DistressedProps

Georgia Reference

Georgia Foreclosure Terminology

A plain-English reference for investors and buyers navigating Georgia courthouse auctions.

Most foreclosure guides throw legal terms around without explaining them. This one does the opposite. Below are the terms that come up repeatedly at Georgia courthouse auctions and in the research process leading up to them, defined the way investors actually use them.

A

Arrearage

The amount the homeowner is behind on their loan. Not the whole loan balance, just the missed payments, late fees, and penalties that have piled up. The lender usually wants all of this paid before they'll call off a foreclosure.

ARV (After Repair Value)

What the property should be worth after you fix it up and it's ready to sell. This is the number you build everything else around: your repair budget, your max bid, your profit target all flow from it. Get this number wrong and everything else is wrong with it. Pull it from actual recent comparable sales nearby, not from what you're hoping the property will fetch.

As-Is Sale

You buy it exactly as it sits. No repairs by the seller, no disclosures about what's wrong with it, no backing out if you find problems after the fact. You do your research before you bid. There is no "after."

Assignment of Bid

When the winning bidder transfers their winning position to someone else before the deed is recorded, typically for a fee. The original bidder won the auction but isn't taking the property; a third party steps in instead. It's a real strategy but has moving parts that need legal review before you rely on it.

B

Beneficiary

The lender. The entity that holds the loan on the property and is owed the money. They're the ones running the foreclosure, setting the opening bid, and collecting the proceeds.

Book and Page

The filing address of a document in county land records. "Deed Book 601, Page 74" tells you exactly where to find that deed. Title reports and legal descriptions use book and page references constantly, and they are how you pull the original document on GSCCCA.

Bridge Loan

Short-term financing to get from buying the property to either selling it or securing longer-term financing. Higher cost than a regular loan, meant to be paid off fast. Important caveat for auction buyers: a bridge loan doesn't automatically get you cash at the courthouse steps. You still need to solve the certified funds problem before you bid.

C

Certified Funds

Cashier's checks or other payment guaranteed by a bank, not a personal check. Georgia courthouse auctions require this. Because you don't know your exact winning bid in advance, experienced investors bring a stack of cashier checks in different denominations they can combine to match whatever number they win with.

Chain of Title

The ownership history of a property, recorded in public records from the beginning. Every time the property changed hands, it should be documented. Gaps or problems in that history can create title defects that follow the property to the next buyer, including you.

Cloud on Title

Anything that casts doubt on who owns a property or what they own: an heir who never signed off, an old lien that was never released, a deed with errors in it. A cloud does not stop a foreclosure sale from happening, but it can stop you from reselling or getting title insurance until it is cleared. Clearing one can take time, money, and sometimes a court.

Confirmation Hearing

A court check to confirm a foreclosure sale price was fair. Georgia is a non-judicial state, so auctions here generally don't require one. Worth knowing the term; you'll rarely run into it.

Continuance

The sale got postponed, not canceled, just moved to a later date. It can happen for many reasons and a property can be continued more than once. Always check sale status leading up to, and on auction day. Sales can be postponed right up to the time the crier starts to cry them.

Courthouse Steps

The traditional name for where Georgia foreclosure auctions happen. In most counties it is literal: the sale is held outside, on the steps of the county courthouse, on the first Tuesday of the month. Georgia law does allow a sale to be held somewhere other than the courthouse, and some counties hold theirs indoors or at a different building. Each of Georgia's 159 counties runs its own auction, so confirm the exact location for your county before auction day.

Crier

The person running the auction at the courthouse steps, calling out properties, taking bids, and managing the process. Criers work for the law firm handling the foreclosure. Some criers cry for multiple law firms. Sometimes criers in busy metro counties will cry a property while other criers are simultaneously crying other properties. Knowing where to stand matters. In most rural counties, criers will wait for other criers to finish crying before they begin crying, but they don't have to. So, keep your head on a swivel and know what you are looking for. Also, don't be afraid to ask the crier to confirm what property they are crying.

D

Deed Under Power

The deed you receive when you win a Georgia foreclosure auction, also called a foreclosure deed. The lender's attorney signs it over to you. It conveys whatever interest the lender had the right to sell, which may or may not be perfectly clean title depending on what else is attached to the property.

Default

The borrower stopped meeting the terms of their loan, usually by missing mortgage payments. Default is what starts the foreclosure clock.

Deficiency Judgment

If the property sells at auction for less than what was owed on the loan, the lender can potentially sue the borrower for the difference. As a buyer this is between the lender and the previous owner, not your problem. Properties with large deficiencies sometimes attract lower opening bids.

Distressed Property

A property in some form of financial or physical trouble: behind on payments, headed to auction, already taken back by the lender, or physically deteriorated. DistressedProps focuses specifically on properties in the foreclosure pipeline.

DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio)

A way lenders measure whether a rental property earns enough income to cover its loan payments. If you buy a foreclosure, renovate it, and want to hold it as a rental, a DSCR loan is one of the most common refinance paths. The lender looks at the property's rental income rather than your personal income, which makes it a popular option for investors with multiple properties.

E

Easement

A right someone else has to use part of a property for a specific purpose. Power lines, utility access, a shared driveway, a shared septic system. An easement recorded before the foreclosing loan stays with the property after the sale, so you are buying it too. One created after that loan can be wiped out by the foreclosure. Most are harmless. Some affect where you can build or what the property is worth.

Equity of Redemption

The borrower's legal right to pay off the full debt and reclaim the property before the foreclosure sale is completed. In Georgia, that right expires the moment the property sells at auction. There is no window after the sale for the previous owner to buy it back. This is specific to Georgia non-judicial foreclosures.

F

Fee Simple

The most complete form of property ownership. The owner holds the property outright and can sell it, borrow against it, or leave it to heirs, with no time limit. When people say they own a house, this is usually what they mean. When more than one person holds title, how they hold it together matters a lot the day one of them dies. See Tenants in Common and Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship.

First Tuesday

Georgia law requires foreclosure auctions to be held on the first Tuesday of every month, between 10 AM and 4 PM, in all 159 counties. There are only two exceptions. When the first Tuesday falls on New Year's Day or Independence Day, the auction moves to the following Wednesday. This is set by statute and does not change.

G

Grantor / Grantee

The two sides of a deed. The grantor is the one transferring the property; the grantee is the one receiving it. On a vesting deed, the grantee is the current owner. On a security deed, the borrower is the grantor and the lender is the grantee, which is how Georgia lenders end up holding title as collateral.

GSCCCA (Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority)

The statewide system where Georgia's real estate and UCC records are indexed and searchable. This is where you look up deeds, security deeds, liens, and fixture filings on a property before you bid. It is the primary starting point for pre-auction title research. The website is gsccca.org.

H

Hard Money Loan

A short-term loan backed by the property itself rather than being based entirely on the borrower's income or credit history. Faster to get than a conventional bank loan and widely used by real estate investors. The tradeoffs are higher interest rates, origination fees, and short repayment windows. One critical thing to understand: getting approved for a hard money loan does not mean you have money at the courthouse on sale day. How and whether a lender can fund the auction purchase needs to be solved before you bid, not after.

Heirs Property

Property that passed down to family members without a clear legal owner, usually because the owner died without a will or the estate was never settled in probate. Every heir owns a share, even if only one of them lives there or pays the bills. That makes buying it complicated, because one heir who will not sign can hold up a sale. It is common in Georgia and a common cause of a cloud on title.

HOA Lien

A lien a homeowners association places on a property for unpaid dues or assessments. Some HOA liens survive a foreclosure sale and can attach to the new owner. Pre-auction title research should identify any HOA liens and clarify whether they follow the property through the sale.

I

IRS Tax Lien

A federal lien recorded against a property when the owner owes unpaid federal taxes. The IRS has a right of redemption after a foreclosure sale: they have 120 days to step in, reimburse the winning bidder, and take the property back. It is rare but real. Surface it in title research before you bid.

J

Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship

A way for two or more people to own property together where, when one owner dies, their share passes automatically to the surviving owners. No probate is needed for that share. In Georgia, the deed has to say so clearly; without survivorship language, co-owners are tenants in common instead. Often abbreviated JTWROS.

Judgment Lien

A lien created when someone wins a lawsuit against a property owner and the judgment is recorded. It attaches to real estate the owner holds in any county where the judgment is recorded. In Georgia, a judgment goes dormant after seven years unless the holder renews it. Whether an open judgment survives a foreclosure depends on when it was recorded and whether it is still active, so it needs a close look before you bid.

Judicial Foreclosure

A foreclosure that goes through the court system, requiring a lawsuit and judge approval before the property can be sold. Georgia mostly does not work this way. Most Georgia foreclosures are non-judicial, meaning no court is required. Judicial foreclosures do exist here in certain situations, but the courthouse auction you are researching is almost always non-judicial.

Junior Lien

Any lien recorded after the first mortgage: second mortgages, home equity lines, contractor liens, judgment liens. When a first mortgage forecloses, junior liens are generally wiped out and the buyer does not inherit them. Confirm what survives with title research.

L

Land Lot

One of the numbered divisions Georgia used to survey and hand out land in the 1800s. Most Georgia legal descriptions start with a land lot and a land district or militia district before narrowing down to a specific lot in a subdivision. It looks old-fashioned, but it is still how the law pins down where a property sits.

Less and Except

Language in a legal description that carves a piece out of the property. "All of Lot 120, less and except" a described strip means you are not getting that strip. It is one way people have ended up owning just the backyard of a house instead of the house. If you see it, find out exactly what was carved out before you bid.

