Daily Journal Reports Auction Pressures Property Owners to Pay Taxes in Franklin

From the Johnson County Daily Journal:

The overdue taxes owed on just three properties in Franklin could help pay for most of the annual paving and crack-sealing work the city wants to do.

That’s why the county will have a tax sale again this year, to try to collect about $1.9 million in past-due taxes owed to local governments.

Properties in the tax sale this year include small pieces of land, homes, businesses and vacant lots in subdivisions. For example, a person owes $150 in overdue taxes for a driveway to a home in Nineveh. A homeowner is past due $5,000 for a home in the Carefree subdivision in the Center Grove area. About $20,000 is owed by a company for part of a business complex at State Road 135 and State Road 252 in Trafalgar.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/Auction-pressures-property-own_1406595998/

Times: Selling No Man's Land at Tax Sales a Losing Game

From the Northwest Indiana Times:

The Lake County treasurer's office is preparing its 2014 parade of neglect.

Buyers soon will be able to bid on acres of gutted buildings and the overgrown foundations of once-thriving neighborhoods from a list of at least 14,000 tax-delinquent properties, whose owners abandoned them to fate long ago.

County Treasurer John Petalas said sometimes the naive may buy them, sight unseen. Tax sale veterans usually give wide berth, forcing him and county commissioners into the expense of recycling them for sale, year after year.

"They should pass a law that takes abandoned properties off the tax rolls and gives them to the cities, so they can do something it and get it off my tax sale," he said.

State Rep. Edward Clere, a Republican from downstate New Albany, would like nothing better than to pass such a law, something he has been trying to do for some time.

"This is an example of a problem that a well-designed land bank would address. The idea involves wiping off the back taxes and starting with a clean slate, so properties like this aren't so upside down," Clere said.

State law now only permits county government to aggregate abandoned properties this way, but Clere said the county officials are more interested in chasing the mirage of collecting the back taxes through resale than writing them off to a land bank.

Clere said a land bank "could transfer the property to a private or public developer to fulfill certain requirements to rehab the existing buildings or build new houses and get these properties back on the tax rolls and occupied within 18 months."

...

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/selling-no-man-s-land-at-tax-sales-a-losing/article_643ca255-4042-597a-9c83-e12ed220e549.html

Tribune Reports New Law Allows Easier Sales of Abandoned Home

From the South Bend Tribune:

Selling vacant and abandoned homes at tax sales will soon be easier, thanks to a new state law.

The law changes some aspects of county tax sales, and gives executive branches -- mayors, commissioners and the like -- the power to conduct sales specifically for vacant and abandoned homes.

The law, Senate Enrolled Act 422, takes effect July 1, along with many other approved bills from the 2014 Indiana General Assembly.

South Bend Deputy Mayor Mark Neal said he encourages any effort to reduce the number of vacant and abandoned homes.

"Senate Bill 422 represents an encouraging step forward," Neal said. "Here in South Bend, we have seen property owners who are unresponsive or don't reside locally, creating intractable problems with certain properties. Any legislation that supports the goal of fewer vacant and abandoned homes is welcome."

County Treasurer Mike Kruk, though, isn't sure the sale will help with certain homes in particularly bad condition that continue to reappear on the tax sale cycle -- those just aren't desirable, he said, even if the prices are lower at the abandoned home sale, which the legislation allows.

"My guess is that a lot of these vacant and abandoned homes are already on the tax sale, and I don't know if this is going to help sell them," Kruk said.

Whoever may initiate the sale, whether it be a city or county executive, will also have to certify each home as vacant and abandoned before the sale. Those interested in buying an abandoned property will be able to go through the house, with some restrictions -- a change from the current rules, where it's considered trespassing, Kruk said.

When it comes to the yearly tax sale, the legislation also changes how recording fees are collected. Now, homebuyers through the tax sale will have to pay the fee upfront, though Kruk and his partners in the auditor's office are still working out how best to collect it.

The new law also changes some percentages charged during the tax sale, such as the tax per annum an owner must pay to get the home back from the tax sale buyer. Currently, the owner must pay 10 percent on the opening bid, as well as 10 percent per annum of whatever the buyer paid over the bid.

