Lamont house sold as only tax foreclosure

A Medical Lake couple submitted the high bid of $5,300 to purchase a house on Garfield Street in Lamont at the county’s tax foreclosure sale Friday. The house was the lone piece of property sold through the foreclosure auction to conclude the process this year.

Kent and Michelle Howes of Medical Lake submitted the top bid.

Posted minimum bid for the house was $1,600 which was the amount of back taxes, interest and penalties owed to the county after three years of unpaid taxes.

Sale proceeds over the county debt, in this case $3,700, will be forwarded to the previous owner of the house.

Two other bidders were at the foreclosure auction for the residence.

The county each year undertakes foreclosure action on properties where owners of record have not paid taxes for the three previous years. The process started with a notice of pending foreclose action which this year went out to owners of 120 properties.

The process begins in May after the April 30 tax payment deadline. Taxes, interest and penalties are included in amounts listed as due in the notices.

After the first notice, 50 of the owners made payments, and the treasurer’s office sent a second notice to the remaining 70, according to Kathy Lemon, foreclosure clerk in the treasurer office.

Owners continued to clear the properties with payments until just six properties were listed on the treasurer’s court petition to certify properties for foreclosure. After the court order, five of the six properties were redeemed before the advertised date of sale.

That left the county with just the house at Lamont up for the Dec. 11 tax foreclosure auction.

The county also listed a mobile home located on D Street in Albon on the auction bill. The 1976 56 X14 Concord was up for foreclosure as personal property, and the county follows a distraint process which does not involve a court order.

The county did not get a bid on the mobile home and can now negotiate a sale, a process which is allowed once a property is offered to the public at action. County Treasurer Robert Lothspeich said the owner of the property where the mobile home is located can file to take possession if rental payments for the site are overdue, which is the situation in this case.