LOW-COST LAND IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN

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No matter what the land is like, though, to make a 20th-century living—complete with flashy automobiles, shiny new appliances, color TV sets and snowmobiles—you need a lot more than a quarter section. The farmers who are making it big these days have hundreds of acres, some close to a thousand. The isolated 40's are growing up in trees and brush and the taxes on such property are often unpaid.

When land goes tax delinquent in northern Wisconsin, it passes through a mockery of a sheriff's sale in which only the county is allowed to bid on (and inevitably ends up with) the tax deed. If the owners of the tract don't pay the taxes and penalties within a certain time, the local government assumes title to the place.

Most counties in these parts are land-poor. They own vast reaches of forest which bring them 50¢ an acre a year from the state, in return for half the stumpage (standing tree) value

when timber or pulpwood is sold. Modern forestry, like modern farming, is feasible only on a grand scale. Therefore, if the county takes over a 40 or 80 that's nowhere near the rest of its wooded holdings, it tries to sell that plot to a person who will pay the taxes.

When the county decides to offer land for sale, it puts a minimum appraised value on each parcel. Then it advertises the property in the official county newspaper (or sometimes in every paper within its jurisdiction).

Each county has its own conditions for sale. The only uniformity is that every sealed bid must be accompanied by 10% of the offer in cash,money order or bank check. If the rest of the purchase price isn't paid by the successful bidder, the 10% is forfeited.

Beyond this point, any resemblance to consistency is purely coincidental. Douglas County, for example, requires that bids be made on standard forms available from the county clerk. The intended use of the land must be stated on the bid sheet, and if the acreage isn't put to that purpose within a certain time, the locality takes it back under a reversion clause in the deed. Though the time limit for utilizing the tract is usually one year, there can be some flexibility. In neighboring Bayfield County, on the other hand, no bid form is specified, no questions are asked about the bidder's intentions and there is no reversion clause.

The prospective buyer should be warned that the highest bidder isn't always successful. On any tract the county offers there may be unstated conditions known only to insiders. Frequently the land is put up for sale so one individual, and that one only, may purchase it...but this fact is never stated in the advertisement, so persons not privy to the local government's secrets have no way of knowing the truth. Suffice it to say that the county board of supervisors is permitted to accept whichever bid is in the best interests of the area.

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