Richmond owed $32 million in unpaid real estate taxes, neighbors suffer the neglect
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- 8News is taking action once again after learning that Richmond is owed more than $32 million in overdue real estate taxes, with some of these properties overgrown, infested and uninhabitable. While the city has a way to recoup some of these funds, leaders haven't used it in years.
The River City has seen many expensive problems crop up in 2025, including January's water crisis. It's these mounting costs that motivated 8News to begin looking into real estate delinquencies in April.
We found out that not only has the city been losing out on millions in potential revenue, but Richmond residents who neighbor some of these neglected properties are shouldering unintended consequences.
For example, one such property on W. Laburnum Avenue is so consumed by overgrowth that it can't be seen from the road. A neighbor said he feels bad for the owner, who he was told is facing challenging medical problems.
A blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
However, alongside that extraordinary compassion is a desperate need for the city to take action. The thick brush has attracted vermin like raccoons and snakes, which often come over onto his property.
"Lord only knows what's in that house," the neighbor said.
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This is not the first time that 8News has looked into overdue real estate taxes in the River City. Eight years ago, our investigation prompted action from city officials.
However, those efforts ended under the previous administration -- leaving current Richmond Mayor Danny Avula to figure out a way forward.
"We absolutely should be enforcing the law that exists," he told 8News in mid-September.
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In 2017, 8News investigative reporter Kerri O'Brien learned that hundreds of properties throughout Richmond had been tax delinquent for 20 years or more. After her report on these findings came out, city officials responded by sending some of these properties -- many of them vacant, uninhabitable and/or blighted -- to auction.
Former investigative reporter Kerri O'Brien reporting on Richmond real estate tax delinquencies in 2017. (Photo: 8News)
Under state law, localities like Richmond are allowed to seize and auction off tax delinquent properties that meet certain criteria. These auctions were held for several years after O'Brien's report, with 8News reporting on multiple of them.
Millions of dollars in real estate sales were made through these auctions, increasing the city's revenue significantly.
However, 8News has since learned that these auctions were halted in 2023 under former mayor Levar Stoney.
It's unclear exactly why Stoney chose to freeze the auction process. When he initially spoke to O'Brien, he took a firm stance against property owners who did not pay their taxes. He said they were keeping money from essential city services like schools, fire departments, police stations and more.
Then-mayor Levar Stoney being interviewed by former investigative reporter Kerri O'Brien about Richmond real estate tax delinquencies in 2017. (Photo: 8News)
"I don't really have a clear answer," Avula said when asked about Stoney's intentions. "All of the people who were involved in that decision to stop it [the auctions] are no longer with the city."
He added that, in 2023, the city was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This was also the same year that Richmond officially declared a housing crisis. However, the mayor emphasized that he was not provided with a definitive reason from the previous administration.
Avula has only been