Under the new law, that changes to 5 percent per annum, to discourage buyers who purchase homes at the tax sale hoping to make money off of people buying their homes back, Kruk said.

Also under the new law, the county will be able to charge a fee to those bidding in the tax sale, with the funds going only toward mitigation of vacant and abandoned housing. The fee can be up to $25 for a person participating in just one sale, up to $100 for someone participating in more than one.

Kruk said he didn't know if it would be worth it to charge such a fee in St. Joseph County's tax sale; last year, 60 people participated in the tax sale. If all 60 were charged the $100 fee, it would amount to $6,000 -- barely enough to demolish one abandoned home, he reasoned.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/politics/new-law-allows-abandoned-home-sale/article_42b9c7ba-f47f-11e3-943c-001a4bcf6878.html

Palladium-Item Reports Properties Up for Deed Sale Tomorrow

From the Richmond Palladium-Item:

The Wayne County commissioners will hold a deed sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday to try to sell properties where the owners have not paid property taxes for the past 18 months.

The sale will be in Council Chambers at the Wayne County Administration Building, 401 E. Main St. in Richmond.

Twenty-nine properties are for sale, although the city of Richmond will purchase 17 properties as part of its ongoing blight elimination effort.

That leaves 12 properties, mostly vacant pieces of land, that will be for sale.

The city of Richmond will buy the parcels for the cost of title searches and legal advertising. Estimated cost for the 17 properties is about $4,250.

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014305190013

Palladium-Item Reports Blight Law Changes Property Tax Sales

From the Richmond Palladium-Item:

Local officials last week applauded the signing of Senate Enrolled Act 422 by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a piece of legislation aimed at helping county officials in the struggle with abandoned and blighted properties.

The law is designed to keep profiteers, those buying properties at county tax sales for profit and not for renovation, away from those sales. It creates a registry of those ineligible to participate in tax sales and will help local officials identify abandoned and blighted properties and speed their tax sales.

"This legislation seeks to address the growing number of abandoned homes around Indiana,” said Rep. Dick Hamm, who co-sponsored the bill. “It is our goal for individuals to purchase these properties and renovate them rather than simply collecting the interest payments on them.”

Residents who are delinquent on property taxes and whose properties are sold at tax sale have up to one year to pay the owed taxes, as well as any applicable fines and costs, to redeem the property.

Often, investors buy the properties at tax sales and hold on to them, gambling that the original owner eventually will pay the delinquent taxes. If that happens, the investor gets his money back as well as interest accrued from the time of the sale up until the original owner makes good on his tax bill.

In the meantime, the properties stand abandoned and blighted.

SEA 422 reduces the amount of interest paid to those who buy a property at a tax sale from 10 percent to 5 percent on the amount above a minimum bid and from 6 to 5 percent on refunds on certain tax sales.

"There are many who buy properties and then just collect the interest. It’s become a cottage industry,” said Tony Foster, director of Richmond’s metropolitan development office. “This will benefit the city because now we will have legitimate buyers at the tax sale.”

County Director of Development Steve Higinbotham said the new law will help clarify and make more transparent the tax sale process.
...

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014305100020

Leader Reports Washington County Tax Sale Scheduled for March 5th

From the Salem Leader:

Washington County hopes to recover money it is owed from delinquent taxes by selling 22 parcels through a sale planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 5.

"This is property that hasn't sold in past tax sales," Bob Woodward, Washington County Treasurer, said. "To get it back on the tax rolls, they (the property) has been turned over to the commissioners. They have a sale - and on this one, they will go down to as low as 25 percent of taxes owed on it."

The commissioners could have held the sale on the Internet, but Woodward said that hasn't worked well for the county in the past. The commissioners decided to have a live auction which will be held in the basement of the courthouse.

"Bidding will start out at 25 percent of the taxes owed on it and go from there," Woodward said.

It will be conducted by SRI, the company that also handles sheriff sales for the county. There are 23 properties listed on SRI's website but Woodward said one, at 308 S. Mill in Salem, has been taken off the list. He explained the owner is deceased and the state has given the property to the city.

Salem Mayor David Bower said the city will probably demolish the structure, but said there are a lot of hoops that have to be jumped through first.

"We've been working with the building department," Bower said. "It's our responsibility to look at any unsafe building. Our obligation is to remove unsafe buildings especially ones that have been abandoned."

