Faced with the public auction of their properties, six Derby property owners paid a combined $351,309 in back-taxes this month.
The payments prevented those properties — ranging from a bar to single family homes — from being sold at a tax auction at Derby City Hall Wednesday morning.
Four of the original 10 properties were auctioned Wednesday. Three were sold.
Details
315 Olivia St.
Minimum Bid: $41,241.94
Sale Price: $62,000
High bidder: Salvatore Spadaccino of Shelton
25 Jeanetti Drive
Minimum Bid: $45,768.66
Sale Price: $125,000
High bidder: Judy Swenton of Derby
200 Derby Ave.
Minimum Bid: $31,740.47
Sale Price: $39,000
High bidder: Paul Coles of Shelton
Chapel Street lot
Minimum Bid: $32,188.28
No bids.
It was the city’s first delinquent tax auction.
Tax Collector Cinda Buchter called it a success — mostly because it prompted more than half the people on the list to pay up.
“My goal as the tax collector is to collect the taxes,” Buchter said. “We’re delighted when people pay. This is not malicious. We’re not trying to take people’s homes away.”
Even though three homes were sold Wednesday, the previous property owners still have six months to make good on their delinquent taxes before the titles are handed over to the high bidders, according to Adam Cohen, the attorney hired by the city to conduct the auction.
Click here to see a previous article with the full list of delinquent properties.
The High Bidders
The properties auctioned off were a home at 315 Olivia St., an empty lot on Chapel Street, a home at 200 Derby Ave., and a home at 25 Jeanetti Drive.
No one bid on the empty lot on Chapel Street.
Sal Spadaccino purchased the home on Olivia Street, and said he hopes to renovate and sell or rent it out.
“I buy properties a lot,” Spadaccino said. “This was a different avenue.”
Ground Rules
Cohen explained in detail the process for the 30 people who attended the tax auction.
- Winning bidders must pay the amount in full on Monday, Oct. 18 in order to qualify as the winner.
- The winning bidder must wait six months before receiving the title, during which time the property owner can pay off the taxes and retroactively cancel the auction.
- The winning bidder buys the property “as-is” and is responsible to legally removing any remaining tenants.
“I want to make clear that today is not a happy day,” Cohen said. “The city does not want to auction off people’s properties for delinquent taxes. It does it because it hasn’t been successful with other methods of negotiation.”
Cohen said bidders should not make light of the situation.
“At this auction, when a winner is announced, please do not clap,” he said.
The Auction
The bidding was slow paced and serious.
The starting bid is the amount owed in back taxes, plus any lien fees, sewer fees. The city also adds on the auction and attorney expenses to the minimum bid.
Cohen tried to drive the price of each property up, in order to get the maximum amount from each sale. The extra money over the base price is distributed through the courts, Cohen said. The city does not make a profit on the sales.
During the bidding, Cohen repeated the present bid, slowly and clearly, leaving long silences while he waited for a response.
While Cohen waited, he stared directly at the person whose bid could top off the current bid on the table.
Sure enough, the white piece of paper, with the bidder’s number printed on it, would rise up and the bidding would continue.
“Bidder number six bids 121. 122?” Cohen said, before leaving a long silence in the packed room.
Click play on the video above to see a portion of the auction.
