The recent Humboldt County auction of tax-delinquent property brought in a total of $102,450. The county took title to 43 different pieces of property on which owners owed taxes - making this the largest tax-delinquent property sale in Humboldt County.
Before property is sold, owners have repeated opportunities to pay the taxes and stop the process. After one year's failure to pay in full, the treasurer's office puts a lien on the property. Owners receive notice. The second year without a zero balance for taxes owed, the lien continues and the amount increases. After the third year, the county takes the title to the property.
Even then, the owner can still come in, pay the taxes in full and redeem the property - a zero balance stops the clock on the process. A title search and preparation for auction takes almost another two years, so it's close to a five-year process. During the interim, the treasurer's office staff make every effort to get owners to pay the taxes and keep their property.
The tax auction is held yearly on the second Friday in April.
The amount owed in taxes on this year's 43 pieces of property was $25,189 .
Of the $102,450 made on the sale, the county retains the first $300 in profit, and 10 percent of the next $10,000 to help pay administrative costs for all the work during that 5-year process. The remaining $62,071.30 from this year's sale goes into a separate holding account.
The previous owners of the properties sold have a year to submit a claim for the net amount of money gained on their piece of property. If they don't make the claim with a year, the money goes into the general fund of the county and can't be reclaimed.
Commissioner Dan Cassinelli asked Humboldt County Treasurer Gina Rackley how often the county ends up with the remainder of the money on a piece of property - she answered "not often."
"The people have all been notified, and they start watching and as soon as the auction is over, they put in their claims," Rackley explained. No claims are paid before the full year after the sale is up to ensure there aren't any conflicting claims that need to be cleared up. "Most of the time it's clean and simple," said Rackley.
A professional auctioneer - Bill Sullivan - handled the bids, and information on each piece of property was projected on a screen visible to all the bidders. "We received compliments on how well it worked," said Rackley, adding that all 43 pieces of property were sold in only about an hour and a half.[[In-content Ad]]
