The number of tax forfeitures is getting smaller.

 

“This list was considerably less than the previous two years,” says Sherburne County Auditor/Treasurer Diane Arnold.

 

The “list” she is referring to includes all the properties in the county that were put on the tax forfeiture list in 2013 because of tax delinquency.

 

“For 2013 we had a total of 34 parcels tax forfeit to the State of Minnesota,” says Arnold. “In 2011, I believe there were 176 and in 2012 there were 179, so it dropped down drastically.”

 

From 2002 and 2006, there were a total of 32 tax forfeited parcels in the county. That number jumped to 83 over the next four years before topping off in 2011 and 2012. Arnold says those higher numbers reflected whole developments that went into tax forfeiture. Builders couldn’t afford to hold onto empty lots where no one wanted to build.

 

But no developments went into tax forfeiture in 2013, which is a big reason why the numbers are lower.

 

There were signs last year that people were thinking about building new homes again. The county had a tax forfeited land auction last July 23. Of the 194 parcels offered for sale, 36 sold at the public auction for a total of $339,800. The year before, only 12 parcels sold at auction.

 

Those that weren’t sold during the auction were listed on the county’s website, where people could purchase them at the listed price. Since the auction, 45 more parcel have sold, and the others are available for purchase.

 

The county currently has 113 left on the website.

 

Last week, the county board approved a request by the auditor/treasurer’s department to hold another land auction in September. Lots that haven’t sold by then will be part of the auction. The 34 properties that went into forfeiture in 2013 will be added as soon as the county assessor has a chance to set the minimum values.

 

Arnold says in years past, the county wouldn’t hold a land auction during an election year because of all the work the department has to do to prepare for elections. 

 

“With as many parcels that we still have, I’m trying to hold one every year,” she says. “We want to get those put together and offer them at auction to the public so we can get them back on the tax rolls as soon as we can.”

 

Of the 113 parcels already listed on the county site, the City of Big Lake has the most with 45, almost all located in the Wrights Crossing Development. Livonia Twp. has the next biggest number with 43.

 

Of the 34 properties from 2013, 15 are located in Big Lake Twp. Four are in the City of Big Lake. Zimmerman has six. The City of Becker and Becker Twp. each have one.