Morning Headlines: Delinquent Properties Rake In Over $2.1 Million In Montco

The next sale will be October 30th.

Norristown view from Upper Merion. Photo credit:  Montgomery County Planning Commission via Flickr

Norristown view from Upper Merion.
Photo credit: Montgomery County Planning Commission via Flickr

Property owners who had been delinquent for two years had their homes auctioned off in a Thursday sale, earning Montgomery County $2,121,021.20 (including transfer tax). The Main Line Times’ Dan Clark says the money will go to the school district each properties owes money to, while any leftover sums will be divided “between the municipality or borough of the property and county.”

Clark reports 1,294 properties were originally listed in the sale, but that 1,100 of those homes were taken off after property owners paid their taxes back. From those 1,100, $7.4 million was raised. However, not all properties found a bidder (particularly those from the Norristown and Pottstown areas), which means they will be included in a different sale: 

“We’ll start preparing them for the judicial free and clear sale. In between then, we have a new sale process in place called a private sale,” [Montgomery County Treasurer Jason] Salus said. “For those 11 months where we’re preparing those properties for the free and clear sale, anybody can come in, make a bid and we’ll pass it to the school district, the county and the borough or municipality to see if they have an interest in selling it for whatever the private sale is. There’s an option to try to get those properties back on the tax rolls during that one year window.”

Other properties, Clark says, were not included in the sale because of court orders. Instead, they will be included in an October 30th auction.

• Montgomery County raises $2.1 million selling tax-delinquent properties [Main Line Times]

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