Town to bid on property at tax sale

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PROSPECT — The town is putting a Plank Road home up for a tax sale next week for the third time in less than a year but plans to enter its own bid this time around.

The town is holding the tax sale on Tuesday, and buyers will able to bid on the three-bedroom, Cape-style home at 109 Plank Road. The home is owned by Robert and Denise Stevenson, according to land records.

The town held tax sales last June and December that included the property, but no one bid on it. In April, the Town Council approved a resolution authorizing Tax Collector Diane Lauber to buy the property at Tuesday’s sale for the amount of taxes owed, including interest, if no other buyer outbids the town.

The home is appraised at $146,354 and assessed at $102,450, according to land records. As of Dec. 31, 2016, the amount of taxes owed on the property, including interest, stood at $34,086.85. According to the resolution, CitiFinancial Serving, LLC and Midstate Medical Center have liens on the property.

The town has bought vacant properties through tax sales in the past, but this one is different because the Stevensons still live in the home, according to officials. The Stevensons could not be reached for comment.

Once the tax sale closes, a six-month redemption period starts in which any lien holder or the property owners can step forward and pay off the debt, Lauber said. If that doesn’t happen, the deed to the property will officially transfer to whoever puts in the winning bid on Tuesday, she said.