Foreclosure Sales Information

 

If you are interested in bidding on a piece of property in Beaufort County, which has been foreclosed upon and is scheduled to be auctioned for sale in the near future, the following may be helpful to know:

When real property is ordered to be foreclosed upon in Beaufort County, the Master in Equity (The Honorable Marvin H. Dukes, III) will issue an order directing that the mortgaged premises (or part thereof as required to satisfy the claim established) be sold by or under the direction of the Master.

The judgment, often called Master’s Decree of Foreclosure, will contain a legal description of the property being sold, a provision for the necessary legal advertisement, the time and location of the sale, and notice of any senior liens, taxes, or other rights to which property to be sold is subject. All legal ads in the newspaper will also have the terms of the sale and are run for three (3) consecutive weeks in a local newspaper, either the Beaufort Gazette or the Island Packet.

The judgment will also specify the amount of good faith deposit necessary at the time of the sale, which is five (5%) percent of the successful bid at the sale, and must be made by 3:00 p.m. that same day. This deposit is required to be in certified funds, made out to the Beaufort County Master in Equity, and is not refundable. The plaintiff or any other party may be a purchaser on such a sale. You have thirty (30) days to comply with the balance of the bid with certified funds.

Some plaintiffs seek a deficiency judgment against the defendant. This means the plaintiff is not only foreclosing its mortgage but is seeking a money judgment also. Unless the pleadings state that no personal deficiency judgment is demanded or any right to such judgment is expressly waived in writing, the bidding will not be closed on the day of sale but remains open until the thirtieth (30) day after such sale exclusive of the day of the sale. When the sale is reopened for final bidding the highest bid is accepted. The plaintiff can only bid at the first sale.

The plaintiff may waive the deficiency up until the time of sale.  Therefore, if you anticipate bidding on a property on which a deficiency is requested, you should be in attendance at the first sale and prepared to bid.

If you have further questions, please contact the office of the Master in Equity at (843) 255-5713.