Stephen Lonegan, the city’s treasurer and collector, said the auctions not only get abandoned property back on the tax rolls and help stabilize neighborhoods, but also offer good deals for prospective buyers.
Daniel J. Flynn conducted the auction at Springfield City Hall Tuesday night.SPRINGFIELD – An auction of city-owned property reaped more than $800,000 Tuesday night, pushing the total revenue from auctioned-off parcels this year to $1.3 million.
From bargain hunters and real estate investors to first-time home buyers, 37 people snapped up tax-title deals offered by Quincy-based auctioneer Daniel J. Flynn, often at very steep discount.
“It’s a great piece of property - let’s have some fun,” Flynn told the overflow crowd while hawking one property after another in the City Council chambers.
For buyers and non-buyers, part of the fun was in Flynn’s presentation – from the machine-gun patter to the enthusiasm he showered on even the least promising properties.
“It’s a fixer-upper - a little paint and you’ll be in it by Labor Day,” Flynn said about 23 Florence St., which sold for $3,000, about $39,000 below its assessed value.
The properties offered for sale consisted of 14 houses, one commercial building, and 28 residential and commercial lots. All were taken by the city for non-payment of taxes.
Stephen J. Lonegan, the city’s treasurer and collector, said the auctions not only get abandoned property back on the tax rolls, but also good deals for prospective buyers.
The highest price paid Tuesday was $130,000 for 34 Crystal Brook Drive; other properties, including a commercial building at 241 Main. St., were sold after a flurry of escalating offers from bidders.
“It’s a good deal,” the buyer, Jodanne St. George of Springfield,” who won the Main Street building with a bid of $62,500.
Initially, St. George had set a $50,000 limit for the site, but was forced to go higher to outbid other prospective buyers.
It was the second auction in four months. On March 27, an auction generated $326,205 in bids on 24 properties including houses and vacant lots.