Seven properties listed in tax auction

Seven Whitman County properties will be auctioned off Dec. 14. following the conclusion of the court process on tax foreclosure actions. The county will list the properties with a minimum price to collect taxes, interest and penalties due.

The listing follows a default judgment issued by the court.

Whitman County Treasurer Robert Lothspeich said the number of properties foreclosed here varies very little year after year, even when the national economy shows housing market foreclosures increasing.

Last year, Lothspeich said six properties were foreclosed, with the county seeking $17,490. He said between 20 to 25 bidders came to that sale and the county received $39,840.

The foreclosures total more than $37,800 this year. The largest foreclosure property is a group of storage units in Tekoa with a minimum bid of $18,422.35. Two mobile homes in St. John and a house and lots in Malden are among other properties.

Sale by auction of the seven properties is set for Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ room at the courthouse. Minimum bids on each property cover unpaid taxes, interest and costs, Lothspeich said.

Any money above the minimum bid goes to the owner of record. If the owner can’t be located, the county holds the proceeds for three years, and if no one claims ownership, the money goes to the county.

The treasurer said he and his staff try to help taxpayers avoid foreclosure by getting them to at least pay the longest due taxes, which are 2009 taxes for this sale.

“We work real hard to get people to pay the oldest year,” he said. “We try to work with them to avoid foreclosure.”

Lothspeich said the county follows a state-mandated process of contacting owners if property taxes haven’t been paid for three years. If owners can pay the oldest year’s taxes, county officials then formulate a payment plan for the remaining taxes.

Official listing of properties on the auction bill can change because property owners have until 4 p.m. the day before the sale to redeem the properties. Property owners are required to pay the minimum due listed, the sum which goes through the court process.

Lothspeich said when a property goes to foreclosure, all liens are eliminated with the exception of liens from the IRS and DSHS.

Often lien holders which have an interest in removing the property from the foreclosure auction will support the redemption process.

Potential buyers can look at photos of the foreclosed properties either at the county treasurer’s office or on-line at the treasurer’s site on whitmancounty.org.

Potential buyers may bring either cash or cashier’s check to the sale. For more information, call the treasurer’s office in Colfax.