Woodward described many of the parcels as "less than desirable" and added that some are landlocked.
...

http://www.salemleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=8366&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=20&S=1

News Sentinel Reports "Bad" Year was Good One for Allen County Community Development Corp

From the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:

The agency that sells local tax-delinquent properties to good owners willing to fix them up raised almost $200,000 less last year than it did in 2012.

But to the head of the Allen County Community Development Corp., that apparent setback is a blessing in disguise because it indicates the number of owners unable to pay their property taxes is on the decline.

“Our goal is to put ourselves out of business, so I look at it as a positive. Three or four years ago we had hundreds of properties for sale,” said County Building Commissioner Dave Fuller, who in his visit to the County Commissioners Friday is expected to report that in 2013 the corporation sold 49 properties with structures and another 106 vacant lots. That generated $250,276, or about $30,000 more than corporation's annual budget, but significantly less than the $430,000 raised in 2012 or the $775,000 in 2011.

Last year's sales leave the corporation with just three properties containing structures, although Fuller expects to receive about 50 that were not claimed during the county's 2013 sale of tax-delinquent properties. The corporation also owns about 560 vacant lots, most of them in central and southeast Fort Wayne, but many of them can't be sold because they're in a floodplain, are inaccessible or for other reasons.

Formed in 2002 to protect county government from liability, the not-for-profit corporation accepts ownership of only those properties it believes can be sold to responsible buyers. Other tax-sale properties may remain under the jurisdiction of the Commissioners.

Prior to creation of the corporation, the county often donated such properties to not-for-profit development groups or sold them to speculators for as little as $150,000 just to get them back on the tax rolls. Fuller said the corporation's initial asking price is generally about five times the property's annual tax bill. The agency prefers buyers who will live in the home, but will sell to responsible landlords or “flippers.”

...

The corporation now owns about 685 properties, Fuller said, compared to a recession-inflated 2,200 four years ago.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140131/NEWS/140139971/0/SEARCH

Daily Journal Reports Johnson County Commissioners Sale Planned for Spring

From the Johnson County Daily Journal:

The county will host a new type of auction this spring as another effort to collect unpaid taxes on properties.

The county will have a commissioners’ certificate sale, where 57 properties with overdue taxes will be offered at a discount. The properties weren’t purchased by anyone in the fall tax sale, where buyers can pay the total overdue taxes and become new owners of the property within a year.

The certificate sale allows the county to set a minimum bid price and auction off those properties. Commissioner Ron West suggested some properties should be offered for a starting price of $1 to entice someone to buy it and start paying property taxes again.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/Delinquent-properties-going-to_1391047269/#.UurRfxBdVx4

Times Calls for Counties to Continue to Publish Full List of Tax Sale Properties

From the Northwest Indiana Times:

State Rep. Rick Niemeyer was trying to save county government some money with House Bill 1101. But those savings would have come at the public's expense.

The legislation, now before the House Local Government Committee, appears to be dead. Good thing.

Niemeyer, R-Lowell, proposed to eliminate the publication of the full list of properties to be sold for nonpayment of back taxes. In Lake County, as well as in other heavily populated areas, that's a long list of properties.

But simply telling people to go online to get the information or to pick up a printed copy at the county auditor's office isn't doing the public a service.

And this is, after all, about serving the public.

And let's face it. The number of page views for a county government website is typically nowhere near the circulation of a newspaper.

Nor does everyone have Internet access or the ability or inclination to go to the county auditor's office to pick up a copy of the list.

Putting the information in the newspaper, in printed form, gets it in front of the public in an easy-to-read format. There's no worry about printing the list, because the newspaper already has the entire printed list. Interested bidders and others simply have to circle the properties they're interested in.

...

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-continue-to-publish-full-list-for-tax-sales/article_f6287551-05f2-57c6-9367-5595220daeb6.html

Pharos-Tribune Reports Logansport Nabs More Than 25 Properties in Commissioners' Sale

From the Logansport Pharos-Tribune:

The city of Logansport acquired more than 25 properties in a Cass County commissioners sale Wednesday that officials hope to improve and market to avoid having to maintain them.

