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COLUMBIA CITY – The Whitley County Board of Commissioners will conduct an on-line tax certificate sale of delinquent properties that did not sell at the prior Whitley County tax sale beginning on Monday, March 19 at 10:00 a.m. and closing on Thursday, March 29 at 10:00 a.m.

In Indiana, county commissioners are authorized to offer for sale a tax lien on delinquent properties that remain unsold and unpaid from a prior year’s county tax sale.  Beginning on March 19 at 10:00 a.m., the Whitley County Commissioners will offer eighteen previously unsold tax sale certificates at a public sale on the Internet for opening bids that equal less than the total amount due in delinquent taxes, costs, and penalties.  “The purpose of the commissioners’ certificate sale is to offer delinquent properties at a discounted price for the purpose of collecting back taxes and returning these properties to the tax rolls,” explained Whitley County Auditor Jennifer McGuire.  “Unpaid property taxes affect the funding of local government services and penalize responsible taxpayers with higher property tax rates to make up for the shortfalls in revenue.”

In addition to serving as a source for local governments to collect unpaid property taxes, commissioners’ certificate sales also serve as an opportunity for real estate investors to earn interest income upon redemption of the property within one hundred twenty days from the sale date, or to take title to the property through a post-sale process that involves petitioning the local court for a tax deed.   
This will be the second straight year the Whitley County Commissioners have held such a sale.  Last year, nineteen tax sale certificates were offered and thirteen were sold, which resulted in the collection of about $9,000 in previously uncollected delinquent taxes for the local units of government in Whitley County.

The Whitley County Commissioners have contracted with SRI, Inc., an Indianapolis-based company founded in 1989 that conducts county tax sales and commissioners’ certificate sales for 83 counties in Indiana, Michigan, Colorado, and Florida.  Persons interested in the sale should visit SRI, Inc.’s Zeus Auction Program (ZAP) at www.sri-zap.com.