Latest / The Government Mule / The Government Mule #8 - John Fothergill
Transcript
- 0:01SPEAKER_00: You're listening to the Government Mule Podcast, a production of the Tulsa County Clerk's Office in Oklahoma.
- 0:10SPEAKER_00: All right, everyone, welcome back to this episode of the Government Mule Podcast.
- 0:16SPEAKER_00: I am your Tulsa County Clerk, Michael Willis.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: Joining me today is a familiar guest, our esteemed county treasurer, John Fathergill.
- 0:25SPEAKER_00: Welcome, sir.
- 0:26SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me again.
- 0:27SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 0:28SPEAKER_00: So we decided to do this show today because our Treasurer's Office does some interesting things that we want to talk about.
- 0:36SPEAKER_00: And they're in a little bit of a kind of over the last few years, maybe, kind of a unique situation in the sense that uh the county has inherited some properties based on people's inability or unwillingness to pay taxes.
- 0:53SPEAKER_00: And then the treasurer has a June resale auction that I think we talked about a little bit before when we did our last episode.
- 1:01SPEAKER_00: But um we're gonna talk a little bit about that today.
- 1:03SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about um the process and what happens when the treasurer's office does not get those properties sold at the auction, and then um we're gonna go through some of those things.
- 1:16SPEAKER_00: Yep.
- 1:16SPEAKER_00: Sound good?
- 1:17SPEAKER_00: That sounds great.
- 1:18SPEAKER_00: All right, well, let's start with um just for the average person's knowledge about properties where taxes don't get paid.
- 1:28SPEAKER_00: Give us the the quick snapshot of what happens around that process.
- 1:32SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 1:32SPEAKER_01: And you know, as you I'm sure have said before, our offices are all governed by state statutes, and they require that any delinquent property that uh has taxes that are more than three years delinquent, three or more years delinquent, uh must be shall be sold uh at an auction the second month.
- 1:51SPEAKER_01: It shall yes.
- 1:52SPEAKER_00: I don't have any I don't have any choice.
- 1:55SPEAKER_01: If I don't do it, I'm violating my oath of office and can be removed from office.
- 1:59SPEAKER_01: And so uh it says that we shall sell the these properties on the in the second Monday in June.
- 2:06SPEAKER_01: We can start at 8 a.m.
- 2:08SPEAKER_01: and we can keep going until all the properties are sold.
- 2:12SPEAKER_01: And so um we are required by state statute to do that.
- 2:15SPEAKER_01: And we try our best to sell all those properties each and every year.
- 2:20SPEAKER_01: Um not always do we do it, and that's where we come into these properties uh through what we call the commissioner sale process.
- 2:29SPEAKER_01: And basically the statute says that if we don't receive the minimum bid, which is either two-thirds the assessed value or the property uh taxes owed, and the penalties and interest owed as well, uh one of those two, whichever is least, and usually that's the taxes because usually the property is worth you know a significant amount of money.
- 2:50SPEAKER_01: And so the taxes are usually what's owed.
- 2:53SPEAKER_01: Um and so we go to auction.
- 2:56SPEAKER_01: We uh had 270 properties that we auctioned this year, but we had uh 23 properties that we did not um get a bid on, um, that minimum bid.
- 3:07SPEAKER_01: And so state statute again says if we don't receive that minimum bid at our auction, that I'm to bid it off in the name of the county.
- 3:16SPEAKER_01: And once that happens, we remove all the taxes and penalties on that property, and then it's up for what we call a commissioner sale.
- 3:24SPEAKER_00: So what happens after the auction is that if we fail to sell certain properties, those become owned by technically the county commissioners, right?
- 3:35SPEAKER_01: Yes, we file a deed, it's called the treasurer's deed, and which I say um we did not meet the minimum bid, and now I'm bidding it off in the name of Tulsa County, um, and the commissioners uh as the owners of record for the county become the owners of that property.
- 3:51SPEAKER_01: And so we had 23 properties that fell into that situation this year.
- 3:56SPEAKER_00: So 23 properties, and in the last few years, we've kind of been operating at none of those, right?
