Farm land under a conservation use covenant

Poultry production has been the county's leading agribusiness for two decades, and much of the remaining land is pasture and timber. A lot of that acreage carries a conservation use covenant, which lowers the tax bill in exchange for keeping the land in qualifying use for the covenant term. The Madison County Board of Assessors acts on those applications, and approved covenants are recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court, so they will turn up in the title search.

Under the state's rules, when covenant land is sold and the new owner does not apply to continue it by the next tax return deadline, the assessors can treat that as a breach and send notice of a penalty to both seller and buyer. If the land passed to heirs only because the owner died, the covenant ends without a penalty, but the estate has to qualify again to keep the lower assessment. Knowing which situation you are in tells us whether a penalty is part of the math.

The Tax Commissioner here bills timber taxes alongside property and mobile home taxes. If timber was cut or sold recently, expect that bill to come through the same office and to be settled at closing.

Mobile homes on family land

A manufactured home in Georgia starts out titled like a vehicle. It becomes part of the real estate only when the owner, and any lender on the title, records a Certificate of Permanent Location with the Clerk of Superior Court and the original title is surrendered for cancellation. Many homes set on family tracts never went through that step, so the home is still personal property, still taxed separately, and still has to be signed over on its own title.

That is easy to fix when the title is in a drawer and the owner is alive. It is slower when the title is lost, the titled owner has died, or an old lien was never released. Tell us early which of those applies, and we will plan the closing around it.

Septic, wells, and the small towns

Colbert has no sewer system, and residents there named failing septic systems and the lack of sewer among the things that had gotten worse in town. Carlton's planning vision also calls for a sewer system. Across the rural parts of the county, homes sit on large lots sized for septic, and many still draw from private wells, which the county's plan suggests phasing out over the long term.

The Northeast Health District's evaluation request form lists a loan closing or sale among the reasons to have an existing septic system evaluated, and if a house is tied into a system the health department has no record of, it requires a pump-out receipt and a pumper's inspection report. We do not need either to make an offer.

Madison County property we buy

  • Farmhouses and acreage, including land under a conservation use covenant
  • Houses on former poultry farms, with or without the houses still operating
  • Manufactured homes on family land, titled or converted
  • Older homes in Danielsville, Comer, and Colbert
  • Rural houses on septic and private wells
  • Inherited homes where the estate has not been opened
  • Timber tracts with a home on them

Records, courts, and closing in Madison County

Danielsville is the county seat. The Madison County Clerk of Superior Court records deeds, liens, plats, and permanent location certificates for manufactured homes. Wills and estates are handled by the Madison County Probate Court, and for heirs' property the probate filing is usually the step that sets the schedule. Parcel records are on qPublic, and the Tax Commissioner's office in the Danielsville government complex is the only place in the county that bills property, mobile home, and timber taxes.

As everywhere in Georgia, an attorney conducts the closing. When you ask for an offer, send the parcel number for every tract involved, say whether the land is in a conservation covenant and when it started, and tell us where the mobile home title is. With those three items we can usually give you a firm price and a realistic closing date in the first conversation.

Frequently asked questions

My land is in a conservation use covenant. Will selling trigger a penalty?

It can if the buyer does not continue the covenant. We review the covenant before pricing so the penalty question is answered up front.

My father died and his farm was in conservation use. Do we owe a penalty?

Under state rules, a transfer to heirs solely because of the owner's death ends the covenant without a penalty. The estate would need to reapply to keep the lower assessment.

The mobile home on our land was never converted to real property. Can you still buy it?

Yes. The title is signed over along with the deed to the land, or converted at closing, depending on what the attorney recommends.

Do you buy houses in Colbert with septic problems?

Yes. Colbert has no sewer, and a failing system is something we price in rather than a reason to pass.

Do you buy just the house and a few acres off a larger farm?

Often, yes. The split has to meet county zoning and health rules, so send us the parcel and we will check.

Madison County property and court resources

Sources