Monday, October 30, 2006

Weld County, CO opens online tax lien auction site

Another tax lien sale!


Weld County will open its first online auction this week to collect unpaid taxes, but don't expect it to be like Ebay.

The treasurer's office hosts an annual tax certificate auction that collects unpaid real estate property taxes, raises extra money for the county general fund and opens investment opportunities to the public.

Previously the treasurer's office had to close down to run the live auction, which has been at the Island Grove Regional Park Exhibition Hall the past few years. This year the auction will be open Nov. 1-6 on the Internet at www.weldtaxsale.com.

Bids are private and ties are broken when computer software randomly chooses a winner. Bidders indicate the highest amount they want to pay.

Investors at the auction bid on the tax liens with the perks of a 15 percent interest rate.


For more about this article, visit Greeley Tribute.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Investors Are Placing Their Bets on Tax Liens

Read more about this new trend in investing below...


Investors Are Placing Their Bets on Tax Liens

By Greg Ip
From The Wall Street Journal Online

The front door of the dilapidated row house half a mile from Capitol Hill is boarded up, its lawn is overgrown, and its porch roof is missing. But Matt Earley notes approvingly that the iron bars on the windows are intact and that the houses across the street are being spruced up. "This is the only problem property on the block," he says.

Most important, the owner is about $3,000 in arrears on the property taxes. Mr. Earley bought that unpaid tax bill for $203,000 at an auction run by the District of Columbia. If the owner pays his debt, Mr. Earley's firm, Mooring Financial Corp., will get its money back and earn a profit of a few hundred dollars -- a skimpy return. But if the owner doesn't pay, Mooring could foreclose and sell the house for several hundred thousand dollars' profit.


Read more about this article by accessing Wall Street Journal's Real Estate Journal.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Park County, CO tax lien sale pays 15% return

Park County tax lien sale still on as scheduled, Kenosha Pass opens, U.S. 285 near Colorado 8 now open
Park County's tax lien sale is still planned for Friday, Oct. 27, and registration is still planned for 7 a.m.

And at about 4:10 p.m. Thursday, Park County Treasurer Michelle Miller told The Flume that she had decided to hold the sale at 8 a.m., as scheduled.

Miller had been thinking earlier Thursday that she might delay the sale by two hours because of bad snow conditions. By late Thursday , Fairplay weather was looking good enough to plan on having the sale at the same time as scheduled.

Miller said she still planned to leave a voice message confirming her decision at the following number: 719-836-4238.

The tax lien sale will be held at the South Park High School cafetorium, 640 Hathaway, in Fairplay.

The sale will likely be over by 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., according to Miller.

Dale Plume, who owns a wholesale nursery south of Hartsel called Chaparral Nursery, placed a call to The Flume with concerns about whether the tax lien sale would be held.

Plume obtained some land near Alma through a sale about 15 to 20 years ago, and he uses it for getting some aspen and spruce seedlings for his nursery business. Plume has made purchases at the Elbert County tax lien sale, with most of those purchases having been redeemed.

He said he hasn't made much money through the tax lien sales.

The interest paid is 15 percent this year on the base amount of taxes owed and the interest is not paid on any premium paid to the county by the winning bidder, said Miller.

Plus, she noted that people who, through the bidding process, pay a high premium above the listed taxes owed can actually lose money in the tax-lien-sale process because premiums are not returned by the county. She said she once had a person pay a $250 premium on a tax bill of $25.

There are high odds that there will be a redemption on a property, said Miller. That's because owners typically come up with the money to pay the back taxes.

About 200 people attended the tax lien sale last year in Fairplay, even though there was a heavy snowstorm that day, Miller said.

Kenosha Pass open and U.S. 285, just west of C-470, also now open

U.S. 285 between Fairplay and Kenosha Pass was closed Thursday about 5:25 a.m. because of snow, but it reopened at 10:30 a.m, according to Mindy Crane, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Westbound U.S. 285 was closed between State Highway 8 and Turkey Creek Canyon earlier Thursday, but around 2:15 p.m. it was reopened, according to Crane. That part of U.S. 285 is about a five-mile stretch just west of C-470, she said.

