Shenandoah County, VA tax sales
How tax deed sales work in Shenandoah County, seat of Woodstock: 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
- No date is posted for the next auction.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Anyone may attend, but registration is required to bid.
- County office
- 540-459-6180
On this page
How Shenandoah County sells delinquent taxes
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sands Anderson PC, Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court, on delinquencies certified by the Shenandoah County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- No date is posted for the next auction.
- Registration
- Anyone may attend, but registration is required to bid.
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Anyone may attend, but registration is required to bid. The sale runs as a live auction, and the high bidder signs a purchase contract on the day of sale; a copy of the contract is available beforehand, and terms announced from the podium take precedence. The high bidder is expected to pay a deposit of 20 percent of the bid or $2,000, whichever is more, in cash, credit card, personal check, cashier's check, or money order. All sales are subject to court approval, and approved parcels convey by special warranty deed. Purchasers pay the balance of the purchase price plus recording fees and costs, and a buyer's premium may be added. You do not need to be a Virginia resident to buy, and you tell the Special Commissioner how you want to take title.
Sale format and venue
Shenandoah County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Shenandoah 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 Tax sale terms and how to join the property-list notice list for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
No date is posted for the next auction. The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Sands Anderson PC, Special Commissioner of Sale appointed by the Circuit Court, on delinquencies certified by the Shenandoah County Treasurer's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Shenandoah County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Tax sale terms and how to join the property-list notice list. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Anyone may attend, but registration is required to bid. The sale runs as a live auction, and the high bidder signs a purchase contract on the day of sale; a copy of the contract is available beforehand, and terms announced from the podium take precedence. The high bidder is expected to pay a deposit of 20 percent of the bid or $2,000, whichever is more, in cash, credit card, personal check, cashier's check, or money order. All sales are subject to court approval, and approved parcels convey by special warranty deed. Purchasers pay the balance of the purchase price plus recording fees and costs, and a buyer's premium may be added. You do not need to be a Virginia resident to buy, and you tell the Special Commissioner how you want to take title.
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
County notes
- The Circuit Court appoints Sands Anderson PC as Special Commissioner of Sale for Shenandoah County's delinquent tax land sales. Reid Broughton and Kimberly Cregger run them from P.O. Box 2009, Christiansburg, Virginia 24068, 540-260-9011, [email protected] or [email protected].
- The property list is not published on a bidding portal. Sands Anderson mails or emails it roughly three weeks before each auction, so send your mailing or email address to the firm to get on the notice list.
- Auctions are held at the Shenandoah County Government Center, Board of Supervisors Meeting Room, 600 North Main Street, Woodstock, and the Treasurer keeps an Upcoming Delinquent Tax Land Sale page where the next date is posted.
- Check whether a parcel is designated judicial or non-judicial before bidding. A judicial sale conveys free and clear of judgments and liens, while a non-judicial sale leaves liens of record in place.
- Real estate taxes are due in two halves on June 5 and December 5, with a 10 percent penalty and 10 percent annual interest after the due date, and parcels delinquent two or more years become eligible for the sale.
- Budget for the deposit at the podium: 20 percent of the bid or $2,000, whichever is more, with the balance, recording fees, and any buyer's premium due after the court confirms the sale.
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 Shenandoah County, Virginia sell tax liens or tax deeds?
How often does Shenandoah County hold tax deed sales?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Shenandoah County tax sale list?
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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