We buy houses in Grenada County, MS

When property tax goes unpaid, state law tells the tax collector what to do. After August 5, the land is listed in a county newspaper for two weeks.

The sale is held on the last Monday of August. It takes place at the courthouse, or online if the collector's notice says so (Miss. Code 27-41-55).

A buyer at that sale does not get your house right away. You have two years from the sale date to redeem it (Miss. Code 27-45-3).

To redeem, you pay the Chancery Clerk:

• the taxes the land was sold for
• the costs of the sale
• 5 percent damages on those taxes
• interest of 1.5 percent a month
• any costs added since the sale, with the same interest.

By our math, 1.5 percent a month comes to 18 percent a year. That is on top of the 5 percent damages.

The Mississippi Department of Revenue tracks mills by county. For the 2024 to 2025 tax year it lists:

• county funds: 63.09 mills
• City of Grenada: 70.87 mills
• Grenada School District: 42.71 mills
• county average: 105.80 mills.

The city's own levy rose that year. It went from 66.19 mills in 2023 to 2024 to 70.87 mills.

A home you own and live in is taxed on 10 percent of its true value. Most other real estate is taxed on 15 percent.

Here is our own rough math. A $100,000 home you live in is taxed on $10,000. At the 105.80 mill county average, that comes to about $1,058 a year before homestead.

Taxes are due on or before February 1 for the year before. Homestead forms go to the Tax Assessor between January 1 and April 1.

Owners under 65 can get a credit of up to $300. Owners 65 or older, or totally disabled, pay no tax on the first $7,500 of assessed value.

FEMA's preliminary flood study names two major streams, the Yalobusha River and Batupan Bogue. Batupan Bogue flows into the Yalobusha at the City of Grenada.

Grenada Lake was closed off in 1953 to store floodwater. The study says it holds 1,337,400 acre feet, and 1,251,700 of that is for flood control.

Flash floods can still come from local storms. On March 16, 1973, heavy rain flooded homes and streets in the northeast part of Grenada. The worst damage probably hit Futheyville, where about 300 people had to leave.

In October 2024, FEMA said it was weighing changes to the Grenada area flood maps. People could review them at City Hall or the County Courthouse, with comments due by January 22, 2025.

The study itself says it may be revised at any time. Check the current map for your own lot before you list.

A mobile home on land you own can be taxed as real estate. The wheels and axles must come off, and the home must be anchored and blocked (Miss. Code 27-53-15).

The Tax Assessor then files a certificate in the county land records. The law sets the certificate fee at $10, plus a filing fee.

Does your home use a septic tank? The state health department will inspect an existing system on Form 776. The form, revised in 2017, lists a $125 fee and asks if your water is public or from a private well.

Family land is sometimes owned by several relatives together. If one of them asks a court to sell, the court first sets a value and sends notice.

The other owners then have 45 days to say they will buy that share. The price is the court's value times that owner's share (Miss. Code 91-31-13).