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Tax office: about 3,335 foreclosure cases cleared; staff to re‑review older high‑value accounts
Summary
The county's tax office reported it has referred roughly 3,750 cases to outside counsel and cleared about 3,335 (about 89%) since May 2024, and staff are re‑reviewing older, high‑dollar cases that may require different legal approaches.
Wyn Kinion, from Beaufort County's Tax Office, updated commissioners on the county's ongoing foreclosure review, which the County began in May 2024. He told the Board that of the roughly 3,750 cases referred to counsel ZLS, "we rank 4th in total number of cases referred to ZLS," and that 3,335 cases have been resolved, a figure he said represents about an 88.93% cleared rate. He said about 400 cases remain open; 120 of those were opened in the last three years and the remainder are older files that require in‑depth review.
Kinion described a stepped approach for the outstanding accounts, including additional joint reviews by Land Records, the Assessor's Office and Collections staff to correct mapping, ownership information, values and structure data before deciding whether to use in‑rem or mortgage foreclosure processes. He told the Board, "Some parcels will be designated as UNDER REVIEW and will be flagged and re‑looked at in the future," and said the county is hiring a Foreclosure Specialist to strengthen internal collection efforts. Commissioners discussed the balance between pursuing small debts and targeting higher‑dollar accounts with more complex title or contingency issues.
