Jackson County Times

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Final Results of 2009 Tax Certificate Sale

Jackson County Tax Collector, Sherry Brown, feels new approach to sale of tax certificates is ‘much better’ than live auction.
By Sid Riley

The 2009 tax certificate sale of delinquent taxes from the 2008 tax roll is now officially over, and the final results are history. This year the number of delinquent certificates demonstrated an increase of 495 delinquent certificates, up 21%. The overall statistics are shown below:
2007 Tax Roll 2008 Tax Roll
(2008 Certificate Sale) (2009 Certificate Sale)
Total Value of Delinquent Taxes $1,107,599 $1,436,732 up +10.3%
Number of Parcels Delinquent 2384 2879 up +20.7%
Value of Tax Cert. Sold $961,156 $944,251 same
Value of Unsold Certificates $139,765 $492,481 up +352%
Number of active bidders 51 82 up +60.7%

Discussion –
The total revenues from the certificate sale for delinquent taxes auction process was almost identical to the revenues realized the previous year. The most significant change in the structure of the certificate sale was the large increase in the number of certificates with no bids during the auction period, which were returned to the county for sale at a standard interest offering of 18%, on a first come-first served basis.

Any certificates remaining unsold will be held by the county, and must be paid with interest when the final disposition of the certificate or the property occurs. Certificates mature after two years, and the holder can then apply for a tax deed sale. These public sales are held on the steps of the court house after proper public notification and advertising has occurred. When the tax deed is sold at these auctions, all outstanding tax certificates are included in the minimum sales bid price.

Sherry Brown is very pleased with the new process which was used this year for bidding the interest rates for delinquent tax certificates. This was the first year the tax certificate auction was conducted via the internet over a three week period, instead of through a live auction held on one selected date. “The entire process went very smoothly”, stated Brown. “People could participate from their home computer at a much more relaxed and slower pace, in a much more comfortable environment. We had nothing but favorable comments about how simple, easy and convenient the new process was”. The new process certainly enabled more bidders to participate, with the number of active bidders increasing by 61%.

Under the new process, individuals planning to participate in the certificates sale must first register. They are required to prepay 10% of the stated amount they plan to invest in certificates. Once the prepayment has been made, they are assigned a bidders number. They can use this number to bid on selected certificates, using their home or office computer. If they reach the limit of their investment based on the 10% prepayment, they are notified by the computer system. They can monitor the status of their bids as the three week bidding period transpires.
So, the 2008 tax story has been told, and certificates have been sold. We are almost half way through the 2009 tax period. And time and taxes go on…….

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