A mobile home auction, regularly scheduled for September in Missoula has been pushed forward to April. Tyler Gernant with the Missoula Clerk and Recorders office explains the new auction date.

"The mobile home auction puts a lot of work on our staff and a lot of pressure, as well on the Sheriff's department,"  Gernant said. "Typically we've done [the auction] in September, but that also happens to be sandwiched in between when were doing delinquent rail property sales, and the sending out new property tax bills. We consulted with the sheriffs department and decided it would be more efficient for both departments if we moved it to April."

The auction will occur April 8, and is the result of people not paying their taxes.

"Right now we have 172 mobile homes that are up for auction, that number will dwindle rather significantly before the date of the actual auction which is April 8," Gernant said. "We typically have somewhere closer to maybe 60 that are up for auction, so people can bid on the mobile homes just like you would at any other auction, and those funds are then used to fund the county government just like taxes normally would be."

Last year, only 12 mobile homes were up for auction because a generous donation of nearly ten thousand dollars by an unnamed stranger helped mobile home owners pay off their debts.

 

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