October 13, 2023
For more information contact:
Botetourt County Treasurer 540-928-2030 [email protected]
Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC [email protected]; 703-425-7751
County Tax Sale brings in more than $200,000 and will place 15 properties back on the active tax rolls.
The Botetourt County Treasurer's Office conducted a public auction of tax delinquent properties on September 19,2023, contracting to sell the properties to the highest bidders. These properties had at least three years of real property taxes overdue.
The sale was extremely well attended. It was conducted at the Greenfield Auditorium, with 22 bidders attending in person. The auction, held by the law firm of Taxing Authority Consulting Services, P.C. (TAGS), was also simulcast for internet bidding, which drew an additional 112 bidders. "The auction brought in a total of $212,000 from the 9 parcels sold", said County Treasurer Donna Boothe. The sale included three properties sold through a non-judicial sale, allowing prompt conveyance of title to the high bidders. Six properties sold require further confirmation by the Circuit Court before deeds can be conveyed. The highest price for a parcel was $102,500, and the lowest was $300. In many cases, the record owners of the property were deceased, and there was no consensus among heirs to pay the taxes and redeem the properties.
The total outstanding taxes due on the parcels sold or redeemed was over $42,000. The excess funds, after paying the taxes, fees and the costs of sale will be held by the Circuit Court (for the Judicial Sale properties) or the County (for the Non-judicial sale properties) for two years and those funds can be claimed by the owners or their heirs during that time. If the funds are not fully claimed, the remaining excess proceeds will be deposited into the County's General Fund.
"Nearly all of the properties that sold went for significantly more than the county's taxes and the costs of the sale," Boothe said. "It was great that we were able to have so many people participate online". In addition, a significant amount of money was collected prior to the sale, as numerous property owners finally paid off the taxes due to keep their property from the sale. "There were six parcels redeemed before the sale began," Boothe said.
The Treasurer has retained TAGS, a law firm focusing its practice in representing local governments, to handle the legal requirements to bring these properties to sale. The next auction is likely to be conducted sometime next Spring.