Even Banks Aren't Safe from Foreclosure

Residential and commercial properties and slivers of un-buildable land have gone years without the property taxes being paid and Tax Collector Manny Cambra says the town can no longer wait for the lost revenue. A lengthy list of properties and owners includes HUD and Duetsche Bank.

"Both HUD and Duetsche Bank foreclosed on people and didn't want to pay the taxes, so I'll foreclose on them," Cambra said.

When Cambra called the federal Department of Housing & Urban Development, he said nobody there knew who was supposed to deal with the town tax bill.

Cambra said all of the property owners on the list had received notices of their delinquent tax bills numerous times. Most have been delinquent for years 2008, 2009 and 2010. Bills that continue to go unpaid will be sold at what's called a tax sale in March.

A tax sale allows a tax collector to sell properties in an auction to collect taxes owed. The town may not place a bid itself, but if there are no bids for a property, the town may assume ownership.

On Monday night, the Town Council voted unanimously to give First Selectman Steve Vavrek or a designee the authority to take ownership of property that is not bid on at the tax sale.

After a tax sale, the owners still have six months to pay back taxes and interest in an effort to keep their property. The state allows a municipality to charge 18 percent interest for every year that taxes go unpaid.

When the town owns a property it may sell it to collect taxes owed or it could turn possibly it over to the new Monroe Land Trust & Tree Conservancy.

Cambra said a property at 24 Cheryl is large enough for the town to use for passive or active open space.

A, R & C

Cambra used a letter to classify each property on the list. "A" stands for abandoned. In most cases these are slivers of property bought as long as 50 years ago. Some of these owners have died and the heirs had to be located.

At one time, Cambra said it was common for people living in the city to pay about $20 to buy a tiny piece of land in a country town like Monroe for a relative.

In most of these situations, Cambra said he will try to sell the un-buildable property to an adjacent property owner.

Cambra said he will handle these properties himself. But a lawyer will be hired to handle the "R"s, residential, and "C"s, commercial properties on the list.

"Two years ago, I got rid of half of the abandoned property," Cambra said, adding he handled 16 abandoned properties and the town handled 10. "I'm clearing the books."

In the cases of residential and commercial properties, Cambra said, "99.9 percent of the time the banks will pay off the taxes and start foreclosure proceedings."

"I definitely don't want to see anything go to auction," he said. "Most of the 'A's will."

Some avoided being on the list, including three businesses who paid off their taxes and interest. Among them was the owner of the former Stevenson Lumber property.

"UBS is the primary mortgager for Stevenson Lumber," Cambra said. "They paid about a quarter-of-a-million dollars last week — One big and two small parcels, about 42 acres."