The tax liens on five delinquent parcels were purchased during a sale Monday morning at the county courthouse.

Those liens had back taxes of approximately $14,000, according to County Treasurer Stephen Burcham.

“One parcel was delinquent for several years and sold,” he said. “It appears to be an abandoned piece of property. The person was happy to get the lien and hopefully will foreclose on it in a year and clean it up.”

Later this week the treasurer plans to sell liens that were on the auction block Monday

“Probably $70,000 in tax liens will be sold in negotiated sales,” Burcham said. “This is a new player.”

The buyer is an Ironton individual whom Burcham declined to identify.

Burcham began the tax lien sales a year ago. They allow potential buyers to bid not on the taxes of the property but on an interest rate they may receive if the property owner redeems the parcel after the lien is sold. That interest rate begins at 18 percent and goes down by quarter percentage points.

The successful bidder pays the back taxes on the property, plus administrative costs, penalties and interests.

Since then there have been five sales that have attracted varied interest.

“We can put them on for sale but if somebody doesn’t come to bid on them, they sit,” he said.

Burcham is also in discussion with Cincinnati-based Tax-Ease about possibly purchasing a package of liens that did not sell in previous sales.