Roll those pennies and get those auction paddles ready: Haverhill plans to host a public auction for five city-owned properties on Sept. 18 in an effort to rehabilitate homes and improve neighborhoods, Mayor James J. Fiorentini said Monday.
The tax possession auction, overseen by Shrewsbury’s Zekos Group Auctioneers, takes place at noon at Haverhill City Hall, 4 Summer St., with a $10,000 deposit for each property required to bid. Deposits are accepted in the form of a bank check made payable to the City of Haverhill and bidders may register beginning at 11:30 a.m. Properties are sold “as is.”
According to Fiorentini, the auction is the result of owners failing to pay taxes on the property. “Just one abandoned, dilapidated building can bring down the property values of an entire neighborhood,” he said. “In recent years we have been making it a priority to get these abandoned buildings fixed-up, occupied with families and back onto the tax rolls.”
The properties to be auctioned include:
14 Forest St.: Single family home on .45 acres at the corner of Route 113 near the Merrimack River.
244 River St. (Route 110): Multi-purpose, two-story building on .17 acres that was formerly the home of the Liberty Club fraternal hall.
9 Mulberry St.: Two-family home on .17 acres.
67 Pecker St: Two-story building on .09 acres in Central Business zone near downtown.
16 Margerie St.: .36-acre vacant site that previously contained a single-family home.