On the hunt to score lucrative real estate at deeply discounted prices, eager individuals and investment companies flock to Beaufort County’s delinquent tax auction each year.some unwitting bidders will buy properties within some of the county’s most elite gated communities for as little as a few hundred dollars.
That sounds like a steal for a property behind the gates of Belfair in Bluffton, for example — until Belfair chief financial officer Rick Leitman sends the bill for the community’s $19,500 initiation fee and the first half its $14,000 annual member dues, he said last week.
“They’re thinking, ‘Hey, this is awesome. I just hit a windfall with this bid,'” Leitman said. “But the minute the deed is filed, we bill them dues and an initiation fee and all of a sudden they go, ‘What? Where did this come from?'”