While it might not have been quite as exciting as tax auctions used to be, owners of properties with delinquent property taxes are probably loving the newer, quieter, computerized bidding system that enabled tax lien buyers to quietly punch in bids on their personal keyboards rather than shouting them out and struggling to be heard[1]. The average bid at the Madison County (IL) tax auction was “just under four percent,” reported treasurer Kurt Prenzler, who ran on the promise to use this computerized system in his tax sales moving forward …

In Illinois, tax lien auctions will now be taped as part of an initiative to “guarantee fairness” at local tax auctions. The bill, proposed by state senator Bill Haine, includes legislation to require that all tax sales be videotaped and that will prevent bidding from culminating in a tie[1]. Illinois auctions have faced scrutiny recently due to practices that allegedly “discouraged free bidding at lower rates.” Lawmakers are concerned that there is no policy in place permitting auctions to be reviewed, and believe that the mandatory tapings could help resolve …

While many advocates’ groups in Detroit, Michigan are currently engaged in trying to keep real estate investors who purchase large volumes of property in tax lien sales out of the city and preferably away from the auctioneer, Wayne County commissioners endorsed a plan yesterday that is a little more investor-friendly than many of the recent proposals. Under the proposed legislation, any individual or company whose property taxes are more than two years behind cannot participate in tax auctions[1]. Bernard Parker, commissioner who proposed the ban, says that he hopes that …

In Arizona, small business owners and homeowners alike are “buying time” on their property taxes by simply opting out of paying, reports Coconino County Treasurer Bonny Lynn[1]. In this Arizona county, the number of tax liens for sale this January is fully double the number just three years ago in 2007 before the worst of the bust hit the state. Lynn believes that this is just another product of the state’s struggling economy, but Dharmesh Vora, president of the Vora Financial Group in Coconino, believes that many businesses and homeowners …

In a transaction that helped Harding, New Jersey recoup almost $52,000 in property taxes and that snagged one savvy buyer a luxurious estate at a 71 percent discount, a New Vernon estate in Harding, New Jersey was sold for $6.4 million online[1]. The estate, called Fawn Hill, sold in November of 2010 at what is known as an “absolute auction,” which basically is an auction with no minimum or reserve. The house goes to whoever bids the most.
This auction is a great example of why both real estate investors and …

All over the country, homeowners and their municipalities are discovering that they are going to have to find a way to work together on utility bills. In many areas of the country, local governments are reporting that delinquent accounts have tripled as homeowners struggle to make payments or simply inform the country that the bills cannot – and will not – be paid[1]. This creates serious problems for city governments, which are responsible for schooling and public safety, among other things, and often rely on the current year’s tax dollars …

John Rogers, a state representative in Alabama from Birmingham, thinks that the interest rates on Alabama property tax liens are outrageous, and he is making it one of his goals for 2011 to change the process[1]. Currently, Alabama charges a 12 percent interest rate on delinquent property taxes. If the government fails to collect the taxes, then ultimately the liens are sold at auction. During the auction, lien buyers can “overbid” on the liens, paying an excess of what the lien is worth. The new owner of the tax lien …

In Closter, New Jersey, the small town was set to auction off a local mall at a tax lien auction in an effort to “recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes from…owners.” And investors were at the ready, eager to bid on the commercial property. Now, however, the entire process is stalled thanks to a last-minute bankruptcy filing by the property’s owners which effectively prevented the sale from moving forward[1].
In this case, bidders were lucky. The bankruptcy filing happened before the sale rather than immediately after. When the …

What would you feel if one day, you opened your property tax bill and it reflected your $17,000 water bill lien – especially when the said lien is in question and is still being investigated? Perhaps the answer will be close to what Ayanna Yancey-Cato said, “Completely devastated” [1].
Ayanna Yancey-Cato is just one of the many Brockton, Massachusetts residents who were surprised to see their unpaid water bill in their property tax bill. A single mother of three, Yancey-Cato says of the fiasco, “I’m at a loss for words …

New Jersey knows all about tough economic times, but tax lien sales numbers seem to indicate that things are getting even tighter, according to Al Stanley, a local tax collector in Galloway, New Jersey whose township recently held its biggest tax lien sale ever, selling more than 1,200 liens for $1.6 million[1]. Stanley reports that the number of liens being sold each year has been on the rise since 2004 – the beginning of the end of the real estate boom by many analysts’ timelines – and that the number …