Colonial Heights City, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Colonial Heights City, seat of Colonial Heights: 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
- Colonial Heights publishes no fixed annual auction month.
- Registration
- No standing online bidder registration is published.
- County office
- (804) 520-9320
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page
How Colonial Heights City sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- James W. Elliott, Attorney at Law, special commissioner of sale for the City of Colonial Heights
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Colonial Heights publishes no fixed annual auction month.
- Registration
- No standing online bidder registration is published.
- Sale list
- 2026 Foreclosure List
When it runs
Colonial Heights publishes no fixed annual auction month. Parcels reach sale one suit at a time as the special commissioner completes each case and the circuit court confirms the sale, and the city refreshes its foreclosure list as payoff figures change. The current list carries the date August 19, 2026. Call the special commissioner at (757) 898-7000 for the next scheduled sale date.
Registration and deposit
Sale format and venue
Colonial Heights sells the deed through a Virginia judicial sale, not through an administrative auction. The city turns every delinquent real estate parcel that becomes eligible for tax sale over to James W. Elliott, Attorney at Law, who files the suit in equity and sells the property as special commissioner once the circuit court confirms. The city posts a short foreclosure list showing each property address, parcel number, current assessment, the delinquent tax years and a payoff amount good through a stated date, alongside a separate citywide delinquent real estate tax list. No online auction platform is confirmed for this city, so ask the special commissioner's office whether the next sale is held in person or online before you plan a bid.
Source: Real Estate Foreclosures, Colonial Heights Billing and Collections· Verified Aug 23, 2026
Colonial Heights City tax sale list and auction calendar
For Colonial Heights City 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 2026 Foreclosure List for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Colonial Heights publishes no fixed annual auction month. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use James W. Elliott, Attorney at Law, special commissioner of sale for the City of Colonial Heights as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Colonial Heights City
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from 2026 Foreclosure List. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.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
City of Colonial Heights Billing and Collections Office
201 James Avenue, Colonial Heights, VA 23834 (mail to P.O. Box 3401, Colonial Heights, VA 23834)
Official websiteCounty notes
- Colonial Heights is an independent city and a county equivalent. It is not part of Chesterfield County or Dinwiddie County, and its delinquent tax collection and foreclosure sales are run entirely by the city.
- Start payoff questions with the Billing and Collections Office rather than the Treasurer. The Treasurer's Office receipts city funds, but responsibility for collecting delinquent real estate tax moved to Billing and Collections on July 1, 2016.
- Two different lists are published and they answer different questions. The citywide delinquent real estate tax list at https://www.colonialheightsva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14769 covers every account behind on real estate tax, while the much shorter foreclosure list covers only the parcels actually moving toward a court-ordered sale.
- Payoff figures on the foreclosure list are quoted as good through a stated date and keep growing with penalty and interest, so confirm the live balance with Billing and Collections at (804) 520-9320 before you build a bid around it.
- A listed parcel is not a guaranteed auction. Under Virginia law the owner can pay the taxes, penalties, interest and costs and stop the sale at any point before the court confirms it, and several of the listed accounts do redeem.
- Accounts sent to an outside collection agency carry extra charges that the published delinquent tax figures do not include.
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 Colonial Heights City, 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 Colonial Heights City hold tax deed sales?
Colonial Heights City holds its tax deed sale once a year. Colonial Heights publishes no fixed annual auction month. 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 James W. Elliott, Attorney at Law, special commissioner of sale for the City of Colonial Heights 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 Colonial Heights City tax sale list?
Colonial Heights City posts its tax sale list at colonialheightsva.gov. 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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