Municipal Auctioneers Help Reclaim Back Taxes

Municipalities will often hire a third party firm to handle the details of tax title auctions and tax possession auctions. The third party firm provides municipal auctioneers to the municipality to help organize the auction through advertising the properties up for sale, the date, time and place of the auction and collecting of payment from successful bidders. In some states auctions may be conducted live at town or city hall while other auctions may be conducted online depending on specific state law.

Municipal auctioneers provide services for towns and cities needing to liquidate excess property as well as collect taxes through auction services. Tax title auctions and tax possession auctions provide municipalities a means to collecting back taxes owed by auctioning off the property asset associated with the tax bill. People can learn about tax title auctions and tax possession auctions through several sources, including directly from the municipal collectors office, through local newspapers and online through different web sites.

Municipal auctioneers work with the local municipality to determine the best type of lawful auction method to use for the property being sold. One type of auction most often used is called the English auction, (also known as the ascending bid auction), where bids are taken by the auctioneer until no more people desire to bid on the property. The person with the highest bid is the winner and receives the property upon settlement. English auctions are often performed live with people participating in a location but may include the use of computer accepted bids and proxy bids. Computer accepted bids and proxy bids are administered on behalf of the person placing the bid to the auctioneer as it is received through the computer or over the phone.

Municipal auctioneers may establish minimum opening bids for certain properties as well as set reserve prices depending on the asset and relative state law. The minimum opening bid is the least amount the municipality is willing to accept for the property and is often the total amount of the past due taxes plus any penalties. Properties often sell for more than their past due tax amounts since this is only the fraction of the true value of the property.

Municipal auctioneers can also provide services for excess property and assets which the city, county, or state no longer uses and just sits in storage. These items can include automobiles, heavy equipment, tools and other items. These types of auctions provide people an affordable option of obtaining items at a fraction of their original costs and convert these idle assets to cash for the local government.

Source: http://goarticles.com/article/Municipal-Auctioneers-Help-Reclaim-Back-Taxes/5324201/