The number of tax-delinquent properties in Harford County has continued falling in recent years, which county leaders say may be at least partly attributable to more troubled property owners being able to get financial help.
At the county's annual tax lien sale Monday, 444 properties were up for sale in an online auction that brought in $847,708.31, county spokesperson Cindy Mumby said.
The number of properties was down from 486 last year, which was a significant drop from 619 properties offered in 2014.
Of those, 405 were sold, about 91.2 percent, Mumby said.
"You can see the dollar value is down this year, and [Assistant Supervisor of Revenue Collections] Paula [Anis] and [Revenue Collections Chief] Rachel [Holmes] work with them to see what they can do," county Treasurer Robert Sandlass explained about the property owners who are in danger of becoming delinquent.
"There is a host of things we can do," Sandlass said about state and county tax assistance. "The sooner we do that, the better."
"If people are struggling, don't just think it's going to go away."
The total value of the 444 properties offered at the tax sale was $954,351. Three of them were dual-occupancy, 173 were occupied by the homeowner and 268 were not occupied by the homeowner, Holmes wrote in a letter this weekend.
A total of 29 people registered to bid Monday morning, when the properties were put up for auction in three batches. Ultimately, 10 bidders got 401 of the 405 that were sold.
Although the county tries to work with property owners as soon as possible to keep them from getting to the tax sale, "we still had a lot of last-minute people," Anis said.
She said the county strives to get the word out to elderly residents and anyone who does not have a mortgage.
The winning bidders pay off county taxes and any penalties owed before having a lien against the property. The owner either pays the bidder back, in addition to a redemption interest with a county-set rate, or the lien holder forecloses on the property.
The redemption interest rate is 12 percent per year, which is why many people find it attractive to bid on tax sale properties.
Tax lien certificates are good for two years and people have up to four months to get their properties back following the sale, before having to possibly face court action by the lien purchaser.
The later the owners come in after the sale, "the interest starts accumulating, the legal fees start accumulating," Sandlass said.
Anis pointed out the homeowner tax credit as one way for people to get a greatly reduced tax bill.
"If they apply for that, they can also apply for energy assistance," she noted.