The Lake County commissioners' summer tax sale generated $200,000 on its first day, county officials said.
Lake County Attorney John Dull said Tuesday that amount was paid on 300 parcels sold at a public auction.
Dull said the sale will resume Thursday when hundreds of remaining parcels will be offered for a second time. He said he hopes at least 75 more will be purchased before the sale ends that day.
State law permits Indiana counties to recover unpaid property taxes by taking ownership of the land and buildings on which the tax is due and selling them to the highest bidder. The commissioners and the treasurer's office auction tax-delinquent properties three times a year.
Although such auctions typically generate millions of dollars in new revenues, the commissioners' summer sale rarely performs well because its properties already have been examined and rejected by many of the same real estate speculators.
Lake County Treasurer John Petalas will offer 9,000 relatively fresh real estate prospects when his office's online tax sale takes place between Sept. 13 and 24.
