We buy houses in Covington County, MS
We buy houses in Covington County, MS, from Collins to Mount Olive, Seminary, for cash and in any condition. Below is what selling here actually involves: where the county records and taxes property, how its foreclosure and tax sales work, and the rural questions a buyer will ask.
Covington County in numbers
- Typical home value
- $176,000
- Median year built
- 1987
- Mobile homes
- 33.2%
- Median property tax
- $683
Up 13.5% in a year. Zillow, September 2026
Census ACS 2019-2023
Of all housing units, ACS 2019-2023
A year, ACS 2019-2023
Covington County in under a minute
Transcript
We buy houses across Covington County, Mississippi, from Collins to Mount Olive and Seminary, for cash and in any condition. Land with unpaid taxes goes on a list after August 5. When land passes to many heirs, one of them may ask a court to sell. Call us or visit nikitabuyshouses.com to sell your Covington County house today.
Collins holds the courthouse and the county offices
Collins has been the county seat since 1906, when it took over from Williamsburg. County offices share the address 101 South Elm Avenue.
Three offices matter most when you sell:
- Chancery Clerk Guy Easterling: P.O. Box 1679, (601) 765-4242
- Tax Assessor: (601) 765-6232
- Tax Collector: (601) 765-6402
Starr Hux holds both the Assessor and Collector jobs, and both use P.O. Box 1537 in Collins.
The Chancery Clerk records deeds, mortgages, liens and notices of pending lawsuits. The same office runs Chancery Court files on estates, guardianships and property disputes.
The Assessor sets the value of each parcel and helps with homestead filings. The Collector takes taxes on land and manufactured homes and holds the yearly tax sale.
Sources: Mississippi Encyclopedia: Covington County; Covington County: Chancery Clerk; Covington County: Tax Assessor; Covington County: Tax Collector.
Covington County tax rates and the homestead break
Mississippi taxes a home you own and live in on 10 percent of its true value. Rentals and other real property are taxed on 15 percent. Bills are due on or before February 1.
In September 2024, supervisors raised the total levy by 7.8 mills, from 89.24 to 97.04. WDAM said 4.8 of those mills went to the county school district.
The state's 2024 to 2025 schedule shows these levies:
- county funds: 53.87 mills
- Covington County Schools: 42.17 mills
- Collins: 20 mills
- Mount Olive: 34.2 mills
- Seminary: 13 mills
By our math, a $150,000 home taxed at the 97.04 mill county average owes about $1,456 before homestead.
In September 2025, the county's proposed budget carried no tax increase. The Chancery Clerk credited the area's tank farms for adding value.
File for homestead with the Assessor between January 1 and April 1. Your deed must be on file with the Chancery Clerk before January 7. Under 65, you get a credit of up to $300. At 65 or totally disabled, the first $7,500 of assessed value is not taxed.
Sources: Mississippi Department of Revenue: Property tax FAQ; Mississippi Department of Revenue: Homestead exemption; Mississippi Department of Revenue: Combined millage rate schedules; WDAM: Ad valorem taxes going up in Covington County; WDAM: Covington leaders finalize proposed budgets for new fiscal year.
Unpaid taxes, the August auction and your two-year window
Land with unpaid taxes goes on a list after August 5. The Tax Collector runs it in a county newspaper for two weeks. The sale happens on the last Monday in August (Miss. Code 27-41-55).
The ad says where the sale will be held. It can be at the courthouse door, inside the courthouse, or online.
Losing land at the sale is not final right away. The owner, or anyone with an interest in the land, has two years to redeem it (Miss. Code 27-45-3).
The redemption check goes to the Chancery Clerk and covers:
- the taxes the land sold for
- the sale costs
- 5 percent damages on those taxes
- 1.5 percent interest for each month
Between 180 and 60 days before the two years end, the clerk must send a notice to the owner of record (Miss. Code 27-43-1). The clerk also mails a copy (Miss. Code 27-43-3).
