County to hold property auction

Following its tax-defaulted property sale in May, Madera County plans to host a re-offer sale on Bid4Assets to return even more distressed properties to the tax rolls.

In the May sale, 57 properties were either redeemed by the owners or sold at auction. The funds generated support county services, which can face shortfalls when taxes go unpaid.

“The Bid4Assets platform enabled us to sell over $1.1 million worth of tax-defaulted property this May,” says Tracy Kennedy, Madera County treasurer-tax collector. “The goal of the sale is to eliminate shortfalls from unpaid taxes and return these properties to taxpaying status for the county. An Internet-based auction utilizing Bid4Assets’ technology has proven to be an ideal way to achieve this.”

All auctions have no reserve, meaning the highest bid at or above the minimum will win the property. Minimum bids range from $5,766 for a vacant lot in Friant to $62,342 for a 4.83 acre development tract on Howell Road in Chowchilla.

“The hope is always that the auction will prompt procrastinating property owners to pay their taxes and redeem the properties,” says Jesse Loomis, CEO of Bid4Assets. “When that doesn’t happen, we auction the property and find a new buyer. If there aren’t enough bidders in the local market, we bring a database of hundreds of thousands of nationwide real estate bidders to the auction.”

The auctions will open 8 a.m. Saturday and begin closing at staggered times between 10:30-11 a.m. Tuesday. Bidders must submit a $2,535 deposit before they are able to bid on properties. Deposits are due by July 25.

A list of properties available in the sale can be viewed at www.bid4assets.com/Madera.