Craven County authorizes upset-bid advertising on several tax-foreclosed parcels and approves conveyances where bidding closed

County Attorney Arey Grady presented a series of offers on tax-foreclosed properties at the June 1 meeting and recommended the board either begin the statutory upset-bid advertisement process or finalize conveyances where the upset period had closed. For multiple parcels jointly owned with the City of New Bern the board authorized resolutions to advertise the offers and initiate the upset-bid process under N.C. Gen. Stat. §160A-269.

For a subset of parcels where the upset-bid period had expired, the board authorized conveyances to the identified highest bidders at the recommended prices. The county accepted Kenneth Fairchild’s $4,200 offer for parcel 8-013-077 and approved conveyances to other buyers at amounts ranging from about $3,000 to $3,600 for several city-joint parcels; for one county-owned parcel in Havelock (parcel 6-054-029) the board accepted an initial $10,000 offer. Each resolution either authorized advertisement for upset bids or approved the conveyance after the upset-bid period and was adopted by unanimous vote.

Grady explained that many parcels were acquired through tax foreclosure and that advertised offers list past-due taxes and foreclosure costs alongside the sale price; the board’s action follows the statutory upset-bid safeguards intended to give the public notice and opportunity to bid. Legal references in the meeting record cite N.C. Gen. Stat. §160A-269 as the authority governing the upset-bid process.

The board instructed county staff to complete required advertisements and, when upset periods close with no higher offers, to execute conveyance documents consistent with the adopted resolutions. The matter was procedural and carried by recorded unanimous votes where noted.