Sheriff's department to hold delinquent tax property sale in July

This summer the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department will sell 63 pieces of property from owners that are delinquent on property taxes.

The Delinquent Tax Sale will be held July 3. Properties will be sold at public auction and will be sold for cash to the highest bidder, based on oral bids. Purchasers must pay for property with cash or a cashier's check made payable to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. The county tax assessor-collector reserves the right to set the minimum bid on any property.

Proceeds from the sale are used to purchase equipment for the sheriff's department.

Purchasers at the tax foreclosure sale will receive an ordinary type of sheriff's deed which is without warranty, express or implied. The property is being sold "as is." Since purchasers will only have a sheriff's deed to the property, a policy of title insurance may be difficult to obtain.

The sale includes taxes through all tax years which were delinquent at the time of judgement and may or not include the most recent tax year. The purchaser will be responsible for the payments in the tax years that are due since the time of judgment.

It will be necessary for the bidders to satisfy themselves concerning location of the property on the ground prior to the sale. Maps and plats of these properties are on file in the office of County Clerk and all papers in the lawsuits on which this sale is based are on file in the office of the District Clerk. The approximate property address is the address on the tax records and may or may not be completely accurate.

Prior to the day of the sale, a bidder must request a Statement of No Delinquent Taxes Owed from the Jefferson County Tax Office.

Most of the properties have minimum bids as low as $50 dollars, with only a few having minimum bids of $500.

For more information on the auction rules or the properties themselves, visit the county's Web site at www.co.jefferson.tx.us.