By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published Sept. 30, 2009

As Charleston County prepares for its annual delinquent tax sale on Monday, about 3,000 properties still have unpaid tax bills.

Taxpayers have through Friday afternoon to settle delinquent bills before their properties are auctioned. A list of properties with unpaid tax bills is on the county’s Web site.

The total number of properties in delinquency, or unpaid as of March 16, started at 13,550 this year, up from 12,450 last year, according to delinquent-tax director Mary Scarborough.

Scarborough said the number of properties still delinquent and heading for sale at this point is higher than at a comparable time last year. Taxpayers are paying the bills more slowly this year, she said.

However, Scarborough pointed out that taxpayers had more time to pay their bills last year, when the sale was the first week of November. Charleston County alternates its tax sale annually between October and November.

The sale begins at 9:30 a.m. in Charleston County Council Chambers, at 4045 Bridge View Drive in North Charleston. It could continue after Monday if the properties are not sold the first day.

Anyone interested in bidding on property in the tax sale must register beforehand, either online, in person at the county’s Revenue Collections Department or the day of the sale.

Owners of properties sold in the tax sale have a year to redeem them, by paying delinquent taxes, penalties and interest on the price for which the properties sold at the tax sale.

Last year, Charleston County sold 726 properties at its delinquent tax sale. Property owners have until Nov. 4 to redeem those properties. So far, about 54% have been redeemed, Scarborough said. She said that — as with the delinquent tax bills — many people wait until the last minute to pay.

Charleston County sold 686 properties in its October 2007 sales and 433 properties in its November 2006 sale.

Berkeley County and Dorchester County will hold their delinquent tax sales Nov. 2.