Property Tax Foreclosures: The Other Way To Lose Your Property

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By Lena Vargas

Summary

The mortgage crisis highlights a nationwide problem. But that's not the only way to lose your home. If you don't pay your county property taxes for three years in a row, you may also have to say goodbye to your investment. Still, two local county treasurers say it doesn't have to come to that.

Story Published: Jul 8, 2009 at 5:27 PM PST

RICHLAND -- A house on Wilson Street in Richland is one of nine properties foreclosed by the Benton County Treasurer last year. Worth almost fifty-thousand dollars, it sold for half that at auction -- all because the owner didn't pay three-thousand or so dollars in back taxes.

It was a similiar "deal" in Franklin County as a property on 11th and “B” Street worth fifteen-thousand dollars sold for twenty percent of that. Once again, because of unpaid property taxes.

Franklin County Treasurer, Tiffany Coffland says she’s just trying to collect property taxes. “We’re just selling property for back taxes. So it's not like selling it for mortgage owed. So sometimes taxes we're really not that much, but it still goes to sale” said Coffland.

Both these properties also take value away from other homes in the neighborhoods.
Each year both counties start off with a long list of delinquent owners--
In 2008 that was more than a thousand in Franklin County-- and 350 for Benton County.

Benton County Treasurer, Duane Davidson says he noticed a steady decline over the past few years. But last year, two developers with several properties took away from that gain-- increasing the number of delinquencies to 2006 levels.

"It's significantly costly to go delinquent on property taxes. But because we don't foreclose for three years they may not intentionally pay us because they need to pay more immediate demands like labor" said Davidson.

Debt is also deferred in Franklin County. Treasurer Tiffany Coffland says about one hundred people pay just enough each year to avoid foreclosure even though they're two years behind.

The Benton County Treasurer says property owners often confuse mortgage foreclosures with property tax foreclosures. That's because banks have to hold auctions in a public place, which is often the county's courthouse where the treasurer's office is located.