MIDDLETON — The more than 20 people who gathered yesterday in a Flint Public Library meeting room for the auction knew the stakes.
"You will take over the position of the town," said James Coppola, Middleton's tax lawyer.
They had come to bid on tax liens Middleton had put on properties with outstanding property tax balances. A winning bid put the bidder in charge of collecting an amount previously owed the town and, if unsuccessful, foreclosing on the property.
Middleton resident Shahin Shahin was there. The developer set his sights on 163 N. Main St., a home with an assessed value of $375,200. The minimum bid the town would accept was $13,789, an amount reflecting the taxes, interest and fees owed Middleton.
Shahin's $14,100 was the winning bid.
"I'm experimenting with this," he said afterward, explaining that it was his first time at what is known as a tax title assignment auction.
Either he collects on a lien accruing interest at 16 percent or forecloses on the property and takes ownership of it.
The town, meanwhile, clears a chronically delinquent balance off its books and avoids the costly foreclosure process.
"We want these properties back on the tax rolls," Middleton Town Administrator Ira Singer said. "We want them active with their taxes being paid on a regular basis."
It has been about eight years since Middleton has held a lien auction, Singer said.
Initially, 12 properties, owing a total of $397,618, were to be on the block. But before the bidding began yesterday, one owner paid all of an $18,630 bill and another paid most of a $17,721 bill. Three more properties dropped out of contention when their owner filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
Seven liens were left.
But despite the encouraging turnout, bids were scarce.
"A lot of tire-kickers," Singer said, "and no bidders."
No one bid on the first five liens, which included the $98,204 attached to the American Glue & Resin property on School Street. The North Main Street lien sold, and a $3,577 lien on Summit Avenue went for $7,000.
Singer called the auction "a little disappointing."
But the lien sales and two property owner payments still generated more than $45,000 for the town, he said.
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