Lien Priority

The order liens stand in line, which decides who gets paid first and what survives a foreclosure. In Georgia it is set mostly by filing date, not dollar amount. A $1 security deed recorded first outranks a $2 million one recorded a month later. Property taxes are the big exception: they always come first. When a lien forecloses, the liens behind it are generally wiped out and the ones ahead of it stay, so knowing where the foreclosing loan sits in line is one of the first things to check.

Limited Warranty Deed

A deed where the seller guarantees the title only for the time they owned the property. If a problem came from before them, it is not their responsibility. Common in sales by builders, banks, and investors. Stronger than a quitclaim deed, weaker than a warranty deed.

Lis Pendens

Latin for "suit pending." A recorded notice that a property is involved in active litigation. It is a red flag in title research because unresolved legal proceedings can affect ownership, possession, or your ability to resell after purchase. Common sources include divorce proceedings, quiet title actions, and probate disputes. A foreclosure sale does not automatically make a lis pendens disappear.

LTC (Loan-to-Cost)

The loan amount expressed as a percentage of total project cost: what you paid plus what you plan to spend on renovation. A lender offering 85% LTC on a $300,000 total project would lend up to $255,000. Different from LTV, which is based on the property's value rather than your costs.

LTV (Loan-to-Value)

The loan amount expressed as a percentage of the property's value. A lender offering 70% LTV on a $200,000 property would lend up to $140,000. Higher LTV means more borrowing relative to value, which lenders treat as more risk and typically charge more for.

M

Mechanic's Lien

A lien a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier can file when they did work on a property and were not paid. It attaches to the property itself, not just the person who owes the money. Whether it survives a foreclosure depends on when it was recorded relative to the mortgage being foreclosed. Find it in title research before you bid.

Metes and Bounds

A way of describing property boundaries with measurements and directions. "Beginning at an iron pin on the south side of Oak Street, then south 24 degrees 15 minutes east for 241 feet," and so on, until the lines connect back to the start. It reads like gibberish, but it is a precise map written as sentences, and it is the part of the legal description a surveyor can actually walk.

N

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

A foreclosure that happens outside the court system. Georgia is primarily a non-judicial state, meaning lenders can move through the process without filing a lawsuit or getting a judge to sign off. It is faster than judicial foreclosure, and the courthouse auction is the endpoint with no court approval needed after the sale.

Notice of Sale

The official written notice that a property is scheduled for foreclosure auction. In Georgia, the lender must send notice to the borrower at least 30 days before the sale and publish it in the county legal newspaper for four consecutive weeks. This notice is the start of your research window as an investor. The notice must contain the name and contact information for the person with authority to negotiate the loan on behalf of the lender. The notice should also contain the correct legal description of the property. A faulty notice would potentially be grounds for the foreclosure to be overturned in court.

O

OCGA

The Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia's written body of law. When someone references "Georgia law" on foreclosure auctions, they are almost always pointing to a specific OCGA section. The two that come up most often: OCGA 44-14-162 (the rules governing non-judicial foreclosure sales) and OCGA 9-13-161 (the first Tuesday requirement).

Open Lien / Satisfied Lien

A satisfied lien has been paid off and released in the public record. It needs no action. An open lien has not been released, which means it may still be attached to the property. Open liens are the ones to look at closely before you bid.

Opening Bid

The minimum amount the lender will accept at auction. Usually set at roughly the outstanding loan balance plus fees, though lenders have discretion. If no bid meets or exceeds the opening bid, the lender takes the property back as REO. The opening bid is publicly disclosed on approximately 40% of the properties that remain pending foreclosures by the day of sale, per DistressedProps proprietary data.

P

Plat

A map of a piece of land, drawn from a surveyor's measurements and usually recorded with the county. It shows lot lines, dimensions, easements, and how a lot sits next to its neighbors. Legal descriptions often point to a plat by book and page. If you want to know whether a house sits over a property line, the plat is where to look.

Power of Sale

The clause in a Georgia security deed that allows the lender to sell the property without going to court if the borrower defaults. This clause is what makes Georgia's non-judicial foreclosure process possible. Without it, a lender would need a court order to foreclose.

Pre-Foreclosure

The period after a borrower has defaulted but before the property sells at auction. The borrower still owns it and may still be able to sell, refinance, or work something out with the lender. Some investors reach out to owners during this window to explore buying the property directly, before it ever reaches the auction.

Property Tax Lien

The lien the county holds for unpaid property taxes. It comes ahead of every other lien and is never wiped out by a foreclosure. If the taxes are delinquent when you win, they are yours. Check the county tax commissioner's records before you bid.

Q

Quitclaim Deed

A deed that hands over whatever interest the seller has, with no promise that they have any. No guarantee the title is clear, no guarantee they even own it. Quitclaims are common between family members and in quick transfers. When one shows up in a property's history, it deserves a closer look.

