Kingston resident Ashrakat Shehadeh bought three Wilkes-Barre properties in Thursday’s Luzerne County back-tax auction, saying she wants to be part of efforts to revitalize vacant downtown buildings.

“Wilkes-Barre is getting better. There’s a lot of stuff that has been fixed already,” said Shehadeh.

Her first purchase — an 18,971-square-foot brick commercial and residential structure at 139 S. Washington St. — was in the first-stage upset sale portion of the auction. In the upset, minimum bids start at the amount of taxes owed, and liens attached become the responsibility of buyers.

With no competition, Shehadeh secured the property for the minimum bid of $51,372. It is on a 0.3-acre lot and assessed at $167,000.

Shehadeh isn’t legally permitted to enter the property until the county tax-claim office records the deed in her name in about eight weeks. She said her husband will take the lead on renovations so she can market the building to a business tenant and apartment renters.

She also purchased both sides of a duplex apartment building in two transactions during the free-and-clear auction, when liens are forgiven and minimum bids are lowered to ensure payment of auction costs but not the back taxes.

Each side of the property at 486-488 S. Franklin St. is approximately 2,800 square feet and assessed at $110,300.

Bids started at $2,434 for one side, and she paid $9,000 after fending off other bidders. She successfully bid $1,910 for the other side because there was no competition.

Shehadeh believes some parts of the property need repairs, including replacement of stolen pipes.

“I’m going to fix them up and make them look really new,” she said. “Everything I purchased will look better.”

Final tally

Ten properties sold in Thursday’s upset for a combined $160,460, including realty transfer tax, said Sean Shamany, of Northeast Revenue Service LLC, which operates the county’s tax-claim office. Another 46 unsold upset properties will advance to a free-and-clear auction.

In Thursday’s free-and-clear auction, 19 properties sold for $221,406, including transfer tax. Five properties did not sell and will move into the repository, where they are available for purchase at the free-and-clear minimum bid amount for three months and for $500 after that.

Northeast Revenue started holding such special sales in addition to annual auctions to more quickly address delinquencies. Most of the properties in Thursday’s sale belonged to owners who defaulted on payment plans.

Like Shehadeh, New York City resident Milorad Obradovic said he views city real estate as a smart investment.

Obradovic survived competition in the free-and-clear and snatched up two properties — a 21,360-square-foot building in the 500 block of South Main Street that housed Randy’s Printing and Decorating Center and a residential structure at 786 N. Pennsylvania Ave.

The South Main Street business is assessed at $210,900. Bids started at $3,350 and escalated to $34,000 with Obradovic’s winning offer, which means taxing bodies will still end up recouping most of the $36,700 in real estate taxes that were owed by the prior owner.

Bids started at $1,722 for the Pennsylvania Avenue house, and Obradovic paid $9,500. The property is assessed at $54,700.

He already owns two commercial properties on South Washington Street purchased from tax-claim last year and said he plans to move to the area. Both properties will be fixed up and rented out, he said.

“I’m going to make it a better place. I will keep these properties, not sell them,” Obradovic said.

Among the other upset sale purchases, according to tax-claim bidding information:

• Sam Polit, of West Pittston, bought a 1,176-square-foot house with a separate rear garage at 157 Oak St. in Pittston Township on 0.18 acre for $14,000. The property is assessed at $71,800.

• Hanover Motor Sales Inc. in Hanover Township successfully bid $52,000 to acquire a 3,600-square-foot duplex on 0.26 acre at 83 Seventh St. in Wyoming that also includes a 925-square-foot, two-stall garage with an apartment above it. The property is assessed at $225,500.

The highest dollar amount purchase in the free-and-clear was $60,000. Dallas-based HDF Partners LLC paid that amount for a 2,266-square-foot house on 0.19 acre with a separate garage on East Thomas Street in Wilkes-Barre. The property is assessed at $124,200.

B & N Cleaning Service, of Staten Island, New York, obtained two properties in the free-and-clear for these bid amounts, according to records:

• $4,500 — a 1,188-square-foot house on 0.05 acre at 430 E. South St. in Wilkes-Barre that is assessed at $20,000.

• $3,500 — A 0.2-acre lot that once contained a double-block home that was torn down at 75-77 Carey Ave. in Wilkes-Barre, which has an assessment of $21,400.

A representative of Luzerne County tax-claim operator Northeast Revenue Service LLC exits the tax claim office in the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre as successful bidders line up to pay for properties they purchased in Thursday’s auction. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader)
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL042817taxsale1.jpg.optimal.jpgA representative of Luzerne County tax-claim operator Northeast Revenue Service LLC exits the tax claim office in the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre as successful bidders line up to pay for properties they purchased in Thursday’s auction. (Sean McKeag | Times Leader)

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

jandes@timesleader.com

ON THE WEB

Listings of Luzerne County back-tax auction dates and protocol on bidding may be found at www.luzernecountytaxclaim.com.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.