Allen County coffers gained nearly $790,000 in back property taxes during this year’s tax sale.
About 200 people from all over the country showed up Wednesday to bid on 667 properties with $1.7 million in taxes owed, county Treasurer Sue Orth said.
Properties that are at least 18 months delinquent are eligible to be sold at the auction, and properties that did not sell will be deeded to the county, Orth said.
The auction brought in about $6 million in total property sales, county Auditor Tera Klutz said.
This year’s sales of 310 properties fell below the 436 properties sold in 2012, which Klutz said is a good sign.
“Tax sales mean people cannot afford to pay their property taxes,” Klutz said. “If more people can pay taxes and keep their properties, then we have fewer properties in the tax sale, and that’s positive.”
The number of properties in the sale has steadily dropped since 2010, when the county had 1,416 properties for sale.
The $789,390 in back taxes the county will receive is also less than the $1.1 million received at last year’s sale.
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