Sources: FindLaw: Miss. Code 27-41-55; FindLaw: Miss. Code 27-45-3; FindLaw: Miss. Code 27-43-1; FindLaw: Miss. Code 27-43-3.
If the bank moves to sell your Covington County house
Say your home loan is secured by a deed of trust and the payments stop. The land can then be sold at a public auction.
That auction is held in the county where the land sits, or in the county where a borrower lives (Miss. Code 89-1-55).
Notice comes first. The sale runs in a newspaper for three weeks straight and is posted at the courthouse for the same time. The notice names the original borrower.
A sale without that notice is not valid, whatever the loan papers say. If you have seen a notice for your house, a real estate attorney can confirm your dates.
Sources: FindLaw: Miss. Code 89-1-55.
Okatoma Creek and spring flooding
FEMA's countywide flood study says the worst flooding comes from Okatoma Creek. It usually happens in early spring, after heavy rain from large storm fronts.
The study lists major floods in 1943, 1961, 1974, 1980 and 1983. Low ground along the creek and its branches floods the most.
FEMA also found no flood control works on the streams it studied in the county.
If your land backs up to Okatoma Creek, a buyer or lender will ask about the flood zone. Pull the map before you list.
Sources: FEMA via Mississippi DEQ: Covington County Flood Insurance Study.
Mobile homes and land shared by heirs
A mobile home is taxed as personal property unless the owner of the land under it acts. That owner can declare it real property at registration, after removing the wheels and axles and anchoring it. The other path is to retire the title (Miss. Code 27-53-15).
Family land here often goes back generations. In 1900, 86 percent of white farmers and 59 percent of Black farmers in the county owned their land.
When land passes to many heirs, one of them may ask a court to sell. The others then have 45 days after the court's notice to say they will buy that share (Miss. Code 91-31-13).
The price equals the court's value for the whole tract times the seller's share.
Sources: FindLaw: Miss. Code 27-53-15; Mississippi Encyclopedia: Covington County; FindLaw: Miss. Code 91-31-13.
Towns across Covington County
Collins
In September 2025, Collins planned to raise its city levy from 20 to 22 mills for public safety. The mayor put the added cost at about $40 a year on a $200,000 home. WDAM: Covington leaders finalize proposed budgets for new fiscal year
Mount Olive
FEMA studied Town Creek, Town Creek Tributary and Okatoma Creek near Mount Olive in detail. The higher ground drained by Town Creek is prone to flash floods in short, heavy storms. FEMA via Mississippi DEQ: Covington County Flood Insurance Study
Seminary
Seminary's town levy has held at 13 mills every year from 2012 to 2013 through 2024 to 2025, per the state's millage schedule. That is the lowest town levy in the county. Mississippi Department of Revenue: Combined millage rate schedules
Selling a house in Covington County
- What is the property tax rate in Covington County, Mississippi?
- The state lists a 97.04 mill county average for 2024 to 2025. That includes 53.87 mills for the county and 42.17 for county schools. Town levies, like Collins at 20 mills, are added inside town limits.
- When does Covington County hold its tax sale?
- On the last Monday in August, after two weeks of newspaper ads (Miss. Code 27-41-55). The ad tells you whether the sale is at the courthouse or online.
- Can I still get my land back after a Covington County tax sale?
- Yes, for two years after the sale (Miss. Code 27-45-3). Pay the Chancery Clerk the taxes, costs, 5 percent damages and 1.5 percent a month in interest.
- Where does flooding happen in Covington County?
- FEMA names Okatoma Creek as the main source, mostly in early spring. Town Creek near Mount Olive can flash flood in short, heavy storms.
Local facts checked October 2026. Rates and rules change; the office named above or a real estate attorney can confirm them for your property.
Sell your Covington County house today
You do not need a number ready, or photos, or a plan. Want to know your real options, even the ones that do not involve us? Call and ask.
Sabrina usually picks up. (615) 576-8827