Zacchaeus was formed in 2003 to provide property tax foreclosure services for local government by its founder, Mark D. Bardill, who began practicing in this area of law in 1985. Representing local government in property tax and assessment lien foreclosure is all we do.
Zacchaeus represents 52 units of local government. Whether we represent a small town of less than 500 population, a Coastal Plains county with an economy based in agriculture, forestry, and the military, a top-five urban Piedmont county with a manufacturing, technology and academic base, or a small town and county in the Foothills known for its vineyards, Zacchaeus continues a 40-year tradition of dedication to the property tax community.
We are the only firm that exclusively practices in this area of the law, delivering both mortgage-style and in rem tax foreclosure services. As such, we are the statewide leader in providing this service.
Zacchaeus provides high-quality low-cost services and has developed a unique legal practice that saves local governments and their taxpayers at every turn in the tax foreclosure process. We collect phenomenal amounts of revenue while keeping our fees at a fraction of what the competition charges. This is more important than simply getting the best price for these services, Zacchaeus helps our clients collect maximum revenue while our low fees enable more taxpayers to redeem their property - which reduces the number or properties that actually need to be sold. Collecting revenue while reducing the risk of our taxing units becoming the bidder of last resort at a tax foreclosure sale is a Zacchaeus focus our clients love.
A particularly important aspect of Zacchaeus’ client-focus practices is that, in the overwhelming majority of our cases, we only seek payment for our services and reimbursement for our expenses when there is “money on the table,” such as when the taxpayer redeems a parcel or a parcel is sold at the tax foreclosure sale. This means your unit of local government rarely pays for our fees or expenses along the way – we carry them all!
Zacchaeus offers both mortgage-style and in rem tax foreclosure services. Each has its place in the collection effort, allowing for uniform enforcement so all taxpayers are treated fairly — whether their parcel is more suitable for a mortgage-style case case (higher value, more likely to redeem) or an in rem process (low value, high number of owners and lienholders).
Our team includes two full-time attorneys and 23 full-time support staff, all trained in tax foreclosure work. We divide tasks into specialized groups — Title Search, Document Prep, Certified Mail, Skip-Trace, Court and Sales, Auditing, Business Office, Legal, and Management — to ensure speed, efficiency, and quality control.
At Zacchaeus, we like to say that we are more about changing attitudes than titles. With our fair-minded, cost-sensitive approach, we’ve become the leading firm in North Carolina for tax foreclosure services — no other firm has our experience, capacity, quality and affordability.