- 4:03SPEAKER_00: We've had zero almost.
- 4:05SPEAKER_01: Since 2021, uh when I started doing these auctions as the treasurer, we have not taken any properties.
- 4:11SPEAKER_01: Um we did have a property that was on the books prior to that.
- 4:14SPEAKER_01: Um, it's been on the books since 2014.
- 4:16SPEAKER_01: So we actually we have 24 now that are available to for this commissioner sale.
- 4:20SPEAKER_01: But yeah, we we've had you know crazy real estate markets there in the early 2020s where everything was snatched up and nobody cared what it was, um, you know, which was great for the county because uh we we did clear all these off of our books.
- 4:36SPEAKER_01: And so um we love that because as the treasurer, I'm also um charged with taking care of these properties and maintaining them and making sure they're mowed, and if they have a structure on them, which thankfully none of these have a structure on them, but if they have a structure on them, I have to secure that structure and make sure it's you know protected that the public can't get in there and hurt themselves or something like that.
- 4:58SPEAKER_01: So um I believe in Oklahoma County at one time they had over 300 properties that they were taking care of, and so they had a full-time staff that was doing nothing but maintaining these properties.
- 5:10SPEAKER_01: And fortunately, in Oak and Tulsa County, we're we haven't had any properties to maintain except for that at one um since 2020.
- 5:18SPEAKER_00: So generally, that leads me into the next question about these properties.
- 5:23SPEAKER_00: You mentioned there's no properties with structures on them.
- 5:26SPEAKER_00: What types of properties are these usually that we inherit from this process?
- 5:31SPEAKER_01: Um most of these are um little pieces or remnants of uh properties.
- 5:40SPEAKER_01: Uh there might be a uh a reserve.
- 5:42SPEAKER_01: Uh, we have a couple reserves that are in here that are pieces that uh when when property gets developed, they might put a piece like uh we have a center of a cul-de-sac, um, and it's one of these.
- 5:54SPEAKER_01: And so um the developer put that in the name of the uh neighborhood association at some point, and the neighborhood association decides or neglects to pay their their property taxes for three years, and then I have to sell that.
- 6:08SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, somebody in that cul-de-sac may want to put a basketball goal out there for their kids to play basketball, and so they may want to purchase that and you know have that as their property from there on out.
- 6:20SPEAKER_01: So, you know, our goal uh is to get these properties back to um uh ownership outside of the county and have those people um pay the property taxes there on out and maintain them from there on out.
- 6:34SPEAKER_00: So okay.
- 6:35SPEAKER_00: So um as we start to think about marketing these properties, and your office takes the lead on that, of course.
- 6:43SPEAKER_00: Let's talk a little bit about what that process looks like.
- 6:46SPEAKER_01: So um we don't really advertise this much except for you know this podcast here, and we'll probably put a blurb on our website that says that we now have properties available for our commissioner sale.
- 6:57SPEAKER_01: And so we rely on the public that has interest.
- 7:01SPEAKER_01: Um, on our um webpage, it shows properties for sale.
- 7:05SPEAKER_01: Uh, and you can click on our former properties that we had in the resale or these commissioner sale properties.
- 7:12SPEAKER_01: Um, and so these are the only ones that are available right now.
- 7:14SPEAKER_01: And so hopefully people are finding these and deciding they want to bid on them.
- 7:18SPEAKER_01: And if that's the case, that starts a whole nother process that leads us to the commissioner's sale.
- 7:24SPEAKER_00: So when do we anticipate we'll start some commissioner sales?
- 7:28SPEAKER_01: So the properties are now available.
- 7:30SPEAKER_01: Um, it's online, and so it's anytime somebody decides they want to bid on one of these, uh they come into our office and they fill out the application.
- 7:40SPEAKER_01: Uh, they put down a deposit, which will cover the publication cost and the filing fee for uh the deed.
- 7:47SPEAKER_01: And come to our office.
- 7:49SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we want to make sure we pay you for that deed.
- 7:51SPEAKER_01: And so that business.
