HomeMy WebLinkAboutSALE INFO FLYER 2022REAL PROPERTY
FORECLOSURE
2022
Jefferson County Treasurer
Stacie Prada, Treasurer
Open Position, Foreclosure Deputy
treasurerstaff@co.jefferson.wa.us
P.O. Box 571, Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 385-9155 PHONE
(360) 385-9149 FAX
2022 Jefferson County Tax
Foreclosure Information
Date: December 8th – 2022
Tentative Date
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Location:
www.publicsurplus.com
Publication Date: September 2022
Port Townsend Jefferson County
Leader
In 2022 the properties subject to
foreclosure are those on which the 2019
full year tax is delinquent. In some cases,
2019 or earlier taxes may also be
delinquent. The grace period is 3 years
and the 2019 taxes will be 3 years past due
on May 1, 2022. NOTE: It does not
matter if the 2020, 2021 or 2022 taxes
are paid or not. It is not when there are 3
years of taxes past due but when 1-year
tax is 3 years past due that foreclosure
begins.
We do not maintain a mailing list to
notify people of each year’s tax
foreclosure. The majority of people who
ask for information never attend the
auction or do any research once they find
out what is required and what is involved.
Furthermore, people move without telling
us and it is a waste of county resources
when the list is returned. Starting in late
August we will have a listing on the County
Web Page
http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/339/Tax-
Foreclosure
We do not sell “tax certificates” or
“deeds” of any nature. In some states you
may purchase a certificate of some kind
showing that you paid the delinquent taxes
but we don't have any information on this
procedure because there is no provision
for it in Washington State law.
If you obtain a list from us for research
purposes, remember that you will need to
come into our office periodically to delete
those accounts that were paid since your
list was printed. Due to the volume of
work this information will not be provided
by telephone. Parcels may be redeemed
from foreclosure at any time up to the day
before the auction, thus we do not know
what will be in the sale until the morning
of the auction.
There is no redemption period after the
sale except in cases where the owner on
the day of the sale was either a minor child
or a person adjudicated to be legally
incompetent. In those cases, there is a 3-
year redemption period.
As real estate taxes are in the first lien
position, the tax foreclosure extinguishes
all other encumbrances including but not
limited to Deeds of Trust, mortgages,
contracts, liens, judgments and any similar
items. However, any Local Improvement
Assessments (LID’s) remain and become
the obligation of the buyer. Also, Internal
Revenue liens remain.
ALL SALES ARE FINAL. PROPERTIES ARE
SOLD ON A “WHERE IS” AND “AS IS”
BASIS. WE WOULD LIKE YOU, AS A
POTENTIAL BUYER, TO BE AWARE THAT
ANY PARCEL OF PROPERTY SUBJECT TO
FORECLOSURE COULD HAVE
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. The
Treasurer’s Office recommends that
potential bidders visit a parcel to
ascertain its’ merits before bidding at
auction.
All research must be done by the
interested party. Normally this would
include checking maps in the Assessor’s
Office and doing research through the
public computer terminals in the
Assessor’s Office. An on-site inspection
should also be made. Just because a
property looks desirable on the map does
not mean it is in actuality. The map does
not show the topography such as ravines,
hills, slopes, etc., nor does the map show
what is on the property (dense growth,
swamp, boulders, etc.). Some properties
may be private roads covered by
easements for ingress and egress.
Easements are not wiped out by the
foreclosure sale but remain with the land.
You may not block the easement to try to
extort money out of the users. Similarly,
when you see that a property lies near or
under a transmission line easement, there
will likely be restrictions against building
anything on the land. Transmission line
easements do appear on the Assessor’s
maps but private easements do not.
It is up to you to know exactly what you
are bidding on. We cannot stress this too
strongly. Every year people who have done
little or no research or who do not know
how to read a legal description buy
properties that, to them, are totally
useless. Knowledgeable parties who have
done the proper research will avoid these
properties. We do not overturn a sale and
refund the purchase price because a
bidder didn’t know what they were bidding
on, nor because they didn’t understand the
legal description.
Do not count on buying a house at the
foreclosure auction. Normally, owners of
improved properties subject to tax
foreclosure will raise the money to redeem
the property before the sale, often at the
last minute. Most houses that are
foreclosed on have delinquent loans held
by banks, mortgage companies or other
lenders. There is no department within
the County that has information on these
lending agency foreclosures.
Properties not sold to the public at the
auction are sold to Jefferson County.
These parcels are thereafter called “Tax
Title Properties”. Most of these parcels
are of little value which is why they didn’t
sell at the auction in the first place.
THE TAX FORECLOSURE AUCTION
The minimum bid covers what is owing to
the County for tax, interest, penalties and
foreclosure costs. 2021 sale was
conducted online via the Public Surplus
website.
https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/jefferson
co,wa/browse/home
www.publicsurplus.com
2022 Sale Provider – Public Surplus
A “Tax Deed” will be issued within 30 days
of purchase to the successful bidder.
Payment must be made within 2 business
days of the close of the auction.
An 5% Buyer Premium ($1 minimum
premium per auction) shall be added to
the final sale price.
Acceptable form of payment is wire
transfer. No cash, checks, or money
orders will be accepted. Payment will be
processed through PayMac, LLC, a third-
party payment processing company. Public
Surplus will notify buyer of receipt of
payment via email.
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FLYER.docx