A run down on the tax lien sale

As previously mentioned the town is in the process of conducting it’s annual disposition of delinquent property taxes.

The town has elected to use the method provided in CGS 12-195h which provides for the town to sell their right to collect on the back taxes through an assignment of tax liens.

I picked up a copy of the complete bid package to rummage through and see what in my opinion would be the good properties to hold a municipal tax lien on, which the town should think about acquiring through strict foreclosure and which are trouble.

First things first, here is the invitation to bid and notice of sale which contain the specifications:
08-37-invitation-to-bid
08-37-notice-of-sale-of-tax-liens

Now, here are the properties.

08-37-commercial-properties
There are two commercial properties in this package. I don’t think you can go wrong on the converted office space but the garage concerns me. The garage holds the potential to harbor hidden environmental hazards which could be detrimental to the ability to collect on the lien. The garage needs a bit more due diligence than GIS and comps can provide.

08-37-apartment-properties
There is one apartment building in the package. I drive by this building regularly and have evaluated it in the past for investment potential. The value of this one certainly warrants holding a lien. The only consideration is that the building has been under contract recently which means the lien may be paid off as part of a transfer of ownership soon. This would likely result in the lien having little if any return.

08-37-condo-properties
There are three condos in this package. One is in Gateway which is still a warrantable (that’s a good thing) complex last I checked and the other two are in Bell Court which could possibly be the worst complex in the whole town due to it’s notorious crime, finance and ownership problems. I would hold the lien on the Gateway condo without hesitation, however the two Bell Court condos require a different outlook. If I were to hold those liens my strategy would probably be to take possession of those condos for rental purposes through negotiation with the current owners or strict foreclosure in the future. Property sales are few and far between in that complex due to financing problems which makes it unlikely the lien would be paid off in the short term.

08-37-land-properties
There are 12 vacant parcels in this package. These vacant parcels are probably the least conducive to lien holding since they are generally garbage plots. There are a few gems but they come with ethical strings attached. To start with there is 53 and 73 Main Street. These two lots are likely buildable but they are both owned by one person, who I presume to be elderly or deceased based on the title, that owns and lives on the property between them.

223 Naubuc Ave is also interesting. I am guessing this lot, which appears to be buildable, is abandoned. I came to that conclusion because the owner lived next door at 207 but lost that property to foreclosure.

I was unable to locate 414 Hills Street Rear in GIS by any search method. The rest aside from the the one micro parcel at 287 Burnham appear to be unusable wetland that would be best acquired by the town through strict foreclosure. This would get them off the tax rolls and maintain their undisturbed condition.

08-37-mobile-home-properties
There are 13 mobile homes in the package. I personally wouldn’t hold a lien on a mobile home unless it included the land. None of these include the land. Mobile homes are different from other real estate in that often you only own the actual structure and lease the land. The structure itself devalues like a car which means the value backing the lien is dropping daily. In the event that the mobile home is acquired through foreclosure the lien holder may find that they can’t keep it on the land it’s on and can’t sell it. If the lien is outstanding long enough it will be worth about the scrap value of the mobile home which is probably less than the face value of the lien.

08-37-multifamily-properties
There is one multifamily property in the package. I would gladly hold a lien on this property.

08-37-single-family-properties
There are four single family properties in this package. Again, I’d gladly hold a lien on any of them.

Tags: 12-157, 12-195h, East Hartford, Tax Liens