- 7:52SPEAKER_01: We we have them deposit that money with us.
- 7:55SPEAKER_01: And if they are the successful bidder, we just roll that into their purchase price.
- 7:59SPEAKER_01: If they are not the successful bidder, we'll refund that back to the person that initiated the process.
- 8:06SPEAKER_00: So for today, like people that are interested in starting to research these, they would go to your website.
- 8:12SPEAKER_00: Yep.
- 8:12SPEAKER_00: Uh go to my website.
- 8:13SPEAKER_01: Um under the uh June resale.
- 8:16SPEAKER_01: Um underneath that it says commissioner sales, and if you click on that, um there's a the list of properties.
- 8:22SPEAKER_01: You'll you'll pull up a list of properties and and some of them don't have addresses, and so uh it's by a parcel number.
- 8:29SPEAKER_01: You can take that parcel number and go on your uh locate uh website or the assessors website and you know get a GIS location of that.
- 8:38SPEAKER_01: Um you know, since they don't have addresses, you can probably assume that they are not you know a residence or uh a substantial piece of property.
- 8:48SPEAKER_01: Uh most most are platted and have an address that are have a house or a structure on those.
- 8:54SPEAKER_01: So um you can even tell just by not having an address that most of these you know don't don't have that type of situation.
- 9:00SPEAKER_00: So for them to do the research, they need to go to they can search for Tulsa County Treasurer John Volergill on pretty much any search engine, or go to treasurer.tulsa county.org.
- 9:15SPEAKER_00: Yes.
- 9:16SPEAKER_00: Is uh the treasurer's website.
- 9:18SPEAKER_00: So check that out.
- 9:19SPEAKER_00: Um one of the tools that we integrate with the treasurer's office, John just mentioned, is called Locate L-O-C-C-A-T, land records organized by County Clerk, Assessor, and Treasurer.
- 9:30SPEAKER_00: So you can look up um some of that stuff on our map-based system there, and you go to that by going to our website in the County Clerk's office, which is same type, countyclerk.tulsa county.org.
- 9:44SPEAKER_00: Um But people can also call the office too.
- 9:47SPEAKER_00: Sure, sure.
- 9:48SPEAKER_01: We'll be happy to answer any questions that we can or direct you to the website where you can find that list.
- 9:54SPEAKER_01: And uh we have the, you know, we have several people that are are trained up in this process.
- 10:00SPEAKER_01: We haven't done it in five or six years.
- 10:02SPEAKER_01: Uh so uh they're dusting off the books and making sure that we have everything uh up to date.
- 10:08SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, um one of our rules that I am preparing for this podcast, I noticed that it says that you cannot be an employee of Tulsa County.
- 10:17SPEAKER_01: And we actually changed that rule when I came into office that says you cannot be an uh employee of Tulsa County treasurer now, but any other uh employee in Tulsa County can can bid on these.
- 10:28SPEAKER_00: Um I think that was a state law change several years ago, wasn't it?
- 10:32SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so we we've adopted that and and we just hadn't updated these because we hadn't need no need to, uh that we haven't had these sales in a while.
- 10:40SPEAKER_01: So now we're gonna update that and make sure that uh anybody that that works for Tulsa County can bid on these, except for the treasurer.
- 10:47SPEAKER_00: Are there any other requirements people need to know or think about before they want to become a bidder or a buyer?
- 10:53SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, we uh only take cash or uh money order or a uh cashier's check from a bank.
- 11:04SPEAKER_01: That's the only uh form of payment we we will take.
- 11:07SPEAKER_01: You have to pay us immediately after you win the bid.
- 11:10SPEAKER_01: Um you can't say, hold on a minute, I need to go get the money out of my bank.
- 11:14SPEAKER_01: Um you need to have it on you at the time of your bid and once you win.
- 11:18SPEAKER_01: Um if not, then we're going to the second bidder and seeing if they have you know the money to be able to pay right then and there.
- 11:25SPEAKER_01: Um other than that, uh, you know, you have to be 18 years old at least.
