Selling a House With a Property Tax Lien in Charlotte, NC
A property tax lien is already on your house — and it clears the moment you sell.
A lot of owners are surprised to learn there is a tax lien on their home even though no one mailed them a lien document. In North Carolina the lien is automatic. The reassuring news is that a property tax lien is one of the most routine things a closing handles: it is paid from your proceeds, and clear title passes to the buyer the same day.
Get Your Free Cash Offer Now!
Fill out this form to get your no-obligation all cash offer started!
Get Your Free Offer TODAY!
Fill In This Form To Get Your No-Obligation All Cash Offer Started!
When the Tax Lien Attaches in North Carolina
Under G.S. 105-355, the lien for a given year's property taxes attaches to the parcel on January 1 — the listing date — regardless of when the bill is calculated or sent. The taxing unit does not have to record anything with the Register of Deeds for the lien to exist. Penalties, interest, and costs allowed by law attach at the same time as the principal. So if you owe property taxes, the lien is already there on the land, quietly, until the taxes are paid.
How the Lien Is Paid Off When You Sell
Under G.S. 105-375, at any time before execution is issued you can pay the judgment in full — the taxes plus interest and costs — and the tax collector certifies the payment and cancels the judgment. A person with an interest in the property can also appear before the clerk and move to set the judgment aside if the tax was actually paid or the lien is invalid.
The most reliable way for an owner who cannot pay out of pocket to satisfy the amount is to sell: a cash sale pays the county from the proceeds at closing, which cancels the judgment and ends the foreclosure.
Lien Priority — and When Liens Stack Up
A North Carolina property tax lien is superior to most other liens, including many recorded before it — which is exactly why the county is able to foreclose to collect. When more than one claim exists — a tax lien, a mortgage, maybe a judgment — the closing attorney determines the correct payoff order so the sale can close with clear title. If the combined debts run close to the home's value, a clean cash sale with a definite closing date still gives room to work: the tax payoff is handled first, and other lienholders will sometimes negotiate. Freedom Legacy Homes and the closing attorney work the numbers so the sale can close.
Get a No-Obligation Cash Offer
A property tax lien does not have to sit on your house any longer than your next closing. Tell us the address and roughly what is owed — we will make a written, as-is cash offer and the lien is paid from proceeds at closing. No repairs, no commissions, no money up front.
Get Your Free Offer TODAY!
Fill In This Form To Get Your No-Obligation All Cash Offer Started!