A total of 13 seasonal and permanent homes and vacant properties were sold at Monday’s upset sale in Smethport, with one going for $50,000 in Ceres Township.
But that leaves many more properties heading to a judicial sale planned for next summer in McKean County, including a commercial property in Marshburg owing $26,971.
More than 30 people turned out for the upset tax sale in the big courtroom at the McKean County Courthouse, where the listing of 146 was winnowed down as 21 people paid due taxes that morning, said McKean County Tax Claim Bureau director Angela Tennies.
The upset tax sale is held to collect the amount of taxes owned on the properties, along with interest, penalties and costs. Some of the properties were bought outright, and others bid on Monday at the courthouse.
Properties that sold include:
A residential property went for $50,000 at 396 McCrea Brook in Ceres Township. The property was listed as being owned by James H. Dickerson.
In Bradford City’s Fifth Ward, five properties were sold totaling $30,700. They were at Grove Street for $9,200; rear of High Street, $7000; east of High Street, $1,000; rear High Street, $5,500; and rear of High Street, $8,000. The properties were in the name of Henry A. Onofrio.
A home at 4 McCourt Place in Bradford City’s Third Ward was purchased for $2,500. The property was in the name of Joseph M. and Edna J. Hallock.
In the city’s Fourth Ward, a property at 23 Charlotte Ave. went for $3,068; the property was owned by Connie Lynn Wilking.
A property at 145 Aqua Drive in Keating Township went for $5,573, which was owned by David and Tina Elder. In Foster Township, a property at 823 South Kendall Ave. was sold for $2,218; the parcel was owned by Robert W. and Teresa K. Reed.
A property at 28 Munn Road in Bradford Township that was owned by Richard C. Boyle went for $3,259.
In Keating Township, a property at 8297 Route 46 was sold for $3,500; the owner was Roy T. Muckle Jr. A property at 306 Chapel Fork Road in Lafayette Township was bought for $4,500. That property was owned by Donald R. Miller.
The sales are not valid until certified by the court, Tennies said, so the names of the purchasers cannot be published.
Some of the properties listed among the 146 were pulled because of a questionable notification — property owners did not receive notice that the property had made the for-sale list.
The remainder will head for a judicial sale, in which Tennies is hoping to take place in July of 2015. That includes a commercial restaurant in Marshburg, listed in the upset tax sale as $26,971. The property is owned by Paul D. Morrisroe. Tennies did not know the name of the establishment.
Some of the unsold properties are associated with the Hallocks. A building at 3 Main St. in Bradford City’s First Ward is owned by Joseph M. and Edna J. Hallock and lists $15,039 in the approximate upset amount. Tennies said at one point the property was a storefront.
Meanwhile, a residence owned by Edna Hollack at 7 Jefferson St. in the city’s Second Ward amounts to $6,845; a home at 17 North Bennett St. in the city’s Third Ward is owned by Joseph M. and Edna J. Hallock and is listed at $3,980.
Another property owned by the Hallocks is at 338 East Main St. in the Sixth Ward amounting to $12,566. In the city’s Third Ward, Edna Wilking is the owner of a property at 26 Miller St., totaling $10,864.
Monday’s upset tax sale was the first with the combined tax claim bureau office, meaning more manpower, Tennies said. The tax claim bureau and assessment offices were consolidated in November.
“I think it went well,” Tennies said.
In August, the combined office hosted a judicial sale, with 44 properties on the list and 12 of them sold. The remaining properties are put on the county’s repository, which gives the county the right to sell them.