- 11:31SPEAKER_01: Um, you have to be a resident of the United States of America or um a company that's been formed in one of the 50 states to be able to purchase uh this property, bid on this property.
- 11:43SPEAKER_01: And like I said, you have to put up that deposit.
- 11:46SPEAKER_01: Um it's a little less than$200 usually.
- 11:49SPEAKER_01: Um, just depends on if there's a big legal uh description that we have to put in the papers because we have to run this in the paper for three weeks prior to the sale.
- 11:57SPEAKER_01: And so uh we have that sale in our uh lobby out out front.
- 12:02SPEAKER_01: Uh we started at 9 a.m.
- 12:04SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's usually on a Monday.
- 12:07SPEAKER_01: Um and so uh we'll we'll give everybody the notice, put it in the paper.
- 12:12SPEAKER_01: Um sometimes we have just the bidder show up, and sometimes we have a room full, and we just never know until that day.
- 12:20SPEAKER_01: So, but it's uh once we do that, we file the deed.
- 12:25SPEAKER_01: Uh we have we have the commissioner sign off on it, file the deed, and uh then send that out to the the new property owner and put it back on the tax rules.
- 12:34SPEAKER_00: So, what advice do you have for people that are doing um that are interested in this?
- 12:39SPEAKER_01: Um make sure that you know uh what you're bidding on.
- 12:43SPEAKER_01: Um you know in the past we've had some that are that had an address uh as a kind of a location, like to find where it was, but it wasn't actually that address.
- 12:54SPEAKER_01: It was maybe a a piece that was next to that address.
- 12:58SPEAKER_01: And so do your homework, make sure you know what you're bidding on.
- 13:01SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions, feel free to ask us.
- 13:04SPEAKER_01: Or, you know, you know, go on that locate or the the assessor's website and find out all the information that you can about that property before you come in and bid.
- 13:13SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, once we take that bid and you paid for it, there are no take backs.
- 13:19SPEAKER_01: Nope.
- 13:20SPEAKER_01: Uh once it's done, it's done.
- 13:22SPEAKER_01: And uh we cannot reverse it because it's a legal sale at that point.
- 13:25SPEAKER_00: Now, have we ever in the past had people that participated in either the auction or these commissioner sales that might be mad after the after the transaction's over because they didn't do their due diligence?
- 13:40SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure.
- 13:40SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, after the auction, usually somebody will come up and say, Hey, I I I bit on this piece of property, and well, we had one that that stands out real big for me.
- 13:50SPEAKER_01: And it was in South Tulsa, like 81st and Sheridan.
- 13:54SPEAKER_01: And the assessor's website showed a house on there, but the city of Tulsa had come in and demolished the house because it'd been vacant and had you know structural deficiencies.
- 14:04SPEAKER_01: And so it was a nuisance to the neighborhood and to Tulsa City of Tulsa, and so they just demoed it.
- 14:09SPEAKER_01: And the website still showed a house.
- 14:12SPEAKER_01: People thought there was a house, but if you drove by the it was an empty lot.
- 14:17SPEAKER_01: And so when we sold that property, it people were bidding like there was a house on there and paid it was more than a quarter of a million dollars, I believe, for an empty lot.
- 14:28SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, they were upset, but I I can't change, you know, that fact.
- 14:34SPEAKER_01: And you know, I often say, well, there was at least two people bidding on that lot for before that last bid came in.
- 14:40SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there was two people that didn't do their homework, obviously.
- 14:43SPEAKER_01: And so it's unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do once the auction has concluded.
- 14:49SPEAKER_01: It's it's a done deal.
- 14:51SPEAKER_00: So do your due diligence, go and lay eyes on the property.
- 14:56SPEAKER_00: Don't just get on one of the map programs, don't get on just and view the photos that might have been there from when the assessor last assessed the value of the property because that happens physically at least once every four years.
- 15:11SPEAKER_00: Yeah, those are lots of things can change in four years.
- 15:14SPEAKER_01: Can be four years old, and and that house looked beautiful four years before that.
- 15:18SPEAKER_01: Um and now it was, you know, a raised lot because it had trees growing up through it, and that was four years.
