Bogalusa to hold real estate information session

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 6:30 p.m., the city government of Bogalusa will partner with CivicSource to hold a community information session on purchasing tax-delinquent adjudicated real estate. The session will be at the Bogalusa City Hall courtroom, located at 202 Arkansas Ave.

The event is free and open to the public, and representatives from CivicSource will be available to answer questions from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the city hall lobby before the presentation begins. Comprehensive training on all aspects of purchasing adjudicated properties, including how to acquire title insurance, will be covered.

All adjudicated properties for sale at CivicSource.com went unsold in a previous tax sale. The city of Bogalusa auctions these tax-delinquent properties online through CivicSource.com. By hosting the sale online, bidders who would normally be unable to attend the auction in person are able to participate from their homes or places of business.

The sales return blighted, abandoned or tax-delinquent properties to commerce, while regenerating significant annual tax revenues to the parish.

“This is an opportunity for the citizens of Bogalusa to learn how to purchase these adjudicated pieces of property,” Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette said.

Interested citizens can visit online at CivicSource.com to view a complete listing of qualified tax-distressed adjudicated properties or to nominate properties for auction through a deposit of $850. The properties are listed for $0 plus closing costs. Both commercial and residential properties are available for purchase.

To RSVP for the upcoming information session on purchasing adjudicated properties, visit events.CivicSource.com.

Article originally published here: http://www.bogalusadailynews.com/2017/09/30/city-to-hold-real-estate-information-session/

How to Purchase Adjudicated Property in Caddo Parish

The City of Shreveport and the Caddo Parish Government will partner with CivicSource for a community information session on purchasing tax-delinquent adjudicated real estate at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Atkins Branch Library, 3704 Greenwood Road in Shreveport.

The event is free and open to the public. Comprehensive training on all aspects of purchasing adjudicated properties, including how to acquire title insurance, will be covered.

Visit CivicSource.com to view a complete listing of qualified tax-distressed adjudicated properties or to nominate properties for auction through a deposit of $850. The properties are listed for $0 plus closing costs. Both commercial and residential properties are available for purchase.

To RSVP for the upcoming information session on purchasing adjudicated properties, visit events.CivicSource.com.

Article originally published here: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/money/business/2017/09/24/business-buzz/105849516/

St. Bernard Parish Partners with CivicSource to Hold a Community Information Session

On Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at 6:00 p.m., the St. Bernard Parish Government will partner with CivicSource to hold a community information session on purchasing tax-delinquent adjudicated real estate in the Sigur Civic Center Ballroom, located at 8245 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, Louisiana. The event is free and open to the public. Comprehensive training on all aspects of purchasing adjudicated properties, including how to acquire title insurance, will be covered.

All adjudicated properties for sale at CivicSource.com went unsold in a previous tax sale. The St. Bernard Parish Government auctions these tax-delinquent properties online through CivicSource.com. By hosting the sale online, bidders who would normally be unable to attend the auction in person are able to participate from their homes or places of business. The sales return blighted, abandoned or tax-delinquent properties to commerce while regenerating significant annual tax revenues to the parish. “Placing properties online has proven a successful method for our parish. Investors are returning these properties to the tax rolls through their purchases, ultimately helping to clean up the parish tax rolls,” said Guy McInnis, St. Bernard Parish President.

Visit CivicSource.com to view a complete listing of qualified tax-distressed adjudicated properties or to nominate properties for auction through a deposit of $850. The properties are listed for $0 plus closing costs. Both commercial and residential properties are available for purchase.

To RSVP for the St. Bernard Parish information session on purchasing adjudicated properties, visit events.CivicSource.com.

Original article publish here: http://www.sbpg.net/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=51

Avoyelles Police Jury Tax Sale Property Meeting Generates Interest

Potential buyers learn process of online auction

About a dozen potential buyers attended an informational meeting on the Avoyelles Parish Police Jury’s new program to sell adjudicated — or “tax sale” — properties on its books.

At this time, there are five sites listed on the CivicSource website seeking potential bidders. One of the five has attracted at least one interested party who has put up an $850 deposit to get the process moving. That parcel is on Boggy Bayou Road near Marksville.

