We buy houses in Smith County, MS

The Smith County Tax Collector must advertise and hold a sale once a year for unpaid real estate taxes. State law sets the last Monday of August (Miss. Code 27-41-55).

The same law also lets a collector hold a sale on the first Monday of April, or run the sale online. Ask the office which applies this year.

The list runs for two weeks in a newspaper published in the county. The ad must say where or how the sale will happen (Miss. Code 27-41-55).

After the sale, you get two years to redeem at the Chancery Clerk. The bidder's price does not matter (Miss. Code 27-45-3). You owe:

• the taxes the land sold for, plus costs
• 5 percent damages on those taxes
• 1.5 percent interest a month, and any part of a month counts

Here is an example we worked out. On $1,000 in taxes, damages are $50. Twelve months of interest adds $180, before you count costs or interest on them. That comes to at least $1,230.

Between 180 and 60 days before the deadline, the clerk must send a notice. It says the title will become absolute unless you redeem by the date shown (Miss. Code 27-43-1).

For land sold to the state, the Department of Revenue points you to the Secretary of State at 1-866-835-2637.

A child who inherits land, or a person of unsound mind, has longer. They can redeem within two years of reaching full age or being restored to sanity (Miss. Code 27-45-3).

A foreclosure does not have to be held in Smith County. A sale under a deed of trust can be held where the land sits or where a grantor on the deed lives (Miss. Code 89-1-55).

If your land lies in two counties, the deed can allow a sale of the whole tract in either one. So read your deed of trust.

The law asks for three things before the sale:

• ads for three weeks in a row
• a notice posted at the Smith County courthouse for that time
• the original borrower's name in both

If no paper is published in the county, a paper of general circulation there can be used. A contract cannot waive this notice (Miss. Code 89-1-55). A real estate attorney can confirm your dates.

On March 14 and 15, 2025, storms damaged homes and businesses in Smith County. WLBT reported an EF-2 tornado that hit parts of Taylorsville.

In June 2025, the county's emergency director said crews were still picking up debris and rain had slowed them down. FEMA and state teams came to help people apply for aid.

FEMA opened a service center in Taylorsville again in August 2025, at the fire department on Eureka Street. It took claims and questions about the March storm.

If your house still shows that damage, keep your FEMA letters, insurance papers and repair bills together. They help any buyer understand what was fixed and what was not.

Smith County land can carry an oil past. In 1960, with ten wells, the county ranked second in Mississippi oil production. So check for old leases and for minerals someone kept before you sell acreage.

State recording rules list oil and gas leases, mineral deeds and royalty deeds among the papers filed in land records.

The county also became a leading poultry producer this century. Land used to raise poultry or livestock counts as agricultural, and it is appraised on its use, not on what it could become (Miss. Code 27-35-50).

Own a mobile home on your land? If it was classed as real property, you can switch it back to personal property. If no title was ever issued, you must first show there are no liens (Miss. Code 27-53-15).

Family land often has several owners. If one asks a court to sell, the others can buy that share. Those who choose to buy pay into court by a date at least 60 days after the court's notice (Miss. Code 91-31-13).