CROWN POINT | Delinquent property owners have begun migrating to the Lake County Treasurer's office, a sure sign that an autumn tax sale is approaching.
"Some have started to come, but usually they don't flock in until the week before," County Treasurer John Petalas said Tuesday.
His visitors hope to get their homes, businesses or vacant lots off the list of about 15,000 properties that will be auctioned to the highest bidder beginning 9 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Lake County Government Center here.
The sale is an annual attempt by the county to collect overdue taxes by offering real estate speculators the chance to buy the delinquent properties for the price of their back taxes and late fees.
The sale will be conducted by Synergistic Resource Integration, an Indianapolis-based firm.
Its listing of properties on offer indicate about 74 percent are located in Gary. The remainder include real estate in Lake Station, Hammond and several dozen sprinkled throughout suburban and rural county.
Petalas said that list is the smallest he's seen during his six years as county treasurer. "They average about 20,000 a year," he said. He had no explanation for the decline.
Delinquent owners have one year after the tax sale to redeem their properties by paying the back taxes themselves. If they do, the speculator who placed the winning bid gets a refund.
Petalas said many of the properties on this year's list look familiar, because they have been in tax trouble before.
He expects many of them to be passed over again next month and to be transferred to next year's Lake County Commissioner's tax sale.
County Attorney John Dull said he expects the commissioners' sale to take place some time between March and June 2012
Petalas said the commissioner's sale usually does more business than his.
"The redemption time is shorter and the minimum bid is smaller," Petalas said.
State law requires Petalas to set the minimum bid at the amount of the back taxes, while commissioners can virtually name their own price.