The city of Hartford is moving ahead with an auction of nearly four dozen properties that are delinquent on their tax payments to the tune of nearly $5 million.
The public auction, a so-called “tax deed sale,” will take place Saturday, Oct. 24 at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, the baseball stadium located at 1214 Main St.
A list of properties can be found here.
The auction had originally been set for mid-May, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though there’s been a recent uptick in the state’s infection rate, the rescheduled auction will be held in person. Attendees are required to wear face masks and remain at least six feet apart from each other.
The list of properties and amounts owed has shrunk somewhat since the city released its original list back in February, reflecting recent payment and other updates.
At that time, there were 56 addresses owing a total of $5.5 million. Now there are 43 owing a total of $4.7 million.
Hartford Tax Collector Nancy S. Raich said a handful of properties were removed from the auction list in recent months because their owners paid their back taxes in full. Some were removed for other reasons, such as bankruptcy filings or zoning problems, she said.
This is the second consecutive year in which Hartford has held the auction. Prior to its 2019 tax deed sale, it had not held one for five years.
Tax deed sales differ from municipal tax lien sales. In the former, bidders bid to acquire a property, while in the latter, bidders acquire the right to foreclosure on a property in court.
This story has been updated to include additional information from Hartford’s Tax Collector