Eight local properties could potentially be auctioned off this fall to help the City of Red Deer recoup three or more years of unpaid taxes.
These range from a property near 50th Avenue and 20th Street with a reserve bid of $1.8 million to a manufactured home with a reserve set at $52,500.
This year’s tax auction list is considerably shorter than in past years. There were 21 properties on the 2021 list, 24 properties included on the 2020 list, 40 on the 2019 list, and 30 on the list for 2018.
Red Deer city council approved the latest auction reserves, based closely on market values, for the 2022 tax sale auction to be held on Oct. 13.
Read also:
-21 properties on the 2021 tax sale list
However, council was informed every effort will be made to encourage and support property owners to pay their taxes, right up to the tax sale. Even after the approval of these reserve bids, property owners can still make payments and have their properties removed from the tax sale.
Historically, this is what typically happens. The city’s tax department previously stated that nearly all of the listed properties will have their taxes paid before the tax sale.
Council is legislatively required to approve tax sale reserve bids that are “as close as reasonably possible” to market values to ensure fairness and transparency.
An independent appraiser was contracted to evaluate and assess the market value of the properties as of July 2022.