Sullivan to hold delinquent tax sale in Kingsport on Wednesday | Real-estate

BLOUNTVILLE — About 100 pieces of real estate will go on the auction block Wednesday in a delinquent tax sale being held by Sullivan County.

The minimum opening bids on the parcels range from $534 (for a lot in a mobile home park) to $21,285 for a home on Hawthorne Street in Kingsport. The latter is appraised by the county property assessor as having a market value of $54,400. Originally built in 1943, the 624-square-foot home is being auctioned due to unpaid taxes to the city of Kingsport and to Sullivan County for tax years 2013-2020.

With a minimum opening bid of $40 less, at $21,245, an 1,880-square-foot home on Steadman Street, built in 1930 and appraised at $117,700, might be more attractive to bargain hunters. It’s being auctioned for unpaid Kingsport and Sullivan County taxes for 2016-2020.

“We are anticipating another large crowd at the upcoming Sullivan County Delinquent Tax Sale,” Sullivan County Clerk & Master Katherine Priester said Monday. “At the last sale in September 2021, we had approximately 110 registered bidders and more than 150 people in attendance.

In-person registration begins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Priester said bidders need to make sure to arrive early enough to allow ample time for registration.

Bidders can also pre- register online at www.sullivantnchancery.com until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. If a bidder pre-registers, they will have to present their photo identification on Wednesday to pick up their bidder registration number.

A list of properties included in the sale is available online. Priester noted the list is updated often as delinquent taxes on parcels are paid by current owners.

“We update the list on our website as frequently as possible,” Priester said. “The tax sale list originally started at 183 parcels. As of Monday morning, the list was down to 100 parcels. We hope that many other property owners continue to come in and pay their taxes to get their property removed from the sale.

Payments for delinquent taxes are accepted at any chancery court locations in Kingsport, Blountville or Bristol until 5 p.m. Tuesday to remove the property from the sale.

And even if property is sold at the delinquent tax sale, owners, lienholders and those having an equitable interest will have time to redeem the property. The redemption period can range from 30 days up to one year depending on the circumstances surrounding the particular parcel.

The sale will be at the Kingsport Civic Auditor- ium, continuing a practice started in 2020 to allow adequate social distancing due to COVID-19. It proved to be a better location in general than the Commission Room of the historic Sullivan County Courthouse in Blountville, which only has seating for 75 and where parking can be a challenge.

“We continue to use the Kingsport Civic Auditorium because of the increase in interest and attendance in the tax sale,” Priester said.

If all the parcels don’t reach the auction block due to time on Wednesday, the sale will continue on Thursday.