Spokane County will auction tax-foreclosed properties online for the first time, with the auction set for Dec. 3, says Mike Volz, the county's chief deputy treasurer.

The county treasurer's office has entered a contract with Silver Spring, Md.-based Bid4Assets Inc. to conduct the online auction.

"This reaches a larger audience," Volz says.

In the past, tax-foreclosed properties had been auctioned annually by the treasurer in the county commissioners' meeting room, which limits participation due to space constraints, he says. The posted seating capacity for that room is 134 people.

"Last year, it was standing room only," Volz says.

The minimum bids for each property will be set at the amount of taxes, interest, penalties, and foreclosure fees that are owed to the county, plus a $150 fee that goes to Bid4Assets, Volz says. Sales amounts higher than the minimum bids will go to the property owners, he says.

Tax-foreclosed properties can be viewed online at www.spokanecounty.org/treasurer/foreclosures.

As of Sept. 18, the county listed 176 parcels as properties in foreclosure, with amounts owed ranging from $617 on a single-family residence in East Spokane with an assessed value of $34,800, to $87,000 for a commercial condominium assessed at $975,000 and located at 502 W. Main in the Y Building downtown.

"It's been high over the last couple of years," Volz says of the number of properties on the tax-foreclosure list. "This is based on (delinquencies) beginning in 2009. We're working off the bottom of the real estate bust."

A property owner has to be three years behind on tax payments before the county can put the property up for auction, he says.

Volz says he expects a lot of properties will be taken off the tax-foreclosure list before the auction date.

"We've had to rescind sales in the past because somebody was paying literally at the last minute," he says. "We try to provide any opportunity to be caught up."

Prospective bidders must register online or request an offline bid form in advance to participate in the tax-foreclosure action, Volz says, adding that the treasurer's office plans to add a registration link to its website.

"We think the properties will get more money, and we'll sell more properties, as other counties have," he says.

Each auction property will be posted with links for legal descriptions and information, and each will have a window of time during which bids can be submitted, Volz says.