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City tries new sheriff's sale policy: Sell some properties for less than what's owed, and bring properties to sale for L&I liens
The Philadelphia Revenue Department is experimenting with a change that could be a big step in fighting blight.
City tries new sheriff's sale policy: Sell some properties for less than what's owed, and bring properties to sale for L&I liens
The city Revenue Department's testimony at City Council budget hearings this week wasn't exactly the makings of cocktail party conversation, which may be why no one seemed to pay much attention when Revenue's chief counsel, Frances Beckley, mentioned that they're tinkering with some new policies on sheriff's sales. One change would be to bring a property to sheriff's sale for less than is owed when it's determined that the property likely won't sell for the total back taxes and liens on the books. Another is to bring properties to sale based on Department of Licenses and Inspections liens, which might be a significant blight-fighting tool.
"We have always compromised on properties [that won't sell] eventually, but before typically on the third try we would lower the price. Given that we're working hard to go through the tax delinquent properties, it seems like a waste of resources," Beckley explains to CP. The new policy would bring properties to sheriff's sale for estimated market value on the first go-around.
Another change: "We've been authorized by the Finance Director to work with L&I to sell properties for tax delinquencies that we would not choose solely for revenue-raising purposes, but that L&I has determined are a nuisance to the neighborhood," Beckley says. "We just got our first list of L&I properties that are tax delinquent." That means the first such properties should hit sheriff's sale in about six months.
Moreover, Revenue is working with L&I to draft a new type of complaint for bringing properties to sheriff's sale, that will allow them to bring to sale properties that are current on their taxes but have substantial L&I liens, typically from the costs of clean-and-seal or demolition actions. Beckley notes that some property owners keep up with taxes to avoid sales, while ignoring bills from L&I. Those sales could begin around the beginning of 2013.
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