Kennesaw is in Cobb County, so your property taxes run through the Cobb County Tax Commissioner and your tax sale risk follows Cobb County's rules. Kennesaw has grown fast around Kennesaw State University and the Town Center corridor, and rising values mean rising tax bills. If you have fallen behind, Cobb County's process is direct: taxes unpaid after October 15 are subject to levy and tax sale. Here is what that means for a Kennesaw homeowner.
Cobb County's process, applied to Kennesaw
The Cobb County Tax Commissioner's Property Tax Division is at 736 Whitlock Avenue NW in Marietta, phone (770) 528-8600. County tax bills are due October 15, and payments postmarked after the due date incur a 5% late penalty plus monthly interest. Cobb mails 30-day late notices on unpaid accounts after October 15.
Unpaid balances lead to a FiFa (fieri facias), the tax execution recorded as a lien at the Clerk of Superior Court. Two Cobb rules matter once you are deep in the process: the county's levy office at (770) 528-8623 handles accounts headed for sale, and once a property is coded for tax sale, the county will not accept online payments for the delinquent years. Only certified funds are accepted from that point on.
Kennesaw also levies its own city property tax on top of the county tax, billed separately. If the county bill is behind, check the city account as well, because the city has its own collection tools.
The first-Tuesday tax sale
Georgia tax sales happen on the first Tuesday of each month, run by the sheriff with live bidding. The property must be advertised for four consecutive weeks in the county's legal newspaper, and advertising and title research fees are added to your balance once that starts.
Georgia sells redeemable tax deeds. The auction winner receives a tax deed to your property, and you have 12 months to redeem it by paying the auction price plus a 20% premium (10% more for each additional year). During the redemption year the buyer cannot take possession, collect rent, or improve the property. If nobody redeems, the buyer forecloses the right of redemption and takes the house.
When the winning bid exceeds the debt, the surplus is excess funds. Under Georgia law those funds go to the person authorized to receive them, usually the owner, but Cobb County interpleads excess funds to the Cobb County Superior Court, so claiming the money means a court process with lienholders paid first. Do not plan your finances around excess funds.
Kennesaw's market and why owners fall behind here
Kennesaw's identity is tied to Kennesaw State University, one of the largest universities in Georgia, and to the Town Center and Barrett Parkway retail corridors. The housing stock is mostly 1970s through 2000s subdivisions, plus townhome communities and older homes near downtown Kennesaw and along Main Street. A few patterns repeat:
- Landlords near the university. KSU's growth created a big investor-owned rental market. When a rental goes vacant between school years or a property manager stops communicating, the annual tax bill is easy to miss, and Cobb County's penalties do the rest.
- Older owners in established subdivisions. Owners who bought in the 1980s and 1990s have watched assessments climb with the area's growth. On a paid-off house, the tax bill alone can strain a retirement budget.
- Families stretched by the mortgage itself. Newer buyers in Kennesaw's higher-priced subdivisions sometimes escrow taxes, sometimes do not. Those who do not can be blindsided by a five-figure annual bill arriving all at once.
- Inherited and estate properties. As with every suburb, houses pass to heirs who live elsewhere, and the tax bill keeps arriving in a deceased owner's name until a FiFa forces the issue.
Kennesaw values have risen steadily, which means most delinquent owners are sitting on far more equity than they owe in taxes. That is the core argument for acting before the auction: a $9,000 tax debt should not cost you a $350,000 house. At a tax sale, investors bid for the property and the 20% redemption premium, not for your benefit, and the surplus becomes a court claim. A voluntary sale pays the county exactly what it is owed and leaves the rest with you.
Your options in Kennesaw
- Pay the certified payoff. Call (770) 528-8600 or the levy office at (770) 528-8623 for the exact figure. Remember that once the account is coded for tax sale, only certified funds are accepted. Full payment cancels the FiFa and stops penalties and interest.
- Ask about a payment arrangement. Discuss your options with the tax commissioner's office, but confirm whether interest and penalties keep accruing, and be honest about whether you can also handle next year's bill.
- File every exemption you qualify for. Homestead exemption first, then Georgia's senior, disability, and veteran exemptions, plus hardship deferral programs. They cut future bills, which is how you stay current after resolving the back taxes.
- Sell before the auction. A voluntary sale pays the back taxes, FiFa, mortgage, and any other liens from the proceeds at closing. You keep the equity. Possible right up until the sale, but closings take days, so start early.
How we buy in Kennesaw
We buy Kennesaw houses as-is for cash: subdivision homes, townhomes, rentals near KSU, estate properties, houses that need work. No repairs, no cleaning, no showings, no agent commissions. We research the FiFa payoff with Cobb County plus any city taxes and liens, bring you a written offer with the numbers shown, and close at a local title company. Tax sale date approaching? We can close in as little as 7 days. No rush? We move on your timeline.
Message us on WhatsApp or send the form below. Tell us the address and how far behind the taxes are, and we will give you a straight answer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still get a payment plan if my property is already in levy with Cobb County?
Call the levy office at (770) 528-8623 and ask directly. Options narrow as the sale approaches, and once the property is coded for tax sale only certified funds are accepted for the delinquent years. If a plan is not available or not affordable, a pre-auction sale may be the stronger option.
I rent out my Kennesaw house and the taxes slipped. Does the county care that it is a rental?
No. The tax sale process treats owner-occupied and investment properties the same. The FiFa attaches to the property, and the auction sells a tax deed to it either way. If anything, rentals are more exposed because nobody is living there to receive notices posted at the property.
What happens at the auction if nobody bids on my property?
The opening bid equals the taxes, penalties, and costs owed, and in practice there is almost always bidding on residential property in Cobb County. Do not count on a no-bid outcome. Plan as if the sale will happen.
Do you buy houses with code violations or HOA liens?
Yes. Code violations, HOA liens, back taxes, old mortgages: we research all of it and pay it from the proceeds at closing. You do not need to resolve any of it before calling us.
How do I know your offer is fair?
We show you the math: comparable sales in your neighborhood, the exact tax and lien payoffs, and what you walk away with. Get other offers if you like. A fair cash offer is below full retail because we take the repair risk and the holding costs, but it should always leave your equity intact after the debts are paid.
Can the county put a tax lien on my other property or garnish my wages for back taxes?
A Georgia FiFa is a general lien, so it can attach to other property you own in Georgia, not just the house with the back taxes. But counties almost never pursue wages or bank accounts for property tax debt: the tax sale process against the property itself is their main tool. Still, unpaid FiFa balances keep accruing interest and penalties, so ignoring them makes the problem more expensive every month.
I never got the tax bill for my Kennesaw property because it went to the wrong address. Do I still owe the penalties?
Yes, unfortunately. In Georgia, a tax bill going to the wrong address does not cancel the taxes or the penalties, because the law treats you as responsible for knowing the bill exists. The county will still charge the penalty and interest, and the property can still be advertised for tax sale. Call the tax office right away with your correct mailing address and get the exact payoff, and fix the address now so next year's bill finds you.
Can I still sell my Kennesaw house if it already sold at a tax sale earlier this year?
During the 12-month redemption period, yes, but the math is tight. After a Georgia tax sale, you have 12 months to redeem by paying the sale price plus a 20 percent premium in the first year. If you sell during that window, the buyer pays the redemption to clear the title and you keep what is left. After the redemption period expires, the title transfers to the tax-sale buyer and you can no longer sell it. So if the sale already happened, time matters more than ever.
Also serving nearby: Marietta, Smyrna, Woodstock, Alpharetta, Roswell.