Central Florida Tax Certificate Auction A $20M Bust?

In Central Florida, The Orlando Sentinel reports:

• Millions of tax dollars that Central Florida governments were counting on may never arrive. And thousands of struggling homeowners may get another shove toward foreclosure. It's all because last week's sale of tax certificates was a giant bust. For the first time, investors didn't snap up tax certificates, which local governments auction off to recoup unpaid taxes.

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• Losses from last week's auctions were still being added up Tuesday but are expected to total more than $20 million for cities, counties and schools, all of which were already reeling from statewide tax cuts and downturns in property values. [...] Throughout the region, tax collectors said they were surprised that bidders changed course this year and rejected nearly 15,000 tax certificates. [...] The certificates sold out in the past. But this year bidders rejected more than a third of late tax bills in Lake County. Osceola and Volusia counties reported similar numbers.

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• Because officials have never dealt with such a mass of unpaid taxes, they are not certain how much will ever be repaid.

For more, see Tax-auction bust could cost $20M.