Seized Banning, Beaumont Properties Among Those Headed to Online Auction

By City News Service:

The Board of Supervisors this week approved an online auction of more than 600 tax-defaulted properties throughout Riverside County.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office is hoping the digital bidding on houses and vacant parcels seized as a result of unpaid property taxes will net the county a minimum $20.6 million. The auction is slated for April 30 through May 5 via the site Bid4Assets.com .

A total 615 properties are up for grabs. According to Treasurer-Tax Collector documents, minimum bid prices range from $1,958 for a plot in Wildomar to $1.34 million for county-seized real estate off of Highway 111 in Indio.

Other locations with high concentrations of properties with unsatisfied liens include Desert Hot Springs, Menifee, Moreno Valley and Riverside.

Before a property under lien can be sold off, it must be held for at least five years.

The minimum bid amounts set by the county represent tax and sales costs. According to the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office, minimum bid prices will be reduced on some properties that do not generate interest in the first round of bidding between April 30 and May 1.

Officials noted that if all the properties on the auction block sell for just their minimum bid prices, the net unrealized tax revenue would total roughly $4 million. However, because cities have to absorb a share of tax losses, the county’s actual loss would come to around $2.2 million under such a scenario, according to the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office.

Next year will mark the third year that the county has resorted to Internet-based auctioning for its entire portfolio of assets with tax liens. Previously, only timeshares that went into default were included in online sales.

Prospective bidders can view assets and enter bids in April at http://www.Bid4Assets.com/Riverside .

Those without Internet access can request off-line bid forms by contacting Bid4Assets at (877) 427-7389.

A complete list of properties slated to be auctioned off can be found here. Anyone who needs assistance can contact the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office at (951) 955-3999.

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