Benton County, TN Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps

The Kentucky Lake waters of Benton County are the only freshwater pearl-growing site in North America. The county's land records are just as unique: lots on Lake Shore, river bottom farms, and small town squares, all of which are recorded at the courthouse in Camden. The Assessor of Property, County Trustee, and Register of Deeds are all located there. The books date back to the organization of the county in 1835 on the west side of the Tennessee River.

Benton County was founded around the lake. The towns of Camden and Big Sandy are located at the base of the river; Eva and Holladay are shore towns, and Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park overhangs the river at Pilot Knob. Homes and lake places sell in Tennessee's usual 30- to 60-day market, with the Patsy Cline memorial near Camden being the county's gloomiest achievement.

Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of $108,550 and median rent of $668, alongside a median household income of $46,574.5 and a median real estate tax rate of 0.62 as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Benton County Property Record

Each parcel's owner, appraised value, and Map-Group-Parcel number are available for free at the state assessment site. The Trustee’s page features due dates, payment information, and balances through the state Trustee system. The Register of Deeds processed documents for the public using the index.

Who Keeps Benton County Property Records

The Public Records Act places property records at the county level in Tennessee, and the records are available to Tennessee citizens. Benton County allocates the responsibilities in three ways:

• The Register of Deeds is elected to a four-year term in the same August election that elects the governor. The Register records deeds, deeds of trust, liens, and plats that provide notice of ownership to the public. The state recordation tax is collected in the office at recording.

• The Assessor of Property values all the county’s property, assigns Map-Group-Parcel numbers, and retains the record cards.

• The County Trustee receives the county's property taxes. The Trustee in Tennessee is the tax collector.

Delinquent tax cases are tried by the Clerk & Master in the Chancery Court. Camden and Big Sandy levy a separate city tax.

How to Search Benton County Property Records Online

Do it this way, and it will be easy.

• Identify the parcel at the state assessment site. Type “Benton County,” then copy and paste the Map-Group-Parcel number, value, and class.

• Map the boundary on TNMap.

• Take the owner’s name to the Register. The index is run by party name, legal description, the dates of the records, or by type, and the staff is available to ensure retrieval is speedy.

• Trace back the grantors to the preceding grantee and use the same index for deeds of trust, liens, and releases. The price is shown on each deed under the sworn value.

• Call the Trustee at (731) 584-6211 to ensure taxes are up-to-date.

Register of Deeds: Deeds, Deeds of Trust, and Plats

The Register of Deeds records for the communities of Camden, Big Sandy, and the communities on and near the lake and rivers from Eva to Holladay. The most common instrument on financed purchases in Tennessee is a deed of trust, instead of a mortgage. The Register also receives the state recordation taxes as they come due when recorded with conveyances.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and other conveyances

• Deeds of trust, releases, assignments, and modifications

• Liens, leases, and judgments

• Powers of attorney and plats

• Military discharges and UCC fixture filings

Assessor of Property: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Assessor values each parcel at market value, and Tennessee levies a fraction based on class. The Map-Group-Parcel number is assigned by the office, the record cards are retained in the office, and the office provides values to the state's assessment database at state-scheduled reappraisals.

Use the state assessment site or call to find:

• The current owner of record for any parcel

• The Map-Group-Parcel number and legal description

• The appraised value and the assessed value after the class ratio

• The property class, such as residential, farm, or commercial

• Characteristics like square footage, year built, and acreage

County Trustee: Tax Bills and Payments

The Trustee bills and collects county taxes; interest and due dates are detailed on the office's page. Taxes are due the first Monday of October, and the final day of February is the deadline before monthly interest starts.

The state Tax Relief program for seniors, disabled homeowners, and veterans is administered by the Trustee. The City bills homes that are within the city limits of Camden and Big Sandy.

Property Tax in Benton County: Classification, Exemptions, and Appeals

A state property tax does not exist in Tennessee. A bill from Benton County includes county and city taxes, and it starts with a fraction.

How the bill is figured

The assessment ratio for residential and farm property is 25%, and 40% for commercial and industrial. A lake house appraised at $175,000 carries a $43,750 assessed value; at a combined 2.30% rate, the bill is about $1,006. The rate never comes near the full appraisal.

Exemptions and relief

Appealing your value

Call the Assessor at (731) 584-7615, as corrected information resolves many cases. The formal appeal is made to the County Board of Equalization in June and to the State Board of Equalization and is based on comparable sales.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

The state is responsible for the county's parcel mapping. The TNMap assessment viewer displays all Benton County boundaries overlaid on aerial photography, tied to the Comptroller’s assessment data, and Kentucky Lake is the long shoreline feature along the eastern side of the map.

Details available include:

• Parcel boundaries with ownership and acreage

• Appraised and assessed values by parcel

• The lakeshore, Pilot Knob, and the Big Sandy embayment in aerial view

• Property classes and record-card data

• Statewide layers through TNMap

Tax maps are not necessarily to be used for surveys, and shorelines to elevations of the TVA should not be treated carelessly. Record a plat and licensed survey to prove any boundary that is important.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

Tennessee uses two types of forced sales.

Deed-of-trust foreclosure

When a loan defaults, the substitute trustee named under the deed of trust advertises and sells at public auction under Title 35 of the Tennessee Code. No judicial authority is needed. That trustee is not the tax collector.

Chancery Court tax sale

Taxes that are delinquent go through the courthouse. Most sales are followed by a one-year right of redemption, and the county files suit in the Chancery Court, which is then presided over by the Clerk & Master conducting the sale. The property does not go up for sale in Tennessee as a tax lien property, only through the court.

Costs to Access Property Records

The state portals are free of charge. Copying and recording are charged fees.

How to Record a Document

The provisions of this act shall be contained in the Tennessee Code in Chapter 24. There are four steps:

• Create the document to Tennessee specifications: Notarized signatures, complete property description, and preparer’s return address.

• Attach the deed requirements: tax parcel number, total value/consideration, and signed Oath of Consideration.

• The recording fee and recording taxes: $0.37 per $100 on the transfer, $0.115 per $100 on secured debt over $2,000, to be paid at the time of recording.

• Record in person or by mail with fees. The originals are returned to you.

• Verify the address at the state assessment location; verify the name on the most recent deed with the Register at (731) 584-6661. There is a lag in tax rolls after a recent sale.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Benton County Property Records Checklist

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