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The Board of Supervisors has
a tax sale case pending in the Fauquier County Circuit Court
for a parcel owned by the heirs of Viola Smith. The
property is located on Opal Road, approximately one mile to
the east of Springs Road in the Marshall Magisterial
District and is known as
Parcel Identification Number
6961-77-7033.
During this suit, the County
Attorney’s Office had the property surveyed and discovered
that one of the adjoining land owners, Robert Banks, has an
encroachment onto the Viola Smith parcel. In an effort to
fix the encroachment, avoid any hardship for Mr. Banks, and
make the Viola Smith parcel marketable for later sale, the
County Attorney’s Office filed a suit in the Circuit Court
to determine the boundary lines between the Viola Smith
parcel and Mr. Bank’s parcel. The Court ruled that because
Fauquier County did not have a right to possession, the
County did not have standing to ask the Court to determine
the boundaries. Therefore, the only way for the County to
adjust the boundaries and repair the encroachment is for the
County to first purchase the Viola Smith parcel.
If the Board decides to
purchase the parcel, the Board will need to at a minimum
make an offer of approximately $48,400, which is the
difference between 100% of the appraised value and the total
taxes, fees, and costs owed. If the Board authorizes the
purchase of the property and the Court accepts the County’s
offer, the County will need to close on the parcel within 30
to 60 days. A cashier’s or certified check for the $48,400
purchase price will be required at that time.
Once the sale is completed,
the County Attorney’s Office will have the survey of the
Viola Smith parcel updated so that we can resume the
boundary line case. We will ask the Court to determine the
boundaries of the Smith parcel based upon the survey and
then will work with Mr. Banks through an exchange of
property to complete the boundary line adjustment to fix his
encroachment. After the boundary lines are established
and the encroachment is fixed, the County could then sell
the Viola Smith parcel. Habitat for Humanity expressed an
interest in the Viola Smith parcel as a potential site for
affordable housing.
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The County will need to pay
approximately $48,400 by cashier’s or certified check to the
Clerk of the Fauquier County Circuit Court to acquire the
property. Unclaimed surplus proceeds of sale from other tax
sale cases in excess of $250,000 will be claimed by the
County on June 2, 2009. This unanticipated revenue may be a
source of income with which to purchase the Viola Smith
parcel.
Note that if the heirs of
Viola Smith don’t claim the excess proceeds of the sale
within two years, then the County Attorney’s Office will
petition the Court to have those funds paid back to the
County. We attempted to identify and locate Viola Smith’s
heirs throughout the pendency of this case. A Commissioner
in Chancery was also appointed to determine the identity of
the owners of the Viola Smith parcel. Despite both of our
efforts, we were unable to identify and locate any of Viola
Smith’s heirs. It is unlikely that they will be found in
the coming years and make a claim for the excess proceeds of
sale. Thus, the County stands a reasonable chance of
receiving a return of the excess proceeds of sale plus
interest in this case.
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