Going, going, gone! Delinquent tax sale under way

With about twice the number of properties to auction off this year at the annual tax sale, Beaufort County deputy treasurer Herschel Evans, who played the part of auctioneer, was making sure his vocal chords wouldn't give out Monday.

"I brought some lozenges," said Evans, who will be behind the microphone today, too, for the second day of the sale. Because of the increased number of delinquent property taxes, the county had to schedule the auction over two days instead of the usual one-day event.

About 200 residents and several investment company representatives showed up Monday to bid on the 933 properties whose owners had failed to make 2007 property tax payments.

For some people, the sale was a chance to buy property at a discount, although delinquent taxpayers have another year from the sale date to redeem their property. They can do that by paying their back taxes, penalties and quarterly interest of 3 percent on the price of the bid. In past years, the owners paid off the county tax bills about 90 percent of the time after the properties had been auctioned.

A winning bidder's money is held in escrow for a year, giving the delinquent owner time to pay his bill. If that taxpayer does redeem his property, the winning bidder still collects interest on it.

Most people in attendance did their homework on the unusually high number of properties up for sale.

Curtis Ferguson of Gardens Corner came armed with a laptop computer and newspaper listings of the properties, with some highlighted in yellow marker.

Several residents, including Beaufort's Steve Tully, brought lawn chairs, eschewing the hard bleachers and metal-backed chairs on the floor of the gymnasium where the event is being held.

Just before taking a 30-minute lunch break, bidding on at least one of the commercial properties got heated, with several of the investment company representatives jabbing their bidding cards in the air furiously. One of the groups eventually won the property with a $750,000 bid.

Evans, the auctioneer, got up from his chair, set his microphone down, and gave a dramatic mock golf swing.

"After something that exciting, I need to take some heart medication," he quipped.

But on the whole, the sale plodded along, set against the backdrop of the conditions that made it difficult for manyproperty owners to pay their taxes.

County treasurer Joy Logan said the slowdown in the economy was to blame for the increased number of properties being auctioned and the number of residents unable to pay their taxes.

She said the national financial crisis also has made it harder for developers to get loans.

"We also saw there were a lot of developers' properties (for sale), and they can't go to the bank and get more money, so they're hung," she said.

THE AUCTION

What: Day two of the county's property tax sale

When/where: 9 a.m. today at the Charles L. Brown Gym, 1001 Hamar St., Beaufort

How it works: There's a $25 registration fee. Winning bidders have to pay Beaufort County the unpaid 2007 taxes on the property, the 2008 taxes and a small penalty for the unpaid taxes. Bids on Monday typically rose above the amount of taxes and penalties, and in some cases, jumped to more than $500,000.