September 03, 2014  |  01:29 pm

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain today released the statistics from the 2014 property tax sale.

 On July 14, 2014, one hundred sixty one individuals registered as potential buyers for this year’s sale.  Registration was open to anyone interested in bidding on the properties being auctioned.

 More than 1,000 properties were scheduled for the sale due to unpaid property taxes.  A total of 918 properties were successfully auctioned at the sale, which was held in the misdemeanor courtroom at the Justice Center in Covington.  Another 129 properties were adjudicated to the parish.  (This means that no buyer placed a bid on the property, and the parish assumes the tax lien against the property until redeemed).

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Property Tax Division collected $1,557,138.32 through the sale.  These funds were then distributed to the parish’s various taxing entities in proportion to their respective tax millage rates.

When a buyer bids on, and “purchases,” a property at the sale, what they are really buying is the tax debt.  For example, if there is an outstanding tax bill of $200 on a property, the buyer pays that amount (plus certain fees and penalties).  When the original property owner eventually redeems their property, the buyer is refunded their $200 investment with interest (plus any fees/penalties).  Only after a sale remains unredeemed for years can a buyer apply to receive full title to the property.