds. On the nonjudicial track, excess proceeds sit in an interest-bearing escrow account held by the treasurer, a claimant has two years from the date of sale to schedule a hearing in circuit court, and unclaimed money goes to the locality's general fund.
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 Clarke County, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
Tax deeds. Virginia sells no tax lien certificates to investors; the county sells the property itself at a public tax sale.
How often does Clarke County hold tax deed sales?
Clarke County holds its tax deed sale once a year. Clarke County does not hold its sale on a fixed annual date. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Virginia's redemption rule: Until the date set for the sale. Virginia has no post-sale redemption period. Call the Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Clarke County Circuit Court, Margaret F. Hardy, Esq. of Sands Anderson PC, with For Sale At Auction as auctioneer and every sale subject to approval of the Clarke County Treasurer as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.
Where can I find the Clarke County tax sale list?
Clarke County posts its tax sale list at forsaleatauction.biz. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state sources.
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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