- 15:24SPEAKER_01: So Yeah.
- 15:24SPEAKER_00: So make sure you do your due diligence.
- 15:27SPEAKER_00: Um Let's see.
- 15:33SPEAKER_00: What about any are there any other misconceived ideas, misconceptions, mistakes that people can make through this process that we want to try to get them to avoid before they participate?
- 15:47SPEAKER_01: Uh well, you know, we want to make sure that they've done their due diligence, of course, and that um you know that they have filled out the application, um, that they are a bona fide um, you know, somebody that can bid on that property.
- 16:01SPEAKER_01: Um you have to fill out the uh ownership affidavit, uh, which is a new requirement for the state of Oklahoma that says you are able to purchase property uh for in the state of Oklahoma.
- 16:11SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, make sure that all that paperwork's done.
- 16:15SPEAKER_01: Um we will need a an ID to you know to prove your age or you know, your you are who you say are.
- 16:21SPEAKER_01: So we need all that uh information as well.
- 16:25SPEAKER_00: So, what do you think is the best thing about um the outcomes here?
- 16:29SPEAKER_00: Like what's what are these commissioner sales good for?
- 16:33SPEAKER_00: What why are they good for our county?
- 16:34SPEAKER_00: Why are they good for the communities?
- 16:36SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 16:36SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know it it gets the the property back uh into to ownership uh outside the county.
- 16:44SPEAKER_01: And so hopefully, you know, those people are responsible and pay the property taxes, and that keeps you know our county functioning and our schools functioning and our cities functioning.
- 16:54SPEAKER_01: And so we we want to put those properties back on the tax roll because when the county owes them, owns them, um we're we're getting no value out of them.
- 17:03SPEAKER_01: You know, we're not using them, uh, we're not improving them, and uh, you know, we are paying to maintain them.
- 17:09SPEAKER_01: So it's a drawdown on the county to maintain these properties.
- 17:12SPEAKER_01: And so we want to be able to get them back into to private ownership and to allow those people to use that property for their its best use.
- 17:22SPEAKER_01: And so it really helps everybody out when we get rid of these.
- 17:26SPEAKER_01: Uh helps the county as far as you know increasing our tax rolls.
- 17:31SPEAKER_01: It helps the citizens and that the county's money is not being used to maintain these properties, and it helps the property owner to be able to use that that new property for its best use.
- 17:41SPEAKER_00: So, whenever you do get these properties sold, of course, there's a major benefit, as you said, in getting them back on the tax roll and backs owned by a private individual or a business.
- 17:51SPEAKER_00: But how do the funds work that come in through the sale?
- 17:55SPEAKER_00: So you receive funds and revenue through the sale, then what happens to those funds after you receive those?
- 18:01SPEAKER_01: Um, those go back into the general fund and are are able to be allocated by our budget board.
- 18:06SPEAKER_01: Um, and so that that allows us to reduce the amount of funds that we'll need next year by whatever that amount is.
- 18:12SPEAKER_01: And so I always like to tell people that you know these dollars can add up.
- 18:19SPEAKER_01: You know, some of these won't sell for much.
- 18:21SPEAKER_01: Maybe you can you can buy them for as cheap as a dollar plus that advertising cost.
- 18:26SPEAKER_01: Um that's that's our minimum bid is one dollar.
- 18:29SPEAKER_01: And so um you can buy them for a dollar, but at the end of the day, you know, it's it's less cost on us to maintain them and to keep keep trying to track these properties as well.
- 18:40SPEAKER_01: So um it helps us out all the way around.
- 18:44SPEAKER_00: So the one of the overarching messages here is even you could own the center of a cul-de-sac or maybe part of a neighborhood reserve or um something that might otherwise be noticed or um noted as an easement or something like that for as little as a dollar.
- 19:04SPEAKER_00: And so I mean, some people might be interested in just doing that for the sake of being able to own the center of uh of a cul-de-sac.
- 19:14SPEAKER_01: Yep, and you know, it's it's the beauty of America, you know.
