On May 3, several dozen people—the winners, the losers, the auctioneers and the curious—crowded the foyer of the Dickens County courthouse for one of the most active tax-sale auctions in reccent memory.
Of particular interest was the first one to go on the block. Tract 2, the former Partners Convenience store at the corner of US Hwy. 82 and Texas Hwy. 70 in Dickens had caught the interest of at least three bidders likely looking to turn a profit on it.
Bidding was started by Danny Barrett, who represented Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott, the Lubbock firm that represents Dickens County taxing entities.
As Barrett explained, properties listed in the sale were offered as a result of tax warrants issued by the district judge. Notices had been mailed to all known owners and lienholders, and properties had been certified as abandoned and vacant. No warranty of title would come with any parcel, Barrett said, and properties sold would be subject to a six-month right of redemption.
Minimum bids were the lesser of a parcel’s tax value or the current taxes plus court costs. Successful bidders were reminded to be prepared to pay by cash, money order or cashier’s check.
Those terms did not dissuade eager bidders on Tract 2. Bids increased rapidly around the room in thousand- to two thousand-dollar increments starting at the $12,000 minimum bid, reaching a $35,000 plateau within minutes.
Brandon Boyd of Dickens County was the winning bidder. Boyd, who began cleanup on the site within days of his purchase, said that he and his father hope to get the store into shape to sell merchandise and gas quickly.
A dozen other bidders appeared just as thrilled to win their properties for a few hundred, or a few thousand, dollars.
Tracts not getting a bid were struck from the tax rolls and will soon become eligible for bids at the courthouse or via online auction at the Texas Communities Group website, Barrett said.
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