Logansport Mayor Ted Franklin announced last week there were 38 properties in the commissioners sale the city would like to acquire because their neglected states are requiring maintenance from the city anyway.

Logansport Building Commissioner Bill Drinkwine represented the city at the sale and did not cast a bid on any of the 38 properties if another attendee did.The city paid a total of $3,040 for the properties. The expense was drawn from miscellaneous expenses in the city’s rainy day fund. Drinkwine said the total came out to 26 or 27 residential parcels along with parcels that housed industrial activities for decades at 1 General St.

- See more at: http://www.pharostribune.com/local/x12781807/City-nabs-more-than-25-properties-in-commissioners-sale#sthash.HLvlGky3.dpuf

Pharos-Tribune Reports Logansport to Take Unsold Land from Commissioners' Sale

From the Logansport Pharos-Tribune:

Logansport officials have worked out a deal with Cass County officials to acquire several properties if they’re not sold in the upcoming county commissioners sale Wednesday.

Logansport Mayor Ted Franklin said there are 38 properties of the sale’s 122 the city would like to take on if they are not sold. He added the city will not bid on properties at the sale and that the county has agreed to allow the city to take them at no cost other than fees associated with required paperwork.

“Our job is to try to get [the properties] back on the tax rolls,” said Cass County Commissioner Jim Sailors. If the city thinks it can do that, then it should be given the chance, he added.Franklin said he hopes the city can make the properties it takes on more marketable. Because of the neglectful absentee owners, he said the city is essentially responsible for the properties already through tasks like mowing.

“We have nothing to lose,” Franklin said. “We’re maintaining them anyway.”Franklin added that a title search on a property costs $95, which is less than it costs the city for one mowing on a neglected property.

But there are many things the city can’t do without owning the properties, Franklin continued — for instance, tearing down a dilapidated shed or clearing dead vegetation.

After acquiring ownership and improving the properties, Franklin said he hopes to promote private ownership through negotiations with future viable owners.
...

- See more at: http://www.pharostribune.com/local/x12772782/City-to-take-on-unsold-land-from-commissioners-sale#sthash.e3ZStB8n.dpuf

Leader Publishes Notice of Washington County Commissioners' Sale

From the Salem LEader:

NOTICE OF REAL PROPERTY COMMISSIONERS’ CERTIFICATE SALE
Washington County Indiana Beginning 10:00 AM, March 5, 2014 Local Time

STATE OF INDIANA
WASHINGTON COUNTY

 Pursuant to the laws of the Indiana General Assembly and by resolution of the Washington County Commissioners, notice is hereby given that the following described tracts or items of real property are listed for sale for delinquent taxes and / or special assessments.

 The minimum sale prices listed below are less than the minimum sale prices when offered in the immediately preceding county tax sale held under Section 5 of I.C. 6-1.1-24-5 and include all fees and expenses of the county directly attributable to the Commissioners’ Certificate Sale. The Washington County Commissioners will accept bids for the certificates of sale, for the price referred to in IC 6-1.1-24-6.1(a)(3), by public auction on March 5, 2014 at 10:00 AM Courthouse Time at the Courthouse- Lobby.

 A person redeeming each tract or item of real property after the sale of the certificate must pay: (A) the amount of the minimum bid under Section 5 of IC 6-1.1-24 for which the tract or item of real property was last offered for sale; (B) ten percent (10%) of the amount for which the certificate is sold; (C) the attorney's fees and costs of giving notice under IC 6-1.1-25-4.5; (D) the costs of a title search or of examining and updating the abstract of title for the tract or item of real property; (E) all taxes and special assessments on the tract or item of real property paid by the purchaser after the sale of the certificate plus interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum on the amount of taxes and special assessments paid by the purchaser on the redeemed property; and (F), all costs of sale, advertising costs, and other expenses of the county directly attributable to the sale of the certificate.

