We buy houses in Forrest County, MS

Mr. Howell told WDAM in 2025 that the last working day of July is usually the last day to pay before the unpaid list goes in the newspaper. The list runs twice before the sale.

The sale itself falls on the last Monday in August (Miss. Code 27-41-55). By our calendar, the next one is August 30, 2027. Howell says both local and out-of-state investors buy at it.

Your home is not gone that day. You, or anyone with an interest in the land, get two years from the sale to buy it back. That money goes to the Chancery Clerk, not the Tax Collector (Miss. Code 27-45-3).

The payoff is made up of:

• the taxes the land sold for
• the costs of the sale
• 5 percent damages on those taxes
• 1.5 percent interest a month, with part of a month counted as a full one

Here is our math for one case. Say $1,500 in taxes sold, and you redeem 12 months later. Damages add $75 and interest adds $270. That totals $1,845 before costs.

Near the end of the two years, the clerk must warn the owner of record. Notice comes 60 to 180 days out (Miss. Code 27-43-1). A sheriff or constable serves it, and the clerk also mails it and prints it in a newspaper (Miss. Code 27-43-3).

Forrest County land under a deed of trust does not have to be sold here. The law also allows a sale in the county where a borrower lives (Miss. Code 89-1-55). If you moved away, read the notice for the place.

Watch for two signs of a coming sale. One is an ad running three straight weeks in a newspaper. The other is a notice posted at the Forrest County courthouse for that same time. Both must name the original borrower.

If that ad never ran, the sale is not valid. A loan contract cannot waive this rule.

Find your sale date first. A real estate attorney can confirm how much time is left.

FEMA says the county's worst floods come when the Leaf and Bouie rivers spill into low ground, usually in early spring. It also says narrow bridges and culverts that clog with debris add to Hattiesburg's trouble.

The March 2016 flood is a clear reminder. WDAM reported the Bouie at 26.07 feet and the Leaf heading toward 29.5 feet, with East Hardy Street closed.

The Army Corps of Engineers finished clearing work on the Leaf at Hattiesburg in June 1987. FEMA also notes a levee shown on its maps as provisionally accredited. That zone can change if the levee does not earn full accreditation, so check the current panel.

You can look up your own street. USGS flood maps show how far water reaches at different river levels on the Leaf at Hattiesburg.

In its 2020 grant notice, Hattiesburg proposed buying one flood-prone house with FEMA money. The city would demolish it and keep the lot as open space for good.

Wind is the other risk. A large tornado crossed Hattiesburg and Petal on February 10, 2013. An EF-3 hit on January 21, 2017, killing four people in Hattiesburg, the National Weather Service reports. Expect any buyer to ask how old your roof is.

Mobile home taxes run through Mr. Howell's office. A home must be registered within seven days of purchase, for $1. Taxes are due within 90 days, then each January after that. The county says registration must be done before utilities can be connected.

If you own the land, you can move the home onto the realty roll. The county lists a $12 fee. The wheels and axles must come off and the home must be anchored and blocked. Retiring the title is the other route (Miss. Code 27-53-15).

Family land brings a different problem. When one heir asks a court to sell, the others get a chance to keep it. They have 45 days after the court's notice to say they will buy that heir out (Miss. Code 91-31-13).

The price is the court's value for the whole parcel times that heir's share. The court then sets a pay date at least 60 days after its notice.

An older house in a historic district comes with one more step. Work on the outside needs a Certificate of Appropriateness or a Letter of Compliance from the city. Ask the Planning Division before you repair anything to get ready for a sale.