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

The red-brick courthouse was so well liked by Bledsoe County that it was retained for more than a hundred years. But it wasn’t cost-effective, leading to a court battle in 1908. The County offices still occupy the 1909 classical revival building in Pikeville at the top of the Sequatchie Valley. The County Trustee, Register of Deeds, and Assessor of Property can be found there.

Bledsoe County was formed in 1807 from Cherokee land and a portion of Roane County. Covering 407 square miles, it extends from valley farms to the edge of the plateau, including East Tennessee’s tallest free-falling waterfall, Fall Creek Falls. The typical time for homes and farms to move in Tennessee is 30 to 60 days.

Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of $161,600 and median rent of $743, alongside a median household income of $55,684 and a median real estate tax rate of 0.39 as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Bledsoe County Property Records

Each parcel is free to view on the state assessment site and includes the owner, appraised value, and Map-Group-Parcel number. The balances of the Trustees are routed through the state Trustee system. Documents are served by the Register of Deeds at the courthouse.

Who Keeps Bledsoe County Property Records

The Public Records Act makes Tennessee's property records open to Tennessee citizens, and Tennessee keeps property records at the county level. Bledsoe County has divided the task into three sections, which are all accessible from the Bledsoe County website:

• The Register of Deeds maintains deed, deed of trust, and lien records at the courthouse. The state recordation taxes are collected by the office at recording.

• The Assessor of Property values each parcel, gives it a Map-Group-Parcel number, and retains the record cards.

• Call or email the County Trustee to pay the county's property taxes. The Trustee is the tax collector in Tennessee.

The suits for delinquency in taxes are conducted by the Clerk & Master in the Chancery Court. The City of Pikeville levies its own city tax.

How to Search Bledsoe County Property Records Online

It’s easy if you do it this way.

• Mark out the parcel to be assessed in the state assessment data. Under Bledsoe County, type in the address or owner name, and copy the Map-Group-Parcel number, value, and class.

• On TNMap, sketch the boundary; the valley's straight walls will quickly separate the floor farms from the rim tracts.

• Use the Register's index to search by grantor and grantee at the courthouse or via email or a TitleSearcher subscription.

• Run the same index for deeds of trust, liens, and releases, following the chain of title backwards, from the grantor to the prior grantee. The price is listed on each deed under the sworn value.

• Call the Trustee to verify up-to-date taxes.

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

The communities in the valley and plateau of Pikeville are covered by the Register of Deeds, an elected official, who records for them. On most financed property purchases, Tennesseans will obtain home loans based on deeds of trust, not mortgages. The Register also collects the state recordation taxes, due when recorded, with conveyances that specify the total value or consideration, whichever is the highest.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and other conveyances

• Deeds of trust, releases, assignments, and modifications

• Liens, judgments, and amendments

• Powers of attorney and plats

• Military discharges and UCC fixture filings

Note that the office is only open until noon on Thursdays.

Assessor of Property: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Assessor values each parcel at market value, and Tennessee levies a fraction of the value based on the class of the parcel. The Map-Group-Parcel number is assigned by the office, and the record cards are retained by the office; the assessments are entered into the state’s assessment database, with values being updated against the market at each reappraisal date set by the state.

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

County taxes are collected by the Trustee. Taxes are due the first Monday in October, and the final day of February is the deadline before the monthly interest begins.

The Trustee administers the state Tax Relief program for qualifying seniors, disabled homeowners, and veterans.

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

Tennessee has no state property tax. A Bledsoe County bill includes both county and city taxes, and it begins with a fraction.

How the bill is figured

The assessment rates are 25% for residential and farm property and 40% for commercial and industrial property. A home appraised at $160,000 carries a $40,000 assessed value; at a combined 1.80% rate, the bill is $720. The rate will not reach the entire appraisal.

Exemptions and relief

Appealing your value

Contact the Assessor; corrected information can resolve many cases. The formal grievance will be filed by the County Board of Equalization in June and then the State Board of Equalization, based on comparable sales.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

The state carries the county’s parcel mapping. The TNMap assessment viewer draws every Bledsoe County boundary over aerial imagery, linked to the Comptroller’s assessment data, with the valley trench and the plateau rim plain visible from above.

Details available include:

• Parcel boundaries with ownership and acreage

• Appraised and assessed values by parcel

• Valley floor, plateau rim, and the Fall Creek Falls country in aerial view

• Property classes and record-card data

• Statewide layers through TNMap

Tax maps are for tax purposes, not for surveying, and the rim-edge lines should be cared for. Record a plat and a licensed survey to prove any boundary that is important.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

Tennessee uses two types of forced sales.

Deed-of-trust foreclosure

If a loan defaults, the substitute trustee provided for in the deed of trust advertises and sells the property at public auction under Title 35 of the Tennessee Code. No court orders are necessary. The trustee here is not the County Trustee.

Chancery Court tax sale

Non-payment of taxes goes to the courthouse. Most sales are conducted after the county files suit in the Chancery Court, which is done by the Clerk & Master, with a one-year right of redemption after most sales. In Tennessee, the property is sold through the court, and they do not sell tax-lien certificates.

Costs to Access Property Records

The state portals are free. Fees apply to copies, the subscription index, and recording.

The Register collects recordation taxes at recording, and the sworn value on the deed becomes the public record of the price.

How to Record a Document

The Tennessee Code is the source of the recording guidelines, and it is found in Title 66, Chapter 24. There are four steps:

• Create a document to Tennessee standards, including notarized signatures, a complete property description, and the preparer’s return address.

• Enter the deed requirements: tax parcel number, total value/consideration, and the Oath of Consideration (which is signed).

• Transfer recording fee: $0.37 per $100.00 plus recording taxes due at time of recording: $0.115 per $100.00 secured debt over $2,000.00.

• Record at the courthouse or by mail with fees included. The originals are returned after indexing.

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