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Berks delinquent real estate auction going online
Stacy Wescoe//June 11, 2021
For the first time, Berks County’s tax claim bureau will be holding a delinquent real estate auction sale online.
“COVID-19 has opened our eyes to the possibility of transitioning the tax sale process,” said Tax Claim Bureau Director Nicole E. Blanding.
By moving online, the county is eliminating COVID-19 concerns from the sale while exposing distressed properties to a wider group of buyers and increasing the likelihood those properties will be returned to the tax rolls.
The auction will be conducted through Bid4Assets.com, an online auction site based in Silver Spring, Maryland. The company auctions distressed real estate for the federal government, county tax collectors, sheriffs, financial institutions and real estate funds.
“Bid4Assets has a great track record of auctioning tax-defaulted and foreclosed properties, including Berks County’s sheriff’s sales. Their services increase our office availability to taxpayers, make the process more efficient and keep bidders safe from COVID-19 – all at zero cost to the county,” Blanding said.
There are currently 113 properties available through the auction.
Bidding opens June 17 at 10 a.m. Auctions will close at staggered times on June 18.
All auctions will start at a minimum bid of $1,000 and have no reserve price, meaning the highest bid at or above the minimum will win the auction.
Bidders must register for a Bid4Assets account and fund a $1,000 deposit to participate in this sale
Bid4Assets said it has more than 17,000 registered real estate bidders in Pennsylvania, but bids can come from anywhere in the country.
Prior to the auction, Blanding said the office will assist any taxpayer seeking to remove their property from the sale by offering relief options available to them.
