Sandwich to Hold Town Property Auction Next Month

SANDWICH – A rare town-sponsored property auction will be held early next month in Sandwich.

The properties up for sale are a gray shingled, two-bedroom house on Route 6A, an underdeveloped, 8 acre wooded parcel at 36 Asa Meiggs Road, and a property at 28 Liberty Street.

“When we go out and we foreclose on a property through tax title you’re only allowed to sell it through auction so we have three parcels that we’re going to be selling right here at town hall,” said Tax Collector and Treasurer William Jennings.

Abandoned properties require much time and effort and the tax collector’s office works to track down family members through public record, persuade them to pay the back taxes, and, if all else fails, they place liens on the property.

The two bedroom house on Route 6A proved to be the most time consuming for Jennings, so much so that last winter he made an appearance at a historical district committee meeting to ask for a demolition permit for the home.

The town took ownership of the abandoned property after the former owner ceased paying property taxes.

Jennings requested the permit because the town hoped to sell the property as quickly as possible and get it back on tax rolls.

The town wanted to sweeten the deal by providing a new owner with a demolition permit approved by the historical district committee.

The property is assessed at $336,600 for the house and land, however the interior of the house is in bad shape.

Mold and mildew were so overwhelming that town staff need to wear masks to investigate inside, according to Jennings.

The historical district members reluctantly granted the demolition permit in the early spring, deeming the house was not historically significant.

The committee would rather see old homes restored and said they hoped the trees on the property and some architectural elements of the house, such as doors and windows, could be saved, however they understood that restoration of the house would be an expensive undertaking.

When back taxes are owned on a property, the town places a lien on the property until the taxes are paid, in the case of the property on Route 6A the town had been trying for years to persuade the family to pay the back taxes but got no response.

The two other properties that will be auctioned off were also abandoned and family members could not be tracked down or were not interested.  

“We expect the house on Route 6A and the property on Asa Meiggs to do well,” said Jennings.      

The auction will be held at town hall on October 2nd at noon.

Interested bidders must post a $10,000 deposit and be prepared to pay at least another $10,000 within 24 hours, according to information via the town website.17

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