In consideration of the upcoming holidays and the other expenses associated with winter weather, Spokane County Treasurer Rob Chase will postpone the launch of online auctions until March 4, 2013. According to Chase, the postponement will help property owners facing foreclosure. “Providing people with another three months to pay their back property taxes might prevent the loss of their home,” Chase said. Chase also foresees a February or March auction date becoming permanent.
Initially scheduled to begin in December, the auction of foreclosed properties will become more convenient and effective, thanks to a contract between the Spokane County Treasurer’s Office and Bid4Assets, Inc. According to Chase, the online auction process increases the number of bidders and the sale price of a tax-defaulted property and also reduces the number of unsold parcels. Currently, Pierce and Benton counties are working with the same company and providing online auctions.
Spokane County’s first online auction will open for bidding on Monday, March 4th and close on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 – or when all of the properties have sold. The available properties can be viewed online at www.spokanecounty.org/treasurer/foreclosures. Interested buyers must register online in order to bid. Those unable to access the Internet should contact Bid4Assets at 1-877-4ASSETS to request an Offline Bid Form.
The minimum bid is set to cover the amount of back taxes, interest, penalties and other fees that are owed to Spokane County. With no set reserve price on these auctions, the highest bid received will be awarded the property.
Chase believes there may be additional uses for online auctions, including the sale of obsolete equipment, cars, computers, etc. In addition, there may be future opportunities to partner with other local governments for regional online auctions.
For more information, go to www.spokanecounty.org/treasurer or contact the Treasurer’s Office at (509) 477-4713 during regular business hours.
Bid4Assets, Inc.
Bid4Assets, Inc. (www.bid4assets.com) is one of the most successful online real estate auction websites. The company auctions distressed assets for financial institutions, private individuals and multiple state and local government agencies. Since its inception in 1999, the company has sold over 85,000 properties nationwide through online real estate auctions and generated over $381,933,384 for more than 55 counties nationwide.
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