The latest Berrien County Land Auction is one for the record books. Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski tells us the event on Tuesday brought in $1.6 million for the county foreclosure fund, possibly putting it in the black.
“We hope we never even have to hold an auction,” Witkowski said. “We wish people would just get into payment plans and save the houses, but the flip side of it is that we have a responsibility to put these properties back on the tax roll, and today we set all kinds of records.”
Witkowski had to open up a second room at the DANK in Sodus Township to accommodate all 192 bidders. While the auction is a chance for anyone to buy up foreclosed properties for low prices, Witkowski says it serves an important purpose to the communities where the properties are located.
“My job is to make sure that these cities and schools and the college and the county have their money because what we don’t sell here, we have to start charging back.”
Of special note was a house at 317 North Veronica Court in St. Joseph. It sold for $150,000. Also up for grabs was an empty lot on M-63 in a gated community which sold for $85,000. A group of condos along Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor did not sell. Witkowski says he’s looking for a developer for that site, which used to be a motel. In all, 112 properties sold. Properties that didn’t sell in Tuesday’s auction will be back on the block for another auction in September.