 If the certificate is sold for an amount more than the minimum bid under Section 5 of IC 6-1.1-24 for which the tract or item of real property was last offered for sale and the property is not redeemed, the owner of record of the tract or item of real property who is divested of ownership at the time the tax deed is issued may have a right to the tax sale surplus.
Indiana law prohibits a person who owes delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, or costs directly attributable to a prior tax sale, from purchasing tracts or items of real property at a tax sale. Prior to bidding at a tax sale, each bidder must affirm under the penalties for perjury that he or she does not owe delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, costs directly attributable to a prior tax sale, amounts from a final adjudication in favor of a political subdivision in this county, any civil penalties imposed for the violation of a building code or ordinance of this county, or any civil penalties imposed by a health department in this county. Further, each bidder must acknowledge that any successful bid made in violation of the above statement is subject to forfeiture. In the event of forfeiture, the bid amount shall be applied to the delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, costs, judgments, or civil penalties of the ineligible bidder, and a certificate will be issued to the county executive.

 The Commissioners specifically reserve the right to withhold from the sale any parcel which has been listed in error, or which otherwise becomes ineligible for sale either prior to the start or during the duration of the auction. The Auditor's Office does not warrant the accuracy of the key numbers or street addresses published herein and any misstatement in the key number or street address does not invalidate an otherwise valid sale.

 Dated: 1/8/2014

http://www.salemleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&Detail=1&AdID=134&SectionID=4&SubSectionID=119&CategoryID=440 

News and Tribune Reports Clark County Commissioners Authorize Title Work on Deliquent Properties

From the Clark County News and Tribune:

Clark County may be getting ready for another commissioners’ sale to liquidate tax-delinquent properties.

The county commissioners came into possession of tax sale certificates for 87 properties after they failed to sell at an Oct. 7 tax sale. Of those, the commissioners have identified 20 that they’d like to acquire tax deeds for that they feel could be potentially profitable for the county.

Because the commissioners are required by statute to tender notice to property owners and people with “substantial interest of record” in these properties, according to statute, the commissioners authorized County Attorney Jake Elder to get title work started during their regular meeting Thursday.

There are several steps that must be followed prior to a commissioners’ sale. In order to obtain tax deeds, required information including the right to redeem must be sent by certified mail to those with substantial interest within 90 days of issuance of the tax sale certificates. Because those certificates were issued Oct. 8, notice must be sent by Jan. 6, according to correspondence between Elder and attorney Laura Harbison.

The most notable property included among the 20 is 900 Eastern Blvd., which last had Peddler’s Mall as a tenant in 2009. More than $430,000 in unpaid property taxes is owed to the county by Lori Rappaport LaCroix, according to the tax sale certificate for the property.

“I have been contacted by local counsel for a specific purchaser who desires this property,” Harbison wrote in correspondence to Elder. “Further, it is possible that upon notice of the Commission’s certificate, the mortgage company may redeem the property.”

Of the 87 properties that the commissioners now hold tax certificates for, about half are small parcels adjacent to residences that simply need to be put back on the tax rolls, Elder explained.

“We’ll probably try to petition adjoining property owners and see if there’s any interest with them to take those properties in,” Commissioners President Coffman said.
...

http://www.newsandtribune.com/clarkcounty/x1956136120/Clark-Commissioners-authorize-title-work-on-delinquent-properties

News Reports Commissioners Give Green Light to Certificate Sale in Shelby County

From the Shelbyville News:

Properties that have been seized due to unpaid taxes could find themselves on the auction block soon.

At Monday’s Shelby County Commissioners meeting, the board voted 3-0 in favor of conducting a live Commissioners’ Certificate Sale with a timeframe of the end of February, early March.

In addition, the commissioners voted 3-0 in favor of making the minimum bid $100.

At the meeting, Alex Bruggenschmidt, legal counsel for SRI Incorporated, spoke to the commissioners about the process of auctioning off the properties. He said the commissioners would have to pass a resolution to pass the properties, decide on the format - live or online - and set a minimum bid based on the property value and the amount of taxes to be paid.

The auctions would be “certificate sales,” and the buyer would officially be recognized as the owner, but would still need to go through the process of obtaining the deed.

The county also can keep the properties or sell them to other government entities if they choose.

The commissioners currently own 32 properties with an outstanding liability of $515,000.

“The commissioners have the option of what to do when properties don’t sell,” Bruggenschmidt said.

Bruggenschmidt said SRI, the Shelby County Auditor’s office and the Shelby County Treasurer’s office would all work together for the sale.
...

http://www.shelbynews.com/articles/2013/12/10/news/doc52a637a02505b655662723.txt

Tribune Reports Howard County Collects $416,000 in Back Taxes During Tax Sale

From the Kokomo Tribune:

Howard County collected more than $416,000 in back property taxes and liens during its annual tax sale last week.

