The next Berrien County Land Auction will be on August 6 and once again online only.
Each year, the Berrien County Treasurer’s office auctions off excess properties seized via the tax foreclosure process, often with starting bids in the hundreds of dollars. Treasurer Shelly Weich tells us the auction next month will feature 128 properties.
“They are spread across all of Berrien County, all across,” Weich said. “A majority of them, of course, are in your lower income municipalities. But for the most part, they are spread across Berrien County.”
Weich says those who are buying property should do their research on the parcel they’re eyeing because buyers will sometimes scoop up a lot not really knowing what it is. So, what kinds of mistakes might they make?
“If the property is possibly landlocked — and we do have a number of properties that will be landlocked — if they see in the legal description, ‘Lake Michigan, Lake Michigan Beach,’ they think that’s waterfront property.”
But then it turns out the property isn’t easily accessible.
Weich says Berrien County used to hold in-person property auctions, but that changed during COVID. Even when the pandemic ended, the online model continued because she says it’s safer and easier. Plus, it generates more money for the county.
The auction on August 6 will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and can be found at Tax-Sale.info.
