Crittenden County land auction nets $147,594.11

Crittenden County land auction nets $147,594.11

Commission cashes in on tax- delinquent properties

State Lands Commissioner’s Office LITTLE ROCK — The recent auction of tax-delinquent properties in Crittenden County collected over $147,000 for county and state govern- ment, the Commissioner of State Lands announced.

The Land Commissioner’s office conducted the auction of delinquent properties recently at the Crittenden County Courthouse. The auction drew 28 bidders and sold 30 parcels, for a total of $147,594.11 for Crittenden County and state government.

The Land Commissioner’s office conducts one taxdelinquent

land sale per

county each year to dispose of land on which the taxes have been past due over two years.

“We auction only a small percentage of parcels certified for delinquent taxes,” Commissioner John Thurston said. “In most cases, the original owner redeems the delinquent property by paying the back taxes.”

While redemption of property is the preferred method of disposing of tax-delinquent lands, Thurston notes the important role of land sales in returning inactive parcels to the tax rolls.

Registered bidders may purchase land at the auctions. Registration to bid at land sales is free. Upon sale of tax-delinquent property, the Commissioner issues a limited warranty deed to the highest bidder.

Thurston’s office returns delinquent tax and interest collected, whether through redemption or sale, to the county taxing unit just as if the money had been originally collected there.

“Last year, we returned almost $20 million to school districts and county governments,” Thurston said.

“Crittenden County received over $282,000 of that amount. This is an important process, because it provides stable revenue for necessary services including public schools.”

Interested Arkansas residents may visit the Commissioner of State Lands website, www.cosl.org, to view the public auction catalog, a listing of properties offered at auction, or the post-auction sales list of properties available that did

not sell at auction.

By Nikki Heck