The number of properties eligible to be placed on the tax role sale list dropped from 1,113 on July 1 to 551 as of Tuesday, Auditor Martha Lake said.

During the tax sale, the county received bids on 127 of the properties, resulting in $416,547 being collected for distribution to local tax units. Last year, Lake said, the county collected $295,438, Lake said.

There were bids of more than $1,811,735 in surplus funds collected on the 127 properties.

“We had a good tax sale,” Lake said.

Lake said a total of $2,229,283 was taken in during the sale.

Property owners have one year to redeem their properties by paying the taxes owed, a $100 tax sale fee and by paying interest to the bidders that submitted winning bids.

The surplus funds are placed into a separate account pending redemption.

Lake said if a property is redeemed, the owner is required to pay 10 percent in interest for the first six months and 15 percent for the second six months to the winning bidder.

“Properties that are not redeemed are notified that we have funds for them,” Lake said.

“If they don’t claim the money, after three years the money goes into the county’s general fund.”

http://kokomotribune.com/local/x1442589175/County-collects-416-000-in-back-taxes

Palladium-Item Reports Former Reid Hospital Site Fails to Sell in Wayne County Tax Sale

From the Richmond Palladium-Item:

When Wayne County conducted its delinquent property tax sale earlier this month, the former Reid Hospital property was on the sale list.

All seven property parcels that make up the former hospital campus on U.S. 27 North were combined into one lot for the sale, but no one bid on it, Wayne County Treasurer Cathy Williams said.

Past-due and current property taxes and penalties, which haven’t been paid by owner Spring Grove Development LLC since 2011, totaled $328,828.57, Williams said.

The commissioners requested the 60-plus-acre property be listed in the delinquent tax sale as one unit, in hopes it might sell, Wayne County Board of Commissioners President Denny Burns said. Commissioners also didn’t want just the single-most desirable parcel to sell, leaving the rest behind, Commissioner Mary Anne Butters said.

The former hospital property, which has been vacant since 2008, is now eligible for a commissioners’ sale in the spring, but Wayne County officials say they don’t plan to place the troubled property in the sale.

Commissioners’ sales are often the way tax-delinquent properties get new owners because commissioners can set the minimum prices at amounts much less than the taxes due on the properties.

Keeping the old Reid Hospital campus out of a commissioners’ sale, at which the county provides a deed to the new buyer, could protect the county from being responsible for any potential environmental problems, Burns said.
...

See the full article here:

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310140016

Times Reports Valparaiso May Take Possession of Derelict Dome if not Sold in Tax Sale

From the Northwest Indiana Times:

The city of Valparaiso may take possession soon of a 10-acre shovel-ready development site. All it would have to do is demolish the former Natural Ovens Bakery dome.

The city's Redevelopment Commission tentatively has $332,500 in its draft budget for 2014 for the demolition on the industrial site on Mariposa Drive in the Eastport Centre industrial park. A final budget won't be approved until January.

...

A total of $1.38 million in back taxes and penalties is owed, if it is paid off by the end of the day Oct. 28, Porter County Treasurer Michael Bucko said. If not redeemed, it will be one of several hundred properties put up for tax sale Oct. 29, and the price jumps to $1.46 million as the second half of the 2013 taxes are added.

If no offer is made to cover the total amount owed, it will be turned over to the Porter County Board of Commissioners, and Valparaiso already has let it be known it would be interested in having it deeded to the city. City Attorney Patrick Lyp said turning tax delinquent properties over to the local taxing body is common in Lake County but rare in Porter County.

The building has been mostly vacant for about eight years. It was once rated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as earthquake proof and capable of withstanding the strongest tornadoes.

Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Stuart Summers said it is in bad shape now because of neglect with "significant water leakage" that makes it unsuitable for rehabilitation and reuse.

"We hope to sell it and get the property back on the tax rolls," Summers said.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valpo-may-take-possession-of-derelict-dome/article_e9917e5c-bdc7-5c09-b143-a31318124354.html

Daily Journal Reports Johnson County Nets $4 Million from Tax Sale

From the Johnson County Daily Journal:

Buyers at the county’s annual tax sale spent nearly $4 million to buy properties with unpaid taxes.

