Property sold at tax sale

First on-line auction sells all 161 parcels

Escambia County (Ala.) Tax Collector Tim Pettis said all 161 parcels of land that were on the delinquent tax rolls were sold Monday and Tuesday in the county's first venture into an on-line tax lien sale.

Instead of publishing the delinquent tax notices in newspapers, Escambia County joined other counties in doing the sale on-line. Under the process, bidders didn't bid on the cost of the property itself, but bid on interest rates for the property. Pettis said the average interest rate bid was 1.52 percent with some parcels being sold at 0 percent.

Pettis said 154 parcels sold Monday when the o...