Mecklenburg County in North Carolina is issuing a warning to homeowners who are behind on their property taxes [1]. According to their searchable map of properties the county can foreclose on, 1,641 owners are in danger.
According to Mecklenburg Tax Collector Neal Dixon, the county has only had to foreclose 36 to 40 times in recent years. But September 12, residents five or more years past due were notified of their inclusion on the map, which is intended to find bidders for the properties.
“We do think there are properties that can be useful to a new owner,” Dixon said in an earlier report [2] warning of the incoming decision. “Addressing these delinquencies will take property where taxes have gone unpaid for various reasons and potentially turn it into property that will generate tax revenue again.”
The Office of the Tax Collector worked with two legal services firms and one real estate service firm to complete the process, with the law firms ready to handle collections while the real estate firm prepares to market the foreclosed properties. If a property has no takers, the county plans to bid on the property itself.
The map, which any party can see here [3], includes land only, residential with structure, and commercial with structure foreclosures. Once a user clicks on a property, they can see the address, property description, amount due, assessed value, number of bills, and attorney assigned to the property.
The county's policy is to work with taxpayers who have trouble paying their bills, but due to state law, the county cannot consider demographic or socioeconomic factors in going after delinquents. Officials are urging taxpayers to contact them before their tax due date.
“We’re trying to break the cycle of delinquency,” Dixon said.