Properties are included in a tax sale after the owner fails to make payments on three tax bills, which spans 18 months. That’s tax money that the county, cities and towns, schools, fire districts and libraries don’t collect.

The winning bidders are purchasing a lien on the property for the amount they paid plus 10 percent interest. The original owner has one year to pay that lien, or the buyer can get a tax deed from the court and become the new owner.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/County-s-annual-tax-sale-nets-_1381724251/#.UlxjzM_D-P8

Herald-Bulletin Reports Hundreds of Properties Sold in Madison County Tax Sale

From the Anderson Herald-Bulletin:

Investors snapped up hundreds of properties at Madison County's annual tax sale on Tuesday.

The goal of the day-long event was to try and collect more than $9.3 million in delinquent property taxes owed by county residents.

Final results of the sale won't be available until today, but the numbers will likely fall far short of that optimum goal. Those investors who bought property on Wednesday have until noon today to pay the amount they bid for properties.

William "Billy" Richards Jr. is an Indianapolis-based real estate manager and broker who attends tax sales throughout Indiana.

He's affiliated with a law firm that buys properties for clients and also sponsors an annual seminar that teaches lawyers and real estate professionals how to navigate the world of property at tax sales.

The No. 1 thing most people don't realize, he said, is that tax sales are court-ordered events because a property owner is delinquent on paying their taxes. That makes tax sale buyers "a party of interest in a lawsuit."

Tax sales are essentially an auction where potential buyers bid against one another. The initial bid price is the delinquent taxes owed on a property. If several potential buyers are interested in a parcel, however, the price can quickly soar past the back taxes that are owed.

KFC of Madison County LLC, for example, owns two properties on Scatterfield Road that were on the tax sale list.

The company owes just over $41,000 in back taxes on a parcel at 6620 S. Scatterfield Road near the Meijer store, and nearly $22,000 on another property at 1704 S. Scatterfield Road, according to county records.

The final bid price on the property near Meijer came to $360,000; the final bid for the other parcel was $104,000. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, those were the highest prices paid for any property on the tax sale list.

According to Richards, people who buy property at tax sales generally fall into two categories: real estate investors interested in earning interest income from the property of 10 percent or more if the taxes are paid, or redeemed, within one year or people who actually want to own the property.
...

http://heraldbulletin.com/business/x1442581461/Hundreds-of-properties-sold-at-annual-tax-sale

Herald-Bulletin Reports Madison County Hopes to Recoup Taxes at Annual Property Sale

From the Anderson Herald-Bulletin:

Madison County will try and sell more than 2,052 properties at a tax sale today in order to collect more than $9.31 million delinquent property taxes.

If previous experience is any guide, however, only a small fraction of the delinquent taxes and special assessments that are owed will be recouped, making tax sale proceeds an unreliable source of revenue, said County Auditor Jane Lyons.

Last year, for example, 2,632 properties were available, but only 345 sold, yielding the county $967,815 in back taxes, she said. In Indiana, the county treasurer and auditor are required to sell tax liens on delinquent properties that remain unpaid from the prior year’s spring installment.

“The purpose of this tax sale is to offer these delinquent properties in order to collect back taxes to help finance local government services,” Lyons said.

In actuality, by the time someone’s property gets to a tax sale, property taxes have likely not been paid for several years, said Glen Luedtke, a client services director for SRI Inc. an Indianapolis-based company founded in 1989 that conducts tax sales and commissioners’ certificate and deed sales for more than 80 counties in Indiana, Michigan and Colorado.

Tax sales are essentially an auction where the minimum bid begins with the amount of taxes due on the property. The amount can range from a few hundred dollars to more than $100,000 in some cases. According to tax sale documents, an organization called Plummer Enterprises Inc. owes more than $766,000 on a nearly four-acre industrial property at 1817 Locust St. in Anderson.

Luedtke expects about 100 bidders to show up for the sale, which begins at 10 a.m. in the Anderson City Building auditorium.
...

 - See more at: http://heraldbulletin.com/business/x1442580409/County-hopes-to-recoup-taxes-at-annual-property-sale#sthash.A7gYCppb.dpuf