Alexander County to sell dilapidated mobile homes, lots to highest bidders

Hundreds of dilapidated mobile homes and vacant lots in Cairo, Illinois, and elsewhere in Alexander County may be bought for less than $700 each as county officials seek to eliminate hundreds of tax-delinquent eyesores.

About 375 real estate parcels and 66 mobile homes are on the sale block. The required minimum bid is $640 for a vacant tract and $695 for a mobile home. Bids must be received by Jan. 8.

All items will be sold to the highest bidder, assuming there's at least a minimum bid received by Jan. 8, said Dave Schwab, who works for Joseph Meyer & Associates. The Edwardsville, Illinois, company handles the sale of tax-delinquent properties for about 100 Illinois counties, including Alexander County.

Schwab said he doesn't expect all the Alexander County lots and mobile homes to sell. Most of the real estate has little value, and the mobile homes are falling apart.

"Most of it is literally uninhabitable," he said.

The real-estate parcels have been tax-delinquent since 2011. The mobile homes have been tax-delinquent dating to 2012 and previous years.

Schwab said the sale offers a good way for the county to try to remove unsightly property that has sat vacant for years.

"It virtually costs nothing for the county," he said, adding his company is paid from any sales proceeds.

The lots for sale in Cairo are small, most of them 25 by 100 feet, Schwab said. Many of the deteriorated properties are in Future City, Illinois, an area of dilapidated structures and lots north of Cairo.

Schwab said the goal is to place the real estate and mobile homes in the hands of owners who will maintain the properties and pay taxes. Eliminating abandoned properties should improve the value of adjoining real estate, he said.

Anyone interested in submitting bids may call (800) 248-2850 or (618) 656-5744 or go online to iltaxsale.com.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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