PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Treasurer's Office plans to sell garages, swimming pools and other random foreclosed property in an eBay-style Internet auction this Thursday.
The sale could mean a lot to homeowners who believe incorrectly that they're paying taxes on these orphaned bits of land.
In some cases, owners may think they own their entire parcel, but a piece actually has been split off and is being taxed separately. The problem is, taxes aren't being paid.
County Treasurer David Schweikert thinks there are "a few thousand" of these properties representing tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.
The bidding is open to anyone, but the Treasurer's Office hopes no one other than the intended property owner will bid.
Some homeowners are shocked to learn they don't own all their property, or at least aren't paying taxes on it.
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Paul and Betty Lichter bought their house in east Mesa in 1994. It sits on nearly 1.5 acres, and they assumed all of it was theirs. They recently learned otherwise.
It turns out that an 8- to 10-foot strip along their side yard still is titled to the home's previous owner, the builder and developer of the neighborhood.
The couple will bid in the auction just to protect themselves from predatory buyers and to secure all the property.
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