Luzerne County Courthouse
                                 File photo

Luzerne County Courthouse

File photo

Seasoned bidder Glenn Keller paid $1.6 million to purchase 58 properties at Luzerne County’s recent first-stage tax auction, according to a post-sale report.

Last week’s auction also hit a new record in overall total sales, with 167 parcels sold for $4.357 million, including transfer tax, according to Sean Shamany, of Elite Revenue Solutions, the county’s tax-claim operator.

The previous high was in the September 2022 first-stage auction, when sales surpassed the $3 million mark.

County auctions have been attracting more bidders in recent years due to increased public awareness about the opportunity and heightened interest in potential real estate bargains, officials have said.

“It just shows the increase in property values and the high demand for properties in our area,” Shamany said of last week’s record auction collection.

Officially called an “upset” sale, the first-stage auction sets minimum bids at the amount of delinquent taxes and municipal liens owed. Bidders also must accept responsibility for any outstanding mortgages and non-municipal liens attached to their purchases.

Taxing bodies will recoup all taxes owed on the 167 parcels sold last week, Shamany said.

The remaining 222 parcels not snatched up last week will advance to a free-and-clear “judicial” sale in 2024, when delinquent taxes and liens are deducted from the minimum bid.

Last week wasn’t the first time Keller, a Jim Thorpe-based investor, stood out in a tax auction. He acquired 48 properties for $1.1 million at the county’s upset sale last September.

Keller, who could not immediately be reached for comment Monday, has said he and his team physically visit each prospective purchase site to get a feel for the neighborhood and condition of structures based on an exterior view, as opposed to relying on online real estate platforms that may have dated or inaccurate information.

Court records also must be searched to identify liens or estate issues that will fall on the successful bidder, he had said.

Sometimes all that preparation is for nothing because a promising parcel can be removed from the sale list shortly before an auction if the owner obtains a court delay, files for bankruptcy, pays the delinquent taxes or gets on a repayment plan.

When a bid is accepted, litigation and negotiating with lien holders often are necessary to obtain a clear property title, he has said. Sometimes he has to pay liens in full, and other times a reduced payout is accepted.

While resale is usually the end goal, Keller sometimes rents out properties while working through litigation.

In addition to time and money leading up to the title acquisition, there’s investment in cleaning out and renovating properties, including some packed with debris or requiring significant repairs due to neglect, he had said.

His latest 59 acquisitions are in 27 municipalities — Duryea, Edwardsville, Forty Fort, Freeland, Hazleton, Hughestown, Kingston, Larksville, Luzerne, Nanticoke, Nuangola, Plymouth, Shickshinny, West Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre and the townships of Black Creek, Dallas, Exeter, Hanover, Hazle, Hunlock, Huntington, Jenkins, Lehman, Newport, Plains and Ross.

Eleven of Keller’s purchases were in Wilkes-Barre. The county assessment addresses listed on these properties along with his winning bid amounts, according to the post-sale report: 69 Wilkes Lane, $17,000; 58 N. Hancock St., $60,000; 7 N. Meade St., $40,000; 448 New Market St., $38,000; 97 Hillside St., $45,000; 129 S. Sherman St., $50,000; 345 S. Hancock St., $33,000; 6 Airy St., $34,000; 166 Wood St., $46,000; 102 Crescent Ave., $72,000; and 31 Harriet St., $7,848.

Municipalities receive information on prospective bidders before each tax auction so they can research whether potential buyers have code violations or landlord license revocations that could preclude them from purchasing properties. This advance notice and increased disclosures from bidders are required under a state law enacted in 2021.

Highest sale

Bidder Thomas Vercusky, of Hazleton, paid the top purchase price — $235,000 — for a four-bedroom, residential structure on Turberry Lane, Hazle Township, records show.

This property was constructed in 2007 and is assessed at $255,300.

Bidding started at $25,359.

In the second highest purchase last week, Hazleton bidder Dante Perez Compres paid $140,000 for an apartment structure with some commercial space on Airy Street in Wilkes-Barre, the tax-claim report shows. Bidding had started at $40,331.

Bidder Seth Markowitz, of Magnolia Equities LLC in New York City, paid the third highest bid —$86,000 —for a residential structure on Murray Street in Forty Fort, with bids starting at $12,143, the report said.

Information about county tax auctions is available at luzernecountytaxclaim.com.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.