If you have a property that is delinquent on property taxes, the city or town that the taxes are owed to will hold a property tax auction to sell the property in question and redeem the delinquent taxes. This type of auction is not as common in some areas as it is in others. Many times, a property owner who owes back property taxes will try to raise the monies before the property tax auction and keep ownership of said property. In some cases, the properties are sold. In many cases, the amount owed in delinquent property taxes is so low, that the buyer is receiving an excellent deal.

To bid on properties at a property tax auction, most states require that your register prior to the start of the auction. Once you are registered, you are given some details about the property and times and date when the property tax auction will take place. Once the auction begins, you will have an ID number, which will represent you as a bidder. As the auction proceeds, bids are entered until the final bid is received. After this time, a winning bidder has so much time to produce the monies to pay for his or her bid and take control of the property.

There are some things to check before attending a property tax auction, which will protect you if you decide to bid on the property. Check with a title insurance company to see if there are any other outstanding liens on the property. If there are, you may want to find out the amount and if it is possible to clear them with payment or if the owner has to clear these liens up before you can take control of the title.

This is done to protect you from buying a property and later finding out that you cannot take control of the title. Many people forget this simple step and have ended up paying more than expected to take control of a title. If the title is clear of any other liens, you should have a title in your name within a month’s time. You may also want to discuss this with a lawyer prior to bidding.

Most auction companies do not have access to a title company for verifying the title. If you find that the title does indeed have liens or other assessments against it, you can back out of the deal, however, this is another lengthy procedure. Before bidding on any property, you should pay to have a title search done to protect yourself. If there is a loan company attached to the property, you may be responsible for mortgage payments that are due on the property.

Title searches do cost some money, but you might be able to find out some of the important information from the local clerks office if they have open records, which most do. You can then see if there is a mortgage attached to the property and the name of the lender.

Is it possible to have two different assessors give two different assessments of two same properties? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Even though assessors follow guidelines, everyone sees something different. One assessor may see your property as a little run down and assess a lower value while another assessor assessing a property very close in looks and structure to your property may see it as worth the money and give a higher value. This in turn causes confusion for property owners. Even though they follow the same guidelines, their tastes are different and results in two different assessment values.

If you would find this discrepancy, one thing to do would be to discuss it with the assessors or find a third party assessor and have him or her assess both properties and see what the final results are and how if any they change. This would be something to consider if you are thinking about appealing your property taxes. Another way to avoid paying for a third party assessor would be to ask the same assessors to assess each other’s properties to see if they differ. This probably will not happen, but it is worth it to ask.

When using this information in an appeals case, you would want to have all three assessments and other assessments that were done the same way your assessment was done. The committee looking at the assessments may see a problem with having two assessors assessing the same so to speak properties. If this news or findings would spread throughout the community, the registrar’s office could see more traffic than the post office on the last day of the tax season. It could prove to be a nightmare that the community would want to avoid.

Two different assessors with two different assessments of properties are going to affect property taxes for all property owners. The only way to avoid such a commotion would be to have one assessor, or have multiple assessors and advise the community of this fact and let them decide if they need to check their report and others that match their properties to see if they may have a reason to request an appeal. This would be the fair way to make everything even. If a property owner does not wish to take the time to compare, it is their decision and they made it, it was offered which is only fair.

Keep in mind that different assessors may have also gained entry into the home while another may not have had access. This does play an important role in assessing a property, although it real should not. If you decorate your property to be elegant and receive a higher assessment from the other property owner, you might point out, that if you move, it will just be another empty shell of a property. This might just work when you are touring the property with the assessor as they evaluate your property, but may not work in an appeals process.