Westbound Interstate 70 between the Golden/Morrison exit and Floyd Hill was also closed earlier Thursday, but it reopened about 1:30 p.m. or 1:45 p.m., according to Crane.

Eastbound I-70 in that same stretch reopened about an hour before that, Crane said.

"Now we're starting to see more of the wet slush conditions," she said.

As of 3:15 p.m. Thursday, I-70 was closed both ways between E-470 and Burlington. Also, northbound Interstate 25, at Mile Marker 150 north of Colorado Springs, was closed as of 3:15 p.m.

According to Crane, other closures as of 3:15 p.m. Thursday included: State Highway 83 between Franktown and Colorado Springs; U.S. 36 (east of Denver) between Byers and Last Chance; U.S. 24 between Colorado Springs and Limon; State Highway 86 between Kiowa and I-70; and State Highway 94 from east of Colorado Springs to County Line Road.

Crane said that she had heard that 15 to 20 inches of snow had fallen in the Conifer-Bailey area.

At 12:50 p.m. Thursday, Flume Business Manager Lori Crawford reported 21 inches of snow at her house in the Park 80 West subdivision near Burland off of County Road 72 in Bailey.

Miller said that only five inches had fallen in Fairplay, but it was blowing there.

Mary Lee Bensman, who drove from Buena Vista to Fairplay and then Bailey on her way to Denver Thursday afternoon, arrived in The Flume offices at about 3 p.m.

"Out of the whole trip so far, the only really bad part was South Park, she said.

Between Fairplay and Kenosha Pass, she said, "it was snowpacked and the wind just made the visibility poor (with blowing snow.)"

"I put it in four-wheel drive to get through South Park," she added.

Another driver recently arrived at Flume offices from Fairplay also reported poor visibility in South Park that improved dramatically once he reached Kenosha Pass.

Denver, CO tax lien sales!

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Realauction announced today that the online auction of tax liens in the City and County of Denver, Colorado will begin at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time on November 6, 2006 and run without interruption through November 9, 2006. Denver will use sealed bid, the industry standard for tax lien auctions, and allow bidders to enter bids anytime between November 6 and November 9. The Denver auction website is www.denvertaxsale.com.

The site opened for early registration on October 23, 2006. Bidders must register on the site before entering their bids. Bidding on tax liens will close starting at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time on November 9. Tax certificates will be awarded to the highest bidder at the close of the auction.

“We believe the online auction is an improvement on past practice, providing greater transparency, opportunity and fairness to all potential bidders,” said Treasurer David Hart.

“Holding the auction online helps the county save time and costs,” said Realauction CEO Lloyd McClendon. “We also have our customer service team in place to ensure that everyone’s questions are answered.”

Denver County has scheduled a training session on October 26th, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. Mountain Time to familiarize prospective bidders with the process of the online tax lien auction. The training will be held at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building, 201 West Colfax Avenue, Room 4.G.2, Denver, CO 80202.

About Denver

Denver, the capital of Colorado, is a consolidated city and county. The “Mile High City” is located at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains and serves as the financial, transportation, and distribution center of the region. Denver is a city rich in history and culture and is home to over half a million people.

For more information, please contact: Denver Treasury Division at 720-865-7000 or online at www.denvergov.org/treasury.

About Realauction

Realauction is a leading provider of technology solutions for government agencies. Realauction helps government agencies reduce costs by providing consultation, design and implementation of online auctions for delinquent tax lien sales. With over 50 years of combined experience in the tax lien certificate and real estate data transfer industry, and an award winning development team, Realauction is committed to providing the software and customer service to help local governments succeed.

For additional information about the City and County of Denver tax lien auction, please contact the Realauction Customer Service Center at 877-361-7325.




Monday, October 23, 2006

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