Luzerne County is preparing for its main annual free-and-clear delinquent tax auction to be held Aug. 10.
Also known as judicial sales, free-and-clear auctions sell properties cleared of liens and back taxes because they were not purchased at a first-stage upset sale.
Approximately 207 parcels are currently eligible for the Aug. 10 sale, although some will be removed as property owners pay the debt or convince a judge that a temporary delay is warranted.
The current list of properties will be publicly posted Friday at www.luzernecountytaxclaim.com and also appear in Friday’s edition of the Times Leader, said Sean Shamany, of county tax-claim operator Elite Revenue Solutions LLC.
Shamany reminded impacted property owners that his office is not legally authorized to offer incremental repayment plans for delinquent parcels after they have been listed in an upset sale. Installment plans can only be authorized by the court, he said.
Property owners should not procrastinate seeking a court hearing if that is their plan because the county Court of Common Pleas may be unable to accommodate last-minute filings requesting removal from the sale, he added.
Registration
Due to legislation passed in 2021, prospective bidders must complete their registration by 4 p.m. on July 28, with information posted on Elite’s site.
Aimed at cracking down on irresponsible bidders who contribute to blight, the state’s amendment of the Real Estate Tax Law requires county tax claim offices to cut off bid registration sooner so municipalities have time to research whether prospective buyers have code violations.
Bidders must provide more detailed information under these reporting requirements.
Registration must be in person at the tax claim office, which has relocated from the county courthouse to the third floor of the county’s Penn Place Building, 20 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre.
Elite will start accepting registrations on Friday, and only registered bidders are permitted to attend the auction, Shamany said.
The auction starts at 10 a.m. in the auxiliary gymnasium at the King’s College Scandlon Physical Education Center, 150 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre.
The county does not charge a registration fee, although that may be considered by council in the future as a way to generate revenue. Some counties charge $50 or $100 registration fees, officials said.
Research
Based on past experience with some bidders unaware of what they are buying, Shamany urged anyone interested in the properties to perform research.
Some incorrectly rely only on assessment record “situs addresses,” which are intended as a general geographic reference point and may not literally correlate to a structure, officials have said. Many situs addresses date back decades, and several contiguous but separate parcels may be lumped under the same situs address.
Instead, prospective buyers should match the unique identifier for each parcel — known as the property identification number, or PIN — to the boundary lines in the county’s real estate maps. These PINS are included in the auction list.
The county GIS/Mapping department offers a free online map to search all PINs at luzernecounty.org. This allows prospective buyers to determine the positioning of the parcel and whether those of interest are landlocked.
Lots containing yards, garages, driveways or other parking areas often are on separate parcels, even though they may only have value to an adjacent structure. Property owners have no requirement to consolidate all their adjoining parcels into a single one through a reverse subdivision, which is why multiple parcels are often taxed individually.
“I can’t stress it enough. Do your due diligence,” Shamany said.