Each year, property owners across Arizona find themselves facing unpaid property taxes. When those taxes go unresolved, the consequence isn’t usually an immediate loss of property, but it can lead to a tax lien.
Every year in February, all counties in Arizona hold a tax lien sale, including Gila County. This year’s sale is scheduled for Feb. 18, when the county treasurer’s office will auction tax liens on properties with unpaid 2024 taxes.
As of late January, Gila County Treasurer Monica Wohlforth estimated roughly 450 parcels countywide still had delinquent taxes. That number is expected to drop as owners make lastminute payments before the deadline.
While the phrase “tax lien sale” can sound alarming, Wohlforth stresses that the process is widely misunderstood.
“People get the idea that now they’re going to get kicked out. They’re going to be living on the streets,” Wohlforth said.
“That’s not the case,” she said. “It’s just a tax lien against your property. You can pay it back with interest and the fee, but [we’re] not selling your house.”
When a tax lien is sold, the county is selling the right to collect the unpaid taxes, not the property itself. Property owners still retain ownership and can resolve the debt by paying the taxes, plus interest and fees.
Owners have until Feb. 17, the day before the sale, to pay what they owe to the county using certified funds and avoid a lien entirely. Payments can be made by mail or in person at the treasurer’s office using cash, a cashier’s check, or a money order.
“We take cash all day long,” Wohlforth says.
If the taxes remain unpaid, the following day’s sale is held in person in the Gila County Board of Supervisors’ boardroom. Registered bidders, often investors, some traveling from out of state, bid on the liens. Bidding begins at an interest rate of 16 percent and is awarded to the bidder willing to accept the lowest rate, potentially as low as zero percent.
The winning bidder pays the delinquent taxes to the county. From that point on, the property owner must repay the lienholder the amount owed, along with interest. Once a lien is sold, property owners cannot make payments until March and are subject to at least one month of accrued interest.
Only if the lien remains unpaid for three years does foreclosure become an option for the lienholder.
Mobile homes and RVs across the county face a separate but related issue each year. In recent months, blue or red-colored notices have been posted on mobile homes and RVs with unpaid property taxes, a sight that prompted confusion and concern among residents.
Those notices served as a final warning from the county after notifications that began in June. Mobile homes and RVs are considered personal property; if taxes go unpaid past the cutoff date, the county may sell the unit itself, not just a lien.
In many cases, owners are unaware they owe taxes at all. Even if someone holds the title to a mobile home or RV, the property must be registered with the county assessor. If that step is missed, tax bills continue going to the previous owner, leaving the current owner unaware that taxes are going unpaid.
In Southern Gila County, the deadline for mobile home and RV owners to settle their property taxes was Jan. 23. Wohlforth says all except one outstanding account, which was considered unlivable, were resolved by that date; no other mobile homes or RVs were sold.
With the Feb. 18 tax lien sale approaching, county officials continue encouraging property owners to check their tax status and resolve any unpaid balances as soon as possible.
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