COURT HOUSE – In September, Middle Township Committee authorized an auction of township-owned land. The process was part of an effort to reduce the burden unneeded land makes on township resources and possibly return that land to the tax rolls.
There were 19 parcels, some were small or irregularly shaped, that Max Spann Real Estate and Auction Company put up at auction.
The company pays for advertising and conducting the sale, taking its compensation from a fee levied on the parcel’s buyer.
The process leaves the township with the proceeds from the sale which can be returned to the budget and put aside in reserves for unexpected expenses.
This auction was not expected to bring in the amounts municipalities like Atlantic City have seen with similar but larger auctions.
It was a start for the township as it introduced a new element in its “tool box,” a phrase Business Administrator Elizabeth Terenik is fond of using.
The auction was held in the municipal courtroom with 13 of the 19 parcels sold.
Closing has not yet taken place on the properties, but Terenik said this week that she expected all of the deals would go through.
A resolution passed by the governing body confirming the sales showed the properties netted $90,000 from the auction.
The properties will also be removed from the township-owned rolls meaning that resources will no longer be expended on maintenance of the parcels.
The top moneymaker was a 60 by 75-foot property at 128 N. Beach Ave. which brought in $18,000. The smallest sale was vacant land on Bates Avenue that netted $2,000.
While most of the property consisted of vacant land, a 50 by 100-foot parcel at 3 Ella Ave., which the resolution described as having a dilapidated structure, sold for $2,500.
Among the properties that did not find a buyer at the auction were three on Detroit Avenue.
Purchasers of the property buy the parcels “as is” and the resolution makes clear that they are “subject to existing encumbrances, liens, easements, zoning ordinances, and other restrictions of record.”
Any bidder who fails to close on a property forfeits a 10 percent deposit, leaving the township free to resell the parcel.
The properties will be conveyed to successful bidders “free and clear of all taxes up to and including the calendar quarter during which said sale was held.”
While the sales did not produce significant revenue, the goal of removing them from the municipal property list was met.
The township’s arrangement with Max Spann allows it to use the company for future sales of public property for which the township no longer has any use.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
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