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

In Haywood County, Tennessee, the deed books were quiet and, for two centuries, so was this cotton county. Then Ford chose Haywood County for its Blue Oval City, and they have been busy writing new entries at record speed in Stanton. The deeds are still kept by the Register of Deeds at the courthouse in Brownsville, recording all parcels since 1821 and mapped by the Assessor of Property, with taxes collected by the County Trustee.

Brownsville's historic districts and Hatchie River farm country set the small-town cadence of 30- to 60-day home sales, within the state's usual time frame. Another product of this county is the musician Tina Turner, who was born in Nutbush. Her schoolhouse is part of the collection at the Delta Heritage Center.

Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of $119,200 and median rent of $724, alongside a median household income of $46,456.5 and a median real estate tax rate of 0.66 as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Haywood County Property Records

There are three stops on the tour that together cover virtually all of your property record needs. The owner, the appraised value, and the Map-Group-Parcel number, along with several other pieces of information regarding each parcel, are available for free on the state assessment website. The tax bill is on the Trustee's page. The Register of Deeds has split the records equally, with those on hand ranging from 1821 to 2005 and others available on the web for subscribers at ustitlesearch.net

Who Keeps Haywood County Property Records

Tennessee keeps the property records at the county level, and the Public Records Act makes them all available to Tennesseans. Haywood County records are divided into three parts.

• The Register of Deeds posts deeds, trust deeds, releases, modification agreements, federal tax liens, judgments, subdivision plats, and DD214 discharge documents of veterans.

• The Assessor of Property provides tax rolls to the Trustee and the city clerks of Brownsville and Stanton by October 1, keeps the maps up to date, and responds to requests for maps. The rates are not set by the assessor, and collections are not made by the assessor.

• The County Trustee is responsible for collecting all county taxes and maintaining a fair and equitable account of each and every tax collected. The Tennessee Trustee is the state's tax collector.

How to Search Haywood County Property Records Online

• Mark the parcel to be assessed on the state assessment website, and type in the address or owner's name for Haywood County to get the Map-Group-Parcel number, value, and class.

• On TNMap, outline the area where the footprint of the megasite and the Hatchie bottoms meet.

• Use ustitlesearch.net to search by grantor, grantee, type of instrument, subdivisions, book and page, or recording date from 2005 to the present. Subscription only.

• For records prior to 1821, research is available at the Courthouse. Email inquiries are welcome.

• Contact the Trustee at (731) 772-1722 to ensure that taxes are paid up to date.

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

The Register of Deeds is an elected officer who records for the cities of Brownsville, Stanton, Nutbush, Dancyville, and the cotton country in between. On most home purchases, Tennessee has a deed of trust instead of a mortgage. On a mortgage loan in Tennessee, that is the instrument. The Register collects the state's recording taxes at a rate of $3.70 per $1,000 on transfers and $1.15 per $1,000 on secured debt.

The following documents are recorded, all of which are posted in the office:

• Warranty deeds, trust deeds, and other conveyances

• Releases and modification agreements

• Federal tax liens and judgments

• Subdivision plats

• Veterans’ DD214 discharge records

Assessor of Property: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Assessor sets the value of each parcel on a market basis, and Tennessee collects a fraction of the value of each parcel on a class basis. Reappraisals are conducted in accordance with state law to ensure conformity with market conditions. Values are based on local sales, along with builder and investor information, and maps are updated daily in accordance with divisions and transfers.

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 collects payments. Taxes are due the first Monday in October, with the last day of February being the deadline before monthly interest charges kick in.

As county treasurer, the Trustee also administers the state's Tax Relief program for seniors age 65 and older, disabled homeowners, and veterans.

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

There is no tax on property at the state level in Tennessee. Taxes are billed by counties and cities individually.

How the bill is figured

The assessed value of residential and farm buildings is 25% of their appraisal, 40% for commercial and industrial buildings. A home appraised at $140,000 carries a $35,000 assessed value; at a combined 2.30% rate, the bill is $805.

Exemptions and relief

Appealing your value

Always start with the Assessor, as correction requests are often handled at this level. The formal request is made to the County Board of Equalization in June and State Board of Equalization in September, with comparable sales as documentation.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

The Assessor's maps are updated on a daily basis, and the State also makes them available in the public domain. The TNMap assessment viewer projects all of the county's boundaries onto aerial images that have been matched to the assessment data of the Comptroller of Property, and the county's own Blue Oval City page tracks the development.

Details available include:

• Parcel boundaries with ownership and acreage

• Appraised and assessed values by parcel

• The megasite, the Hatchie bottoms, and Brownsville’s districts in aerial view

• Property classes and record-card data

• Statewide layers through TNMap

Tax maps should serve for assessment only and not to be used for surveying. Confirm any boundary of interest found on the recorded plat with a survey conducted by a licensed surveyor, especially if the project boundary touches agricultural land.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

There are two types of sales:

Deed-of-trust foreclosure

If a loan defaults, the substitute trustee named in the deed of trust will advertise and sell the property at a public auction in accordance with Title 35 of the Tennessee Code. No judicial intervention is required, so this is not handled by the county tax collector.

Chancery Court tax sale

Unpaid property taxes are handled in court. The county files a suit in the Chancery Court; the property is then sold under the direction of the Clerk & Master. In Tennessee, property is not sold by virtue of a tax lien certificate; it is sold by court order.

Costs to Access Property Records

The state portals are free, but the Register imposes fees.

The Register collects recordation taxes at recording, and the sworn value on the deed is the official value of the sale.

How to Record a Document

The citations on recordings are based on Title 66, Chapter 24 of the Tennessee Code. It’s a four-step process:

• Prepare the document to Tennessee specifications, including return and preparer addresses, a thorough description of the property, and notarized signatures.

• Attach the requirements for deeds: tax parcel number and an Oath of Consideration, duly executed and notarized.

• Bring the recording taxes, along with the posted fees of $10 for the first two pages, $5 for each additional page (small taxes and processing fees apply).

• File the recording at the Register of Deeds office.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Haywood County Property Records Checklist

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