Guidelines: Purchasing Property from The Forfeited Land Commission (FLC)

1. Bids will be accepted on any properties owned by the FLC.
2. FLC will not accept bids on property until all research and review of the sale has been completed.
3. All bids will be considered but the FLC reserves the right to refuse any bid not in compliance with the guidelines or policies of the FLC.
4. The minimum bid included on the FLC property listing reflects all delinquent and current taxes plus penalties and costs.
5. Properties will be awarded to the Bidder with highest acceptable bid submitted.
6. FLC SEALED-BID INSTRUCTIONS:
   We will only accept your bid submitted on the FLC Bid Form and placed in a sealed envelope Monday through Friday from 9:00am until 4:00pm. Please send submissions to:

   ATTN: Abbeville County FLC Sealed Bids
   Abbeville County Treasurer
   903 W. Greenwood Street, Suite 1300
   Abbeville, SC 29620

   Sealed bids to be accepted until 4:00 PM Daily (Monday-Friday).

7. In the event of identical bids, the bidders will be notified.
8. In the event the bid amount is not satisfied in compliance with the FLC guidelines, the bid will be awarded to next highest bidder.
9. The FLC will attempt to notify the successful bidder on the day of bid opening. The total amount is required to be paid in cash, a certified check or a money order to satisfy the total amount due no later than 5 business days after notification of the bid award.
10. The total amount due will also include deed recording fees, deed stamp charges and deed preparation attorney fee, that is determined by the bid amount. The bidder must provide cash, certified check or money order to satisfy the amount due.
11. Unsuccessful bidders will not be contacted. All bids will be registered on acceptance and will be made available for viewing in the Abbeville County Treasurer’s office after award of the bid.
12. The successful Bidder is not allowed on the property premises until the sale from the FLC is finalized and a deed has been filed in the Clerk of Court’s office and issued.
13. Pursuant to S.C. Code Section 12-51-70, should the bid amount not be paid, the defaulting bidder is liable and will be charged $500.00 for the bid default plus court costs. It is possible that you will be barred from any future tax sales or maybe required to submit a five hundred ($500) dollars fee (in cash or a certified check drawn on a recognized financial institution) with any future bid. This deposit will be applied towards the bid, if accepted, or returned if the bid is not accepted or cashed if the bid is accepted and the bidder does not honor or pay for the bid. The fee is to cover costs associated with preparation of the bid process through acceptance by the FLC.

    i) SECTION 12-51-70. Default by successful bidder; readvertisement of property. If the successful bidder fails to remit in legal tender within the time specified, the person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes shall cancel that bid and duly readvertise the same property for sale, in the same manner, on a subsequent delinquent tax sale date. The defaulting bidder is liable for no more than five hundred dollars’ damages upon default, which may be collected by suit by the person officially charged with the collection of delinquent taxes in the name of the taxing authority.

14. Receipts and tax titles will be issued in the name appearing on the bidder registration form.
15. According to S.C Code Section 12-51-50, in case a defaulting taxpayer has more than one item to be sold, as soon as sufficient funds have been accrued to cover all of the defaulting taxpayer’s taxes, assessments, penalties, costs, and current year taxes, no further items will be sold. This is to protect the defaulting taxpayer from excessive redemption penalties. The bidder, however, is only entitled to the property actually sold and not the excess properties (children parcels) their bid paid as well.
    ASSIGNMENT OF BIDS, also, will only be accepted Monday through Friday from 9:00am until 4:00pm.
16. Bidder will not be issued any type of a warranty deed. “All property offered for sale by the Forfeited Land Commission of Abbeville County is offered on an “AS IS, WHERE IS” basis meaning that the deed transferring the property will be a “QUIT CLAIM” form transferring whatever interest the FLC may have acquired. It is solely the responsibility of the purchaser to determine whether or not the property is usable (local planning and zoning regulations, etc.). NO WARRANTY of any kind is offered to the purchaser.” It is in your best interest to have the deed researched and consider an action to ‘quiet title’.
17. A “quit claim” deed is issued conveying only the interest acquired by the FLC through the Delinquent Tax sale. It is advised that the property be researched and an action to ‘quiet title’ be performed by an attorney of choice.
18. Properties can be researched in our online GIS system using the information included on the FLC property listing.