Tulsa Couple Learns To Bid Carefully At Delinquent Tax Property Auction

Hundreds of pieces of property are up for grabs in Tulsa County. The county treasurer's office is auctioning off land where taxes haven't paid for more than three years.

Tulsa couple Rico and Tasheika Cole are trying to build a portfolio of property, so they went to the treasurer's auction. But they had quite the surprise when they finally saw the land they had bought.

The Tulsa County treasurer's delinquent tax property auction is a land run of sorts, with 263 bidders going after more than 500 pieces of property.

Each bid is for land that hasn't had its taxes paid for the past three-and-a-half years. The money goes to support public infrastructure, like the library or health department, but most of it goes to public education.

"It's extremely important, because the revenue from this sale is going to pay school teachers and school teachers don't like being paid three-and-a-half years late," said Tulsa County Treasurer Dennis Semler.

The Coles had their eyes on a property that was pulled at the last minute, but they didn't want to go away empty handed, so they spent $493 on some land that they didn't even know the address for.

"Don't know much about it. There was no extra taxes on it so..." Tasheika said.

It turns out, they bought land which is currently a backyard, some trees, and two feet of the neighbor's house.

"I don't know what to think of it. I'm at a loss for words right now, because even if we wanted to do something on the land, we couldn't because of the house," Rico said.

You'd think the Coles would be upset, but they said it's a good example of the importance of doing your homework. In other words, they say it's just a life lesson.

"We got our feet wet. So, next time we definitely know. Next June, we're going to be ready," Rico said.

The auction continues Tuesday and goes until all the property is sold. It's being held at the Tulsa Convention Center and starts each day at 9 a.m.