It's baaaaack! Last month round one of the Wayne County foreclosure auction offered up foreclosed properties in an online auction for pretty cheap. The catch? Buyers have to pay the back taxes that former owners neglected. Not so in the next round starting October 21. We're talking starting bid of $500 this time and a clean slate: the city gives up on collecting the back taxes and the new owners start fresh. Sound good? Want in? You have to submit a deposit by October 14.
· To bid on one property you must deposit $535; for multiple properties, $5,035.
· Wayne county is more than the city of Detroit, but most of these properties are in the city. 12,194 out of 13,000 to be exact.
· Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz says "go big or go home!" He expects to beat last year's auction proceeds which were $16 million.
· Don't want a house? How about a garden? Some of these lots are totally vacant.
· You might be bidding against the person who already lost the property in foreclosure. "The county does not have a mechanism in place that stops an owner from bidding on his or her own property in the tax auction." Sounds like an aaaawwwkward move in day.
· For sale: Wayne County properties, $500 or best offer [Freep]
· The Hottest Property in the Tax Auction or Total Heartbreaker? [Curbed Detroit]
· Make Sense of The Wayne County Tax Auction With This Map [Curbed Detroit]