Going Once… Going Twice… Sold!

In 2016, the City ramped up their seizure and disposition of tax delinquent properties.  They planned an auction of 20 tax delinquent and 3 surplus properties on 08/23/16 at Motley’s Asset Disposition.  The lot upon which the Idle Gray will sit was one of the surplus properties and lot #21 in the auction, meaning it would be sold near the end of the auction.

Prior to the auction, I researched recent sales in the nearby area, though there weren’t many, so my data set was thin.  I had found a 2008 zoning confirmation letter issued by the City that the property was a legal and buildable lot, which seemed like a good signal that a house could be built on it.  The terms and conditions of the auction specified a 20% down payment to be able to bid, a 10% buyer’s premium added to the high bid, and a phrase in the closing section that “time is of the essence” (in bold and all caps).  The auction materials included the lot’s tax assessment value, which presented a price anchor for bidders.

At Motley’s, the property auction took place in the garage used for the auto auction.  Conditions in the garage were hot and humid given that it was late August.  When the auctioneer started bidding on the Idle Gray lot, a flurry of bids ensued until the high bid approached the tax assessment value.  So even before I had entered the bidding, the high bid exceeded the good deal for which I had hoped.  Because of the uniqueness of a vacant lot in the Byrd Park area of the City, I entered the fray of bidding.  The bidding came down to me and one other guy, who I presumed to be a doctor since he was in scrubs.

After winning the auction, I signed a sales contract with the city that specified the payment of the full purchase price by 09/30/16 and an abatement plan for code violations within 60 days of purchase.  For the Idle Gray lot, there was a clear code violation of overgrown vegetation.  In other words, the City was not following its own ordinance of keeping grass / weeds no more than 12 inches high.  Not quite leading by example since the City issued $114,047 in fines to 2,484 addresses in 2017 for grass that was too tall.

Sources:

O'Brien, Kerri.  "No free pass for Richmond residents with tall grass."  WRIC.  23 February 2018.  http://wric.com/2018/02/23/no-free-pass-for-richmond-residents-with-tall-grass/amp/.  Web. 15 March 2018.