County Sees Surge In Tax Certificates For Sale

SEBRING - The number of tax certificates being advertised for Saturday's annual certificate sale is about 50 percent greater than last year's, showing a huge spike in the number of delinquent property taxes.

Investors looking to make interest off the unpaid property taxes will have 16,458 properties to choose from, compared to the 10,895 certificates for sale from the 2006 tax roll.

The county creates a certificate on a property when its owner owes taxes that are more than two years overdue. Investors buy them for the amount owed and earn interest until the property owner pays them off. After two years, the certificate holder could also try to get back the investment by forcing a foreclosure.

Highlands County Tax Collector Charles Bryan blamed the increase on both the growing number of properties on the tax roll and on two property owners in Sun N' Lake of Sebring that owe taxes on 2,885 properties. He acknowledged the current economy has a role in it as well.

"We are in somewhat of an economic slowdown," Bryan said.

The 2,885 properties he mentioned from Sun 'N Lake belong to SNL Development Llc. and National Recreational Properties of Sun N' Lake. In April, the Sun N' Lake Board of Supervisors learned that the latter company, based in Irvine, Calif., would be unable to pay taxes or assessments on any of the 2,950 it owns.

Bryan looked through the records and also pointed out a 2,655 increase in the number of properties on the 2007 tax roll compared to 2006's.

The delinquent properties from the two Sun N Lake companies and the added accounts countywide total 5,540. Coincidentally, the spike in tax certificates between the two years is 5,563.

The overwhelming majority of the certificates are bought up by investor groups. In last year's certificate auction, six groups bought up more than $4.5 million in certificates out of a total of $5.0 million that were on sale.