- 19:18SPEAKER_01: You know, you get private private property rights, and even this little these little pieces of property have private property rights.
- 19:25SPEAKER_00: So after this, I'm gonna have to go look at that list and see if uh, you know, there's something I could I could put me a street sign up in the middle of something or there you go.
- 19:34SPEAKER_00: Something like that.
- 19:34SPEAKER_01: And they're all over Tulsa County.
- 19:36SPEAKER_01: Um, they're not in one area necessarily.
- 19:38SPEAKER_01: They're broken arrow, sand springs, Tulsa, all over the place.
- 19:42SPEAKER_00: So what are some of the closing things you'd want to add to this, John, as we wrap this thing up?
- 19:47SPEAKER_01: Well, um, you know, we appreciate uh you know being able to get this message out.
- 19:53SPEAKER_01: Um I'd hope that anybody that's interested in investing in real estate would would check this out as something maybe to look at.
- 20:00SPEAKER_01: Um or if you're uh a property owner that's next to one of these little pieces, you know, it might be a way to increase your property right where you are.
- 20:10SPEAKER_01: So uh if there's anybody that's out there interested in checking these out, come to our website, check them out, and uh if you have any questions, give us a call or come in and we'll be happy to talk to you.
- 20:20SPEAKER_00: What's the main number for the treasurer's office?
- 20:22SPEAKER_01: It's 918-596-5070, and uh you can call us anytime and and uh we'll we'll be able to answer any question.
- 20:30SPEAKER_00: All right, that or go to treasurer.tulsa county.org, check out all the stuff related to this.
- 20:36SPEAKER_00: And you know, again, this will also be a good advertisement for the 2027 June resale, which um generally you all start to populate the list of of tax delinquent properties around what time?
- 20:50SPEAKER_01: May 15th is when we try to have that list out to everybody.
- 20:54SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, those properties we start out like for war um this year, we started out with 3,000 properties.
- 21:02SPEAKER_01: We only ended up selling 270.
- 21:04SPEAKER_01: And we don't know which of those properties we're gonna sell because we don't know who's gonna come in and pay and who's not gonna come in and pay.
- 21:10SPEAKER_00: Right.
- 21:11SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, we're gonna sell whatever properties aren't paid on that second Monday in June.
- 21:16SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, they they walk out of that sale as new owners when they they purchase those properties and uh put those tax uh tax dollars back to the taxing entities, back to the schools and the cities where they belong, and uh put that property back into somebody's hands that we hope that will pay the taxes going forward and uh keep it out of our seat.
- 21:37SPEAKER_00: And take good care of the property.
- 21:38SPEAKER_01: Yep.
- 21:39SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
- 21:40SPEAKER_00: Okay, everyone.
- 21:41SPEAKER_00: Well, this has been the latest uh edition and episode of the Government Mule Podcast.
- 21:47SPEAKER_00: Again, my name is Michael Willis, I'm your Tulsa County Clerk, joined by Tulsa County Treasurer John Fothergill today.
- 21:54SPEAKER_00: In closing, check out information on the commissioner's sale at the treasurer's office.
- 21:59SPEAKER_00: We've got 23, 24 now properties that will be up for sale.
- 22:04SPEAKER_00: And John Wolf promised to try to get this uh podcast cut and squared away pretty quickly so we can get it out into the media by by next week or something like that, so we can get this information out and be looking for those uh commissioner sales coming up soon.
- 22:20SPEAKER_00: Again, go to TulsaCounty.org, treasurer.tulsacounty.org, call the office to check out more about this.
- 22:28SPEAKER_00: When you have a chance, follow Tulsa County, Tulsa County Clerk, Tulsa County Treasurer, and our other officials on our online stuff, including the Facebooks, the Instagrams, what else we do around here.
- 22:41SPEAKER_01: That's all we have at the treasurer's office.
- 22:43SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so check us out on that.
- 22:45SPEAKER_00: Um, and again, thanks for listening.
- 22:47SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Government Meal Podcast.
- 22:50SPEAKER_00: Thanks a bunch.
- 22:51SPEAKER_00: Thank you.