Foreclosures hurt Revere municipal auctions revenue

REVERE-The wave of mortgage-driven home foreclosures is impacting the city’s ability to make money from another type of foreclosure: municipal property tax takings.Revere, like many other communities, auctions off homes and other properties taken by the city after owners fail to pay their taxes and their property ends up in Land Court proceedings.Sales of tax foreclosure property netted over $1.5 million for the city since 2005 but Chief Financial Officer George Anzuoni is not sure how much money a May 15 City Hall auction will generate.He said foreclosure auctions scheduled almost every day across the state have provided plenty of property for prospective bidders to purchase.”We’re competing against those auctions and definitely affected by property values.”The city is selling a two-family home at 140 Derby Road and another house on North Shore Road at the May 15 auction, plus lots on Shirley Avenue, Lawrence Road and Philip Street.The auction will be held in the City Council Chamber from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Money raised from the auction sales helps the city maintain a strong bond rating so it can obtain favorable borrowing rates for construction projects and other costs.Mayor Thomas Ambrosino initiated the property sale process in November 2003, reminding councilors at the time that the city needed every dollar it could raise to offset state spending cuts.State spending cuts are prompting money worries at the local level once again with Ambrosino and school officials looking for ways to avoid laying off city workers as they craft a municipal budget.The city of Lynn raised nearly $1.8 million in March 2004 by selling 42 lots.Revere generated $750,000 from a June 2004 auction. But those sales, like the ones generated at auctions in surrounding communities, came during a period of accelerating home values.The onset of the foreclosure crisis in 2006, driven by widespread sub prime rate mortgage borrowing, heralded a drop in home values.Properties sold at prior city auctions include ones on Salem Street, Campbell Avenue, Ocean View Avenue and Neponset Street. In some cases, the city sold small lots to abutters with the consent of neighbors and ward councilors.