Property-tax liens can be auctioned off, picked up by investors
May 12, 2018
G.M. FILISKO
Financially strapped homeowners who aren’t making their mortgage payments often aren’t paying their property taxes either.
For those interested in buying property tax liens, this represents an opportunity.
A property-tax lien is a legal claim against a property for unpaid property taxes. A tax lien prohibits a property from being sold or refinanced until the taxes are paid and the lien is removed.
When the lien is issued, the county or town that is owed property taxes creates a tax-lien certificate that includes the amount of the taxes owed, plus interest and penalties. The certificate is then auctioned off.
“It’s a method for people responsible for collecting property taxes to make everyone pay their fair share,” says James Hughes, president of SRI Inc., which represents governments in tax-lien sales. “If there were no enforcement, nobody would pay their property taxes.”
The buyer of the tax lien has the right to collect the lien, plus interest, from the property owner. If the property owner does not pay up within a certain period of time, the lienholder can foreclose on the property.
Carroll County to publish lists of delinquent taxpayers
February 14, 2018
Carroll County, Va., has voted to publish lists of delinquent taxpayers for both real estate and personal property taxes in local newspapers, on its website, and in the minutes of its meetings. The county also voted to use methods such as DMV stops and garnishing tax refunds as ways to collect delinquent personal property taxes.
The Carroll County Board of Supervisors unanimously took action on separate motions for both delinquent tax lists during its monthly meeting Monday. The collection of delinquent taxes has been high on the board’s priority list in recent months, especially as its grinds toward what is expected to be another tight budget season.