R

Redemption Period

A window of time after a sale during which the previous owner can pay to reclaim the property. Georgia non-judicial foreclosures do not have this for the borrower: once the auction happens, it is done. Georgia tax sales do have a redemption period. The two are different processes and the difference matters.

Remote Bidding

Bidding on a foreclosure auction without physically standing at the courthouse. Some Georgia properties are simultaneously listed on platforms like Xome or Auction.com, which allow investors to register and bid online. When a remote option exists it is often the simpler path, but the underlying courthouse sale is still happening. Confirm both sets of rules before you participate.

REO (Real Estate Owned)

What happens when nobody bids enough at a foreclosure auction. The property reverts to the lender, who now owns it and sells it through their own process, typically listed with an agent or sold in bulk. DistressedProps tracks active foreclosure listings, not REO inventory.

Restrictive Covenants

The rules recorded for a subdivision or community, often called CC&Rs or the declaration. They cover what owners can and cannot do, how the HOA collects dues, and sometimes how an HOA lien is handled in a foreclosure. Every community's covenants are different, so you have to read the ones for that property.

S

Security Deed

Georgia's version of a mortgage, also called a deed to secure debt. The key difference from a traditional mortgage: in Georgia, the lender actually holds title to the property as collateral while the loan is outstanding. The borrower gets title back when the loan is paid off. This is why Georgia can foreclose without going to court: the lender already holds title and is exercising the power of sale.

Senior Lien

The first mortgage, recorded first, with priority over everything else. When a senior lien forecloses, it typically wipes out most of the junior liens behind it. Buying at a first-mortgage foreclosure is generally cleaner for title purposes than buying at a junior lien foreclosure.

Servicer

The company that manages a loan day to day: collecting payments, sending notices, and initiating foreclosure when a borrower defaults. The servicer is often not the original lender. The entity listed in a foreclosure notice is frequently a servicer acting on behalf of whoever owns the underlying debt.

Sheriff's Sale

A property sale run by the county sheriff to collect on a court judgment. Not the same as a mortgage foreclosure auction. Both can happen at the courthouse on the same day, but they involve different legal processes, different payment structures, and different title implications.

Subordination Agreement

An agreement where a lender agrees to move behind another lender in line, even though it filed first. Common when someone refinances a first mortgage but keeps a home equity line. It is the main exception to the filing-date rule for lien priority, and when it is recorded, it shows up in a title search.

T

Tax Sale / Tax Deed Sale

A sale run by the county tax commissioner to collect unpaid property taxes. Not the same as a foreclosure auction. The key distinction: Georgia tax sales come with a redemption period, meaning the previous owner has a window after the sale to pay up and get the property back. DistressedProps currently only covers foreclosure listings, not tax sales.

Tenants in Common

Georgia's default form of co-ownership. Each owner holds a share, and when one dies, that share does not go to the other owners. It goes to their estate and heirs. That is how a surviving spouse can end up co-owning a house with the children, and how one heir who will not sign can cloud the title. Unless a deed clearly creates survivorship, co-owners in Georgia are tenants in common.

Title Insurance

Insurance that protects you if a title problem surfaces after you buy the property, subject to the exceptions of the policy, something that existed before the sale but was not caught in the title search. Old unreleased liens, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs, errors in public records. For foreclosure purchases, where title research happens under time pressure and without normal closing protections, title insurance is the safety net for what the search might have missed.

U

UCC Fixture Filing

A recorded filing that gives a creditor a claim on equipment or fixtures attached to a specific property, such as financed solar panels, HVAC systems, or pools. The equipment may be physically part of the house, but someone else may have a financial claim on it. Searchable through GSCCCA. Find any open fixture filings before you bid.

Upset Bid

In some states, a window exists after a foreclosure auction during which someone can outbid the winner. Georgia does not have this for non-judicial foreclosure auctions. When you win at the courthouse steps in Georgia, you won. The term occasionally creates confusion for investors who have bought in other states.

V

Vesting Deed

The recorded deed that put the current owner's name on the property. It is the starting point for a title search: find it, note when it was recorded, then search forward from that date for anything else filed against the property.

W

Warranty Deed

The strongest deed a seller can give. The seller guarantees the title against claims from anyone, including problems from before they owned it, and promises to defend it. Also called a general warranty deed.

Wrongful Foreclosure

A foreclosure that was conducted incorrectly, meaning the lender failed to follow the required legal process. If a court agrees, the sale can potentially be voided. As a buyer, this is the risk that title insurance and a qualified local attorney help protect you against.

We are investors, not lawyers. This glossary reflects how these terms work in practice at Georgia courthouse auctions. Always verify with a licensed Georgia real estate attorney before making purchasing decisions.