The appellants contend the trial court erred in relying on OCGA § 48-4-47 to dismiss their complaint against the appellees to recover property sold at a tax sale to satisfy unpaid property taxes. OCGA § 48-4-47 provides that once the right of redemption has been foreclosed by the providing of notice to the delinquent taxpayer and the passing of the barment date, the delinquent taxpayer cannot file or maintain suit to invalidate the tax deed without first paying or tendering to the new owner the full redemption amount, which includes the price paid for the property at the tax sale plus taxes, costs, and penalties that escalate with each passing year. The appellants, who are delinquent taxpayers, did not pay or tender the redemption amount before or after filing suit against the new owner to challenge the validity of the tax sale of their residence and the resulting tax deed. The appellants argue that the trial court nevertheless erred in dismissing their complaint, because an exception to the statutory payment or tender requirement applies and because the payment or tender requirement of OCGA § 48-4-47 violates their constitutional due process rights. We reject those arguments and affirm. 1. The delinquent taxpayers, appellants Sallie M. Saffo and her husband, Forrest J. Saffo, purchased the property at issue in 1983. For the next seven years, the property taxes were paid out of an escrow account connected with the mortgage. The Saffos knew that they had to pay property taxes and knew that the taxes were no longer being paid from the escrow account after 1990. Nevertheless, from 1991 on, the Saffos did not pay property taxes. A tax lien attached to the property, which was later foreclosed, and on February 1, 2000, the Fulton County Sheriff sold the property at a tax sale to the highest bidder, appellee Foxworthy, Inc., for $51,406.88.
Under OCGA § 48-4-40 1, the Saffos had an initial period of 12 months, until February 1, 2001, to redeem the property by paying the redemption amount to Foxworthy. They failed to do so. On February 8, 2001, shortly after the expiration of the initial redemption period, Mr. Saffo met with Foxworthy’s day-to-day manager, appellee Charles L. Wilson, III, to ask about redeeming the property. Although the initial 12-month redemption period had expired, the Saffos could still redeem the property by paying Foxworthy the redemption amount because Foxworthy had not yet served notice of foreclosure of the right of redemption. Wilson explained the redemption requirements to Mr. Saffo, but the Saffos again did not redeem the property.
