Tax dodging owners face liens, auction

TORRINGTON — Property owners with delinquent tax bills face a June 23 deadline for their home or business to be sold at auction to the highest bidder.

The city is attempting to collect back taxes of nearly $308,000, and Tax Collector Launa Goslee said liens were attached on 33 properties on May 11.

Since then, Goslee said, the number has been reduced to 17 properties which are subject to auction. “Owners are working on it,” she said. “Liens prompt action.”

By the time the public auction is held, Goslee said, she expects fewer than 10 properties will be up for bid. Last year the city sold seven properties to about six bidders. “None sold for more than what taxes were owed,” she noted.

The largest delinquent property tax bill on the list is $35,237 for a house on Northside Drive. It’s a historic home built in 1925 with an interior area of 2,304 square feet. The highest lien amount for a commercial property is $23,384 for a building at 120 E. Main St.

Interest from bidders has grown in the last three years, Goslee said. In 2016, there were just three bidders and by 2017, the number had grown to six or seven, she said. The auction attracts out-of-town bidders as well as investors, Goslee said.

“Some have started to inquire” about the properties available, she said. “A bidder truly has to do their homework.”

Bidders must provide a $4,000 deposit for each property on which they plan to bid. The winning bidder then must pay the balance of the bid within five days. “Bidders must

have means,” Goslee noted.

Three limited liability corporations are listed on the auction document. Goslee said such businesses tend to own rental property. According to information from the Connecticut Economic Resource Council, more than 65 percent of homes in Torrington are owner-occupied. However, the estimated poverty rate, based on 2015 figures, is 10 percent of the city’s population.