Beau Byers, a real estate attorney with CivicSource, said the company was created following Hurricane Katrina when many property owners in the New Orleans area abandoned their storm-damaged homes.

CivicSource helped to track down property owners to pursue tax payments and to help taxing authorities sell the abandoned properties. The company now helps parish and municipal governments around Louisiana and in a few other states to sell adjudicated properties and return them to the tax rolls.

Police Jury President Charles Jones said the parish “just wants to dispose of our adjudicated property. We want to stop having to cut the grass on these little lots around the parish and return the property to the tax rolls.”

Byers said adjudicated properties are those parcels that did not sell at a sheriff’s tax sale for five years and the taxes are still delinquent. At that time, the properties are turned over to the parish to manage. The five Avoyelles Parish properties have all been under Police Jury control for at least 10 years.

Byers said CivicSource sells title insurance with each piece of property it sells. That ensures the buyer has clear title to the property and that a long-lost heir won’t show up and stake a claim to the property. CivicSource tracks down all known heirs as part of its pre-auction work.

FIGHTS BLIGHT & CRIME

Abandoned houses not only look bad but can attract illegal activities, Byers said. For that reason, this program not only returns property to commerce and removes a cost and responsibility from the local government, it also fights blight and crime.

The average starting cost of a piece of property is $4,800, Byers said. That cost has little to do with the size of the parcel or its market value. It reflects the cost of tracking down heirs and completing all necessary paperwork for the sale.

Before a property is put up for auction, it has to be “nominated” by a potential buyer who is willing to submit an $850 deposit. If that person wins the auction, the deposit is applied toward the final cost. If he loses, the deposit is refunded. If he or any other bidder does not bid at least enough to cover all closing costs, he forfeits the deposit and can be banned from participating in future auctions.

CivicSource Investor Relations Manager Madelyn Duran said the Police Jury has 70 potential parcels of property to put up for auction.

The process takes about three months from the time a deposit is submitted to put the property up for auction to the day of the online auction. Most of that time is legally mandated waiting periods to give potential heirs time to respond.

Should an heir come forward with an interest to retain the property, they would be given an opportunity to redeem the property. If that happens, the deposit will be returned to the potential bidder.

Byers said the property still technically belongs to the previous owner. The parish merely maintains it. However, once the process is finished the previous owner and/or heirs relinquish all rights to the property.

If a parcel with closing costs of $4,800 is sold for a high bid of $10,000, the additional $5,200 would go to the Police Jury. If the closing costs are $4,800 and only one person bids that amount, then the property is essentially purchased for $0 plus closing costs, which is paid to CivicSource.

TITLE INSURANCE

“Title insurance allows you to get a mortgage or a loan to improve that property,” Byers said.

“The property may not seem like it is worth the closing costs of, on average, $4,800,” Duran said. “The investor is not necessarily looking at what that property is worth now, in its current condition, but what it will be worth once improvements are made to it in the future.”

Those interested in participating can go to civicsource.com and click on the adjudicated property tab to view available properties in not only Avoyelles but surrounding parishes.

Adjoining landowners who have maintained the adjudicated parcel for at least a year — such as mow the grass — can purchase the property for the closing costs only and would not have to compete for the property at auction.

Police Juror Marsha Wiley, who is heading the jury’s program, said she was pleased with the interest shown in the meeting.
“This is a way to get property back into the hands of the public and receive taxes for the parish,” she said. “These properties have been off the tax books for at least 10 years. It’s time to do something with them.”

Article originally published here: https://www.avoyellestoday.com/news/avoyelles-police-jury-%E2%80%98tax-sale-property%E2%80%99-meeting-generates-interest

Baton Rouge properties up for auction Wednesday, after owners fail to pay taxes

East Baton Rouge holds auctions the first Wednesday of each month to sell property seized when the owners did not pay their taxes.

Properties are up for auction on Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Click here to see a map of available properties.

The city partnered with CivicSource, a New Orleans-based company that allows prospective buyers to place bids online for tax adjudicated properties, many abandoned and blighted.

