County tax sale drawing outside interest

Unpaid taxes sending 40 parcels to auction block Monday

PERRY COUNTY - Next week's sale of tax-delinquent real estate in Perry County is drawing plenty of interest - and not just from local speculators. Outside investors are taking an interest, too, in the more than three dozen homes and parcels of vacant land that will be offered to the highest bidder.

"We've had several calls from people wanting to know when our tax sale is this year," said Denise Peter, a deputy in the county auditor's office. The News, which published the lists of properties in its legal-advertisements section, has also received calls of interest from investors in California and Oregon.

Last year's bidders included a man from Florida and others from Jasper and New Albany.

This year's sale is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday in the commissioners room. As of Wednesday, 40 properties were scheduled to be sold, although owners can remove their parcels up to the start of the sale by paying back taxes and fees. Several owners have already paid off their tax indebtedness since the advertisements were first published this fall.

Hoosier counties place properties on sale lists when taxes are not paid for the spring installment of the current year and both installments from the previous year. A minimum bid is established for each property but parcels are sold to the highest bidder and bids often exceed the minimum bids. Last year, 13 people registered for the sale and surpluses - bid amounts placed in excess of the minimums - often reached $10,000 or more.

Successful bidders, all of whom must register the morning of the sale, will be required to pay for their purchases the same day with either cash or certified checks or money orders. However, buyers won't be able to take possession or even step foot on the properties for at least a year.

Deeded owners of the real estate, some of whom have moved away from the county and no longer live in the homes being sold at the tax sale, have 12 months to redeem their properties. To do so, however, they will be required to not only pay the amount bid at Monday's tax sale, but interest.

Properties redeemed within six months of Monday's sale carry a mandatory 10-percent interest charge on the minimum bid and any additional surplus paid by tax-sale bidders. Properties redeemed from six to 12 months owe an extra 15 percent on the minimum bid. Interest on surplus amounts remains at 10 percent during the year-long period.

If properties are not redeemed within a year, purchasers can petition the court for tax-title deeds. Buyers are responsible for legal fees.

For more information on Monday's tax sale or an updated listing of properties, call the auditor's office at 547-6427.

The county contracts with an Indianapolis firm, SRI Inc., to conduct the tax sale. A separate fee added to the minimum bids covers the company's fee, preventing taxpayers who pay their property taxes on time from footing the bill for those who don't.