Hundreds of properties across county finally up for auction
By Patrick FanelliArticle Photos
Fact Box
''There are a lot of nice properties for sale from people who have just fallen on hard times."
Darin Schultz, county finance director
For years, hundreds of homes across Chautauqua County have remained vacant after being seized by the county when the owners failed to pay their property taxes.
Those homes have sometimes been eyesores for neighbors and occasionally victimized by vandals and arsonists. County officials hope to deliver more than 500 of those homes into the hands of new owners at a tax foreclosure auction later this month.
The number of homes for sale is higher than usual, according to Darin Schultz, county finance director. Part of that, he says, is because last year's tax foreclosure auction never took place though it's also attributable to a rise in foreclosures.
''It's a trend that is continuing regardless,'' Schultz said. ''We're seeing more and more foreclosures on an annual basis.''
Tax foreclosures differ from the rash of bank foreclosures recorded as the nation's housing bubble burst, the root of today's woes on Wall Street. Banks foreclose much faster when the owners don't pay their mortgages than the county does when the owners don't pay their taxes, according to Schultz.
When it comes to the long list of properties that will be up for auction later this month, their previous owners were delinquent on their taxes for years before the county seized control. That means the homes were usually boarded up long before today's housing crisis took shape.
According to Schultz, these properties are scattered all across Chautauqua County, though most of them - roughly two-thirds - can be found in one of the county's two cities. And most of those - more than 200 properties out of the 500 that will be auctioned off- are in Jamestown.
Steve Centi, Jamestown city development director, was critical last year when staffing problems in Mayville put that year's tax foreclosure auction on hold, and he said he was happy to see one going forward this year.
''When they're in the county's hands ... they're kind of in a state of limbo,'' Centi said of the properties. ''This provides us with the opportunity now to move forward potentially with an owner who's going to buy it and put some money into it.''
According to Schultz, the tax foreclosure auction will attract all sorts of buyers, from first-time homeowners to those seeking a fixer-upper. The bidders that are of most concern to the county, he says, are the investors.
In Jamestown, there has been a problem with investors getting a seemingly incredible deal at the tax foreclosure auction while the property itself is in terrible shape and unfit for tenants, according to Centi.
''We've had this problem in the past. People have gone out and thought they hit the lottery. ... And they turned around and came to us and said, 'I'm ready to rent,' and this is what we said: 'Here's what you're going to have to do to bring it up to code,' '' Centi said.
Those properties would often remain vacant and return to the county's possession, leading some to call for a better mechanism so that prospective property owners are aware of the property's condition before bidding and are even required to bring it up to code.
But many properties that will be auctioned off, according to Schultz, are in good shape, which is why he encourages prospective property owners to inspect the list at the Real Property Services Web site. The link can be found at www.co.chautauqua.ny.us under ''General Services.''
''There are a lot of nice properties for sale from people who have just fallen on hard times,'' Schultz said.
