Tax foreclosure sale brings in almost $102,000
By GAYLE WEBER
The Ellis County tax foreclosure sale Tuesday netted more than $100,000.
Only one tract went unsold, with the other eight tracts selling for a combined $101,850, according to Ellis County Counselor Bill Jeter.
Owners of two other properties paid their taxes by Monday's deadline.
Jeter said he will file a motion with the district court to have the sale approved during the court's next motion day, April 5.
Once that is approved, the sheriff will sign deeds transferring the property to the new owners. Most of the proceeds from the sale will go to the Ellis County Treasury, but not all, Jeter said.
Doug and Marcie Williams purchased an office building at 2004 Vine for $85,000. That's more than $30,000 more than the taxes owed, which means the excess revenue from the sale will go to the former owner, Sheila Kay Thompson and Lazy A Inc.
The same goes for a house at 205 E. Main in Victoria, which sold for $15,100 to Jim and Justin Scheck. Taxes owed on the house by Bank One were about $3,400.
The rest of the properties sold as follows: an office building at 1016 Washington, Ellis, $300, and two tracts with improvements, $100 each, to Donna Florence; a vacant lot at 111 W. Ninth, Ellis, $1,000, and the railroad depot in Ellis, $150, to Viola M. Burns, trustee for the Burns Family Trust; and the Walker grain elevator, $100, to Todd Westphal.
The only tract that did not sell was a property owned by Janzen Oil Inc. Jeter said the property would remain in the company's possession and taxes of $1,157.88 still would be delinquent.