The winner of Early Bird Drawing #4 for 2020 and recipient of $350 is Stephani Calabrese (Lot #948)! Congratulations!

Next week’s drawing will be for $300.

The following information has been posted by the Ashtabula County Auditor’s Office. This sale includes properties in Roaming Shores. As this is a Forfeited Land Sale, all backed Dues and Assessments prior to this sale are no longer valid.

Current RRA Property Owners: If you win a bid on a Roaming Shores property during this sale, you will be charged for this lot as an extra lot beginning with 2020’s billing. Currently, that rate is $279.

Non current RRA Property Owners: As with all property within the Roaming Rock Shores Subdivision, you will be charged a one-time New Member Impact Fee of $1,000 to be assessed as soon as you take possession of the property. Dues and Assessments for this property will be charged at the same rate as all single-lot/no home property. That rate is currently $680.

Please contact the RRA Office with any questions regarding Dues and Assessments at 440-563-3170. For questions regarding the Forfeited Land Sale, please contact the Ashtabula County Auditors office at 440-576-3783.

Forfeited Roaming Shores Forfeited Properties:

• 132 Roaming Way
• 187 Ashtabula Pt
• 188 Ashtabula Pt
• 192 & 193 Ashtabula Pt (consolidated)
• 353 Rome Terr
• 364 Rome Rock Creek Rd
• 685 Rome Rock Creek Rd
• 1602 Pierpont Dr
• 2138 Flame Lake Dr
• 2222 Deer Run
• 2485 Trellis Place

Map of All Properties 

List of All Properties 

The properties listed have been foreclosed upon for delinquent taxes and have been offered for sale on two (2) occasions for the total amount of taxes, assessments, penalties and interest due.  Having not been sold, the properties were forfeited to the State of Ohio by Court Order and remanded to the County Auditor for sale.

The auction will be held in the Ashtabula County Commissioner’s hearing room, sometimes referred to as the “Old Court House,” located at:

25 West Jefferson Street

Jefferson, OH 44047

The following rules and policies are established to help facilitate the auction. Any interpretation, or issue not specifically covered by these rules, will be decided by the Auditor. In order to promote professional decorum, the Auditor anticipates all persons participating in, or present at, the auction will be courteous and considerate of others.

1. Attendance will be limited to seating capacity and is on a first-come basis. Seating will be reserved to registered bidders if our room becomes full. Registration will begin at 8:30 am and the first auction will begin at 9:30 am or shortly thereafter. A picture ID with current residence is required to register. Once registered, bidders will be given a bid card and any other information needed.
2. Parcels withdrawn from the auction, for any reason, will be announced immediately prior to the day’s sale.
3. Only the registered bidder will be permitted to use the bid cards and make bids, meaning no sharing of bid cards.
4. Initially, each property will be auctioned with a starting offer at the lower of a) total delinquent taxes due, or b) current market value as determined by the County Auditor; plus fees.
5. Any parcel not sold for the first offer will immediately be auctioned again “for the best price obtainable,” plus fees. Any parcel not sold will be re-offered at a future forfeited land sale.
6. All sales are “As-Is” and “Buyer Beware.” Caution is advised. Many properties have characteristics which have prevented sales in the past. The County Auditor does not give any representation regarding possession, eviction, prior inspection, scheduled demolition, health code violation, or any other matter. The County Auditor will issue an “Auditor’s Deed.”
7. Forfeited Lands shall not be sold to any person that is delinquent on any real property taxes in the State of Ohio. Further, purchasers are prohibited from having a current ownership interest in the property being auctioned. An affidavit to that effect must be signed by the successful bidder. Further, any transfer of the property to a prior owner within the next 3 years will be referred to the County Prosecutor and may result in an immediate forfeiture of the property back to the State of Ohio.
8. ALL SALES ARE FINAL.
9. Fees are as follows:
   1. Deed fee: $45.00
   2. Transfer Fee: $0.50 per parcel
   3. Envelope and postage: $0.50 per parcel
   4. Recording Fee: $28.00 per deed of 2 pages, $8.00 for each additional page.
10. Payment in full –or- a minimum deposit of $250 per parcel must be paid upon end of auction. Upon payment of a deposit, the Auditor will issue a Certificate of Sale to the successful bidder.
11. Deposits and payments may be made by business or personal check with prior approval of the Auditor. Otherwise they must be in cash, bank money order, or certified check, and made payable to the “Ashtabula County Treasurer.” ALL DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.
12. The Certificate of Sale, along with any balance that may be due, must be delivered to the Auditor by 3:30pm day of sale. Failure to pay the balance by 3:30pm day of sale will result in forfeiting any deposit, or payment, in full and the matter will be forwarded to the County Prosecutor for possible action. Bidding with the intent to delay the sale or hindering the Auditor from completing the sale may constitute the obstruction of official business. Persons suspected of this may be referred to the County Prosecutor as well.
13. Back-up bidder’s information will be taken at the time of the sale. If the successful bidder fails to pay any balance, the back-up bidder will be offered the option to step in as if the successful bidder (for the original winning bid amount).
14. The Auditor will then issue the Auditor’s Deed, have it recorded with the County Recorder, and have it delivered to the purchaser. The conveyance of the real estate by the Auditor shall extinguish all previous title and invest the purchaser with a new and perfect title that is free from all liens and encumbrances, except taxes and installments of special assessments and reassessments not due at the time of the sale, federal tax liens, and any easements and covenants running with the land. If there is a federal tax lien on the tract of land at the time of the sale, the United States is entitled to redeem the tract of land according to law.
15. The purchaser becomes the legal owner at the time the Auditor delivers the deed to the County Recorder

By Louise Lisac – RRA Treasurer

There has been a flurry of commentary on social media regarding our RRA Early Bird Drawings implemented for those property owners who pay their dues early. I, too, also thought it seemed a little “crazy” to reward someone for paying early. However, once I learned the value of this process I am a believer that it makes financial sense to continue the practice.

The first thing to remember is that our association runs on a fiscal calendar year (January through December) but our fees cover May through April. Don’t ask me why this is the case I wasn’t around when it was developed. It is what it is and that’s why our dues and assessments are due in full by May 1, but we send the invoices out early in January. If some of our property owners did not pay early, we would be required to borrow money for operating expense. I did a calculation of the actual dollars that were paid last year (2019) and calculated what we would pay a bank if we borrowed the money at 5%. The calculated interest would be $3050. Our early bird contest pays $2750. I for one would rather our neighbors get paid instead of the bank.

Anyone is eligible to participate and each of you can decide whether it is worth it to you to pay early. If you choose to do so I have heard it said that you have a slim to none chance of winning. I guess that is true. If you win, it is slim. If you don’t it is none!!! (Chuckle now!)

Seriously, my thanks to those that pay early and my thanks to those who pay by the due date. Our Association does not make money. All the funds collected are used to maintain our community. Each of us who own property in Roaming Shores has made the legal commitment to participate in the financial responsibilities of our association amenities. Also, we will again be sending out a reminder notice on April 1 for those property owners who did not pay. It is not a delinquent notice but simply a reminder of the May 1 date. We found last year that the majority of our residents appreciated the reminder and it did generate payments plus saved some a late fee. Please don’t consider it offensive and know that it is being sent for a positive reason.

As always, we welcome the opinions, suggestions and involvement of all members.