County public real estate auction slated for July 24

FRONT ROYAL –Warren County has set aside Tuesday, July 24 for the public auction of real estate for properties on which uncollected county taxes are owed.  The sale will be held at the Warren County Government Center Board Room, located at 220 North Commerce Avenue, at 11:00 a.m.  Taxing Authority Consulting Services, PC (TACS, PC) a Virginia law firm contracted with Warren County to collect delinquent taxes, will conduct the July 24 sale. 

None of the properties listed in a link on the webpage of Warren County, however, is a property owned by those named in the “Top 10” list on the delinquent tax database maintained by Warren County. Royal Examiner reached out to Warren County Treasurer Wanda Bryant for an explanation regarding criteria used to determine at what point in delinquency of payment a taxpayer’s property is considered for sale, but Ms. Bryant did not respond to several requests for information.  

When asked about the amount owed and length of time taxes were owed factoring into the sale of a property, a  representative from TACS, Jehimy Guzman, wrote in an email that “various factors are considered for each client related to which accounts are moved into litigation or the tax sale process. The amount owed in taxes and the years owed are some of the factors that could push a [sic] property up for sale.”

 According to the Code of Virginia, § 58.1-3965. When land may be sold for delinquent taxes; notice of sale; owner’s right of redemption.

A.      When any taxes on any real estate in a locality are delinquent on December 31 following the second anniversary of the date on which such taxes have become due, or, in the case of real property upon which is situated (i) any structure that has been condemned by the local building official pursuant to applicable law or ordinance; (ii) any nuisance as that term is defined in § 15.2-900; (iii) any derelict building as that term is defined in § 15.2-907.1; or (iv) any property that has been declared to be blighted as that term is defined in § 36-49.1:1, the first anniversary of the date on which such taxes have become due, such real estate may be sold for the purpose of collecting all delinquent taxes on such property.

According to figures provided by the Warren County Treasurer’s Office on April 25, 2018, delinquent Real Estate taxes totaled just over $1.8 million and delinquent Personal Property taxes were nearly $2.7 million, with some accounts dating back to 1998.

$4.5 million in County coffers would go a long way toward raising teacher pay, adding firefighters, and a number of other line items that department heads were told were unachievable in the last budget cycle.