Frequently Asked Questions

As related to property taxes, a tax lien or Fifa (short for Fieri Facias) is an execution issued and filed by the County Tax Commissioner against the owner and the property for delinquent taxes. The execution (Fifa) is filed in the County Clerk's office, and it is a writ authorizing the Sheriff to levy on and sell the property to satisfy delinquent taxes.

Local governments will issue tax liens on properties with overdue taxes. These liens are issued and initially held by the tax commissioner of the city, county, or township in which the property resides. But if the liens remain unpaid, eventually the tax commissioner will face one of two options: (i) proceed to foreclose upon and sell the property in order to satisfy the amount due for unpaid taxes, or (ii) sell the liens to a third party such as InVesta and thereby collect the taxes due. Many tax commissioners, such as the Fulton County Tax Commissioner, prefer this second option rather than initiating foreclosure and selling the taxpayer's property.

InVesta Services does not provide information to any credit reporting agencies. However, a tax lien is filed of public record. Credit reporting agencies may be searching the public record and including information about tax liens in their reports. InVesta Services has no control over this action. When a tax lien is paid, InVesta Services will file a lien release with the County Clerk's office to make an entry in the public record that the delinquent taxes have been paid in full. InVesta Services does not have a relationship with any credit reporting agencies; therefore, we cannot instruct them to remove information from their reports.

If you have an escrow account and your mortgage company typically pays your property taxes, please contact your mortgage company to let them know that InVesta Services has paid delinquent taxes on your property. It may be helpful to send your mortgage company a copy of our payoff statement. A tax lien is a first priority lien on the property, and your mortgage company may contact InVesta Services to satisfy a lien(s) held by our office even if your taxes are not usually paid out of an escrow account. Your mortgage company will act to protect its interest in your property.

Regardless of whether the Fi. Fa. is held by us or the tax commissioner, the interest rate is the same. After July 1st, 2016, the base interest rate is 3 percent plus the bank prime loan rate set by the Federal Reserve. The interest rate can change on January 1st of each year based on the current bank prime loan rate. (OCGA 48-2-40)(https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-48/chapter-2/article-2/section-48-2-40/) Some cities and counties, such as City of Atlanta and Fulton County, are authorized to charge a supplemental interest rate so that the total rate is 12 percent. (OCGA 48-5-24)(https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-48/chapter-5/article-1/section-48-5-24/)

Regardless of who holds the Fi. Fa., us or the tax commissioner, the penalty is 5 percent every 120 days from when the tax bill was originally due, up to a maximum of 20 percent. (OCGA 48-2-44) (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2018/title-48/chapter-2/article-2/section-48-2-44/)

In addition to the interest and penalty, we also charge and collect the actual cost charged to us by the Clerk of Superior Court for recording the transferred Fi. Fa. (OCGA 48-3-19 (d)) (https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-48/chapter-3/article-1/section-48-3-19/) If your property has been levied, the levying official (the Sheriff or the Tax Commissioner) will add additional fees as allowed by state law. These fees are collected by the levying official and not InVesta Services.

Please contact us to find out how much you owe. We will generally respond within 24 hours. We can be reached by phone at 404-949-3850 or by filling out our pop-up web form. You may also visit our office at 2961 Olympic Industrial Drive to obtain your payoff amount or make your payment in person.

Please contact us (/contact)to obtain payment instructions.

We will work with customers who are unable to pay the balance in full in a single payment. Please contact us (/contact)and indicate that you are interested in a payment arrangement. Absent special circumstances, we will suggest a monthly payment that will make it possible for you to pay the balance in full over time. Please note that there are no additional charges for a payment plan beyond the statutory interest and penalty charges that accrue under Georgia law. Those charges will continue to accrue until the balance is paid in full.

No, not unless you ignore attempts to collect this debt for over a year, do not request a payment plan, and do not contact us before a sheriff’s sale. As a general rule, InVesta does not exercise its right to direct the Sheriff to levy on the underlying property until 12 months or more have passed after your tax lien is transferred to InVesta Services.