What is CivicSource Auctioneer™?

CivicSource Auctioneer™ electronically manages every aspect of the tax sale including registration, browsing, bidding and payment processing.

CivicSource Auctioneer™ is a wholly online tax sale software. It allows a municipality to effortlessly host a tax sale via the Internet.

With CivicSource Auctioneer™, every aspect of the tax sale, including registration, browsing, bidding and payment processing, is electronically managed. It is implemented to meet the specific legal requirements set forth by local legislation, whether simple purchase, bidding or any other method.

In its groundbreaking release in the city of New Orleans, CivicSource Auctioneer™ produced previously unsurpassed results. Traditional tax sales, consisting of a moderator standing on courthouse steps, reading off property descriptions, typically have an average of 75-100 participants. In New Orleans, the first online tax sale had a total of 4,570 nationwide registered users.

By digitizing the entire process, CivicSource Auctioneer™ eliminates the onerous planning and administration of a tax sale. By moving the process online and making it universally accessible to the public, it creates an invaluable sense of transparency and efficiency in government, and eliminates the association of any perceived bias.

It creates an invaluable sense of transparency and efficiency in government, and eliminates the association of any perceived bias.

CivicSource Auctioneer™ invites participants to take part in the civic process from the convenience of their own computers. For those without computers and in compliance with public access to tax sale laws, Archon sets up kiosks in a public or municipal building for use during the hours of the tax sale.

Example of the CivicSource Auctioneer™ homepage Archon

Archon consultants will work with municipal officials to ensure proper transition to an online tax sale process. All of this is done with local, associated legal counsel to ensure that CivicSource Auctioneer™ and the tax sale are implemented in complete compliance with existing state and local legislation.

Once implemented, the CivicSource Auctioneer™ website is deployed in stages, incrementally and in accordance with the needs of the municipality.

• Stage one: Posting of upcoming online sale dates
• Stage two: Listing of the properties available in the upcoming sale. Properties are searchable by owner, address, location and / or tax bill number.
• Stage three: Participant registration opens. Identity verification implemented, payment source authentication and / or monetary deposits secured, identity verification implemented at registration and payment source authentication or monetary deposits required and scheduled e-mail notifications begin.
• Stage four: Sale opens. Sale period determined by municipality and can be broken into batch selling of properties. Auction method (bidding, simple purchase, etc.) set in accordance with prevailing state and / or local legislation.
• Stage five: Sale closes. Payments may be processed simultaneously with sale, or at close of sale, via ACH or credit card methods. Status of properties and winning purchase / bid information posted immediately, or otherwise at municipality's discretion. Tax sale deeds or certificates made available online for participant access and printing, if desired.