• By Diane Julian
• Posted Friday, April 4, 2014

Advertisement of Unpaid 2013 Real Estate Tax

2013 taxes levied on real estate became past due on January 6, 2014. A tax notice was mailed to the property owners to announce the pending advertisement prior to the actual publication. Unpaid taxes levied on real estate should have been paid no later than March 1, 2014 to avoid advertisement. The actual advertisement in the Winston-Salem Journal and other local newspapers will occur during the week of March 31, 2014.

In the case of property which has been conveyed to another, tax notices have been mailed to both the January 1 and new owner of the property. The owner of record as of January 6 or any subsequent owners is responsible for the payment of taxes. Transfer of ownership relieves the owner of record as of January 1, 2013 of the 2013 tax liability. Proration agreements between buyers and sellers are just that - an agreement between the buyer and seller. Taxes that remain unpaid on January 6, 2014 are now the responsibility of the current owner, according to Session Law 2006-106. This advertisement is the first step toward the foreclosure of the tax lien.