How to Sell a House With Delinquent Property Taxes in North Carolina
Behind on property taxes in Charlotte? You can still sell — and clear them at closing.
Property taxes are one of those bills that grow quietly until they feel impossible. In North Carolina they are due September 1 and can be paid without interest through January 5; on January 6 they become delinquent and interest starts adding up every month. Miss enough of them and the word that starts circling is foreclosure. Here is what most owners do not know: delinquent property taxes do not stop you from selling. In a sale, the back taxes are simply paid from your proceeds at closing — the closing attorney handles it, and you walk away with the rest.
Freedom Legacy Homes is a local, Charlotte-based cash buyer — a small, family-run operation owned by Raymond Borghi. We buy houses directly, with our own funds, as-is, in any condition and any situation, including homes with back property taxes hanging over them. This guide explains when taxes go delinquent, how the county can foreclose, and how a direct cash sale resolves it before the clock runs out.
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Fill In This Form To Get Your No-Obligation All Cash Offer Started!
How Back Taxes Actually Get Handled When You Sell
Here is the mechanism that removes most of the fear. When you sell, the closing attorney orders a payoff from the county tax office that shows the exact amount of taxes, interest, and costs owed. That amount is paid from your sale proceeds at closing — it comes off the top before you receive your balance, so you are not writing a check up front to clear it. Once the county is paid and the lien is satisfied, clear title passes to the buyer. You do not have to find the money first, and you do not have to fix the house before you start.
When Property Taxes Become Delinquent in North Carolina
Under G.S. 105-360, county property taxes are due September 1 and may be paid at par through January 5. On January 6 they are delinquent: interest accrues at 2% from January 6 to February 1, then three-quarters of one percent for each month after that until the balance is paid.
Separately, under G.S. 105-355, the lien for that year's taxes attached to your property back on January 1 — automatically, without anything being recorded. The longer the balance sits, the more it grows, which is why acting early protects more of your equity.
How the County Can Foreclose — and Why a Cash Sale Beats It
If taxes stay unpaid, the taxing unit can foreclose its lien. North Carolina allows a mortgage-style foreclosure by civil action (G.S. 105-374) and a simpler in rem method (G.S. 105-375); Mecklenburg County files its tax foreclosures in rem. Either way it can end in a sheriff's sale and a new owner. A direct cash sale beats that outcome because it closes fast — in as little as 7 days — and pays the county from the proceeds, satisfying the debt before the sale is ever completed. You keep control, and you keep whatever equity is left.
What the Process Looks Like
Step 1: Tell us about the property. Fill out the form or call us at (980) 409-3481. Tell us the address and roughly what is owed in back taxes — you do not need exact numbers; the closing attorney will pull the official payoff.
Step 2: We make a no-obligation cash offer. A written offer, as-is, with no financing contingency. Getting the offer costs nothing and commits you to nothing — it is information you can use to decide.
Step 3: The closing attorney orders the county payoff. We open title, the attorney requests the exact tax payoff from the county, and we set a closing date that fits your deadline.
Step 4: We close and the taxes are paid from proceeds. The back taxes, interest, and costs are paid at the closing table, clear title passes to us, and you receive your balance — the debt resolved instead of growing.
Read More About Your Specific Situation
- Facing a county tax foreclosure? How Mecklenburg County's in rem process works under G.S. 105-375 — and how to stop it in time. Read the guide
- Worried about the tax lien? When the lien attaches, why it outranks most other liens, and how it clears at closing. Read the guide
- Not sure which foreclosure you face? Tax foreclosure versus mortgage foreclosure in North Carolina, side by side. Read the guide
Get a No-Obligation Cash Offer
However far behind you are on property taxes, a written cash offer this week is information you can act on. No repairs, no showings, no commissions, and the back taxes handled at closing. One offer, one closing date, the county paid.
Get Your Free Offer TODAY!
Fill In This Form To Get Your No-Obligation All Cash Offer Started!
Freedom Legacy Homes purchases homes throughout Charlotte and across North Carolina — with back taxes, with liens, in any condition. Local. Direct. As-is. Owner: Raymond Borghi.