Shawano County surplus equipment and vehicles are already sold online, and now, repossessed homes will also be auctioned off that same way.
The success of those first home sales will be reviewed Aug. 19 by the executive committee. The first online auction starts July 21 and will run for four weeks, with the committee expected to select the winning bid at that meeting.
Homes to be sold are located at 502 Mission St., Wittenberg, and 324 Fourth St., Mattoon. They will be sold through https://wisconsinsurplus.com.
At a recent conference of county treasurers, Shawano County Treasurer Emily Kazik talked with other officeholders about how they handle the sales.
“Of those 50 treasurers, there’s probably about half of them who do online auctions, and all of the online auctions they go through Wisconsin Surplus Auction,” she told the committee in June.
To explore local options, she contacted several area Realtors to gauge interest in assisting with the sale of in rem properties on behalf of Shawano County. O’Connor Realty Group, Clintonville, expressed interest and presented a concept plan to the committee.
“We propose that we could probably do it all online,” Gerry O’Connor said. “And we can probably get you a lot better results.”
Under both options, a buyer’s fee would be charged, and the seller would collect payment and forward it to the county.
Wisconsin Surplus requires approval of the winning bid within 48 hours, while O’Connor would prefer to appear at a committee meeting to obtain approval.
Kazik said either option would improve efficiency by reducing the time spent preparing and mailing packets, collecting payments from bidders and issuing refunds to unsuccessful bidders. New software may allow e-mail or text message notices to be sent to neighbors and interested buyers instead of mailing postcards, further reducing the time invested by Kazik’s office.
O’Connor said the sale of the county-owned homes would not be a big moneymaker for this company. Rather, they would use the sale as a way to collect names and contact information of prospective buyers that they can use in future sales.
“We’re trying to use their customer base and their advertising to be able to promote the property,” Kazik said of the O’Connor proposal. “The only downfall I see is we can’t take a profit in this.”
Any proceeds over and above the county’s costs to repossess and sell the property is returned to the original owner.
O’Connor Realty would offer in-person customer contact and local support, while Wisconsin Surplus assistance is by email only.
Kazik said she is not aware of any other county that uses a private company to sell its in rem properties.
The county will use Wisconsin Surplus Online Auction for in rem sales on a six-month trial basis.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
