Ouray Real Estate Foreclosures

Posted by: Erin Eddy

www.ourayland.com
www.ridgwayland.com

December 05, 2008
Written By - Christopher Pike

Real estate foreclosures are up and tax lien sales have increased substantially this year in Ouray County and surrounding counties.

Reports from three county treasurers indicate a slump in the region's real estate economy.

"We have eight current foreclosures right now, getting two or three over the past few weeks," Ouray County Treasurer Jeanne Casolari reported two weeks ago to the Board of County Commissioners.

Casolari said Monday Ouray County has received nine foreclosures as of Dec. 1; there were seven total foreclosures for all of 2007.

Casolari said there were 88 parcels subject to the 2008 tax lien sale conducted by the treasurer's office in early November, which recovered $185,084 in unpaid tax revenues. Premiums over the amount of taxes owed amounted to $3,890.

Those figures are up by more than $100,000 from 2007 when lien sales totaled $84,079 involving 60 parcels; that amount included $5,410 in premium bids.

Montrose County Treasurer Rosemary Murphy also said as of Dec. 1 there have been 146 foreclosures, 60 more compared to this time in 2007.

Murphy said most of the foreclosures in Montrose County involved improved properties and were situated within the city limits.

At the county's tax lien sales, Murphy said buyers bought liens of 340 properties, about 100 more than last year. Vacant lots and various subdivisions constituted the bulk of those properties, she said.

In San Miguel County there have been 34 foreclosures "so far through 2008," according to Maureen Dorka, chief deputy treasurer, which is 19 more than this time last year. That county's tax lien sale on Nov. 24 yielded $462,677.59 involving 103 properties.

That sales figure includes interest of $28,286.32, recovered advertising fees and premium bids over the amount in arrears. "That compares with 98 properties that were sold last year," said Dorka.