By law, the government can hold an auction once someone puts down a deposit, typically $850. The city then advertises the sale, puts it on the block and sells it to the highest bidder.

The winning bid covers the price of the title, closing cost and title insurance. The person who pays the deposit gets the money back if he or she doesn’t win the auction.

More information and a list of adjudicated property for sale is available at civicsource.com.

Article originally published here: http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_127e9b3a-929b-11e7-8ad7-0bef2b1948c8.html

Clay County Successfully Hosts First Online Tax Sale in the Sate of Missouri

Liberty, Mo. – On Monday, August 28, 2017, Tax Collector Lydia McEvoy hosted Clay County’s annual tax sale online for the first time. The online sale was the first of its kind in the state of Missouri and was a success for the Tax Collector’s Office and Missouri tax sale investors.

The technology-driven tax sale, which took place online at CivicSource.com, auctioned off the taxes of sixty tax-delinquent properties, returning $180,648.59 of property tax revenue to Clay County. Lydia McEvoy felt that “the online format created new opportunities for investors, better disclosure for homeowners, and efficiency in the amount of time and effort usually devoted to the sale.  This entire process is a work in progress, but CivicSource is an excellent partner to make this work throughout Missouri.”

Unlike the live auctions of previous years, the online auction allowed investors to set proxy bids and participate in the auction from any internet-ready device whether at home, work, or a public computer. “As a new user of CivicSource’s web-based auctioning application, the site was very user friendly and Collector staff walked me through all aspects of the auctioning process,” explains bidder Anthony Medina. “CivicSource customer service associates were also helpful and made sure I was comfortable and all my questions were answered.  In today’s high-paced, demanding world, it’s nice to know that companies like CivicSource are taking a proactive approach with auctioning by providing investors a flexible tool in achieving their goals.”

Fifty-nine active bidders participated in the 2017 online tax sale placing a total of 4,771 bids. Representatives from CivicSource and the Tax Collector’s Office provided laptops and technical support to investors at the Courthouse for the duration of the sale to make sure all participants transitioned smoothly to the new online format.

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About CivicSource:

CivicSource is the leading provider of digitized due process compliance and online auctions for tax-distressed real estate. Founded in 2008, New Orleans based CivicSource has been recognized by Inc. Magazine’s 500|5000 as one of “America’s Fastest Growing Companies” and has been recognized as the one of the “Best Places to Work” in New Orleans for the past six years. For more information, visit CivicSource.com.

Lincoln County Hosts Successful Online Tax Sale

Brookhaven, Ms. – On Monday, August 28, 2017, the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors held its annual land tax sale online for the first time. The sale was a success for the tax collectors and tax sale investors of Lincoln County.

The technology-driven land tax sale, which took place online at CivicSource.com, sold all but nine of 1,157 tax-delinquent properties available at the auction, returning $773,532.00 of property tax revenue to Lincoln County. “We had a great first year with CivicSource. In-County bidder participation was great, and 71% of winning bidders live in Lincoln County,” states Lincoln County Tax Assessor/Collector Blake Pickering. “It was great to see this open up more opportunities for participation to a greater number of people within the County.”

Unlike the live auctions of previous years, the online auction allowed investors to set proxy bids and participate in the auction from any internet-ready device whether at home, work, or a public computer. “I work full time and have never had the opportunity to attend any sales, so having the sale online made it available for me,” explains bidder Cynthia Price. “It was truly an amazing experience and I look forward to all future sales.”

One hundred and six bidders participated in the 2017 online land tax sale. Representatives from CivicSource and the Board of Supervisors provided laptops and technical support to investors at the Courthouse for the duration of the sale to make sure all participants transitioned smoothly to the new online format.

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About CivicSource:
CivicSource is the leading provider of digitized due process compliance and online auctions for tax-distressed real estate. Founded in 2008, New Orleans based CivicSource has been recognized by Inc. Magazine’s 500|5000 as one of “America’s Fastest Growing Companies” and has been recognized as the one of the “Best Places to Work” in New Orleans for the past six years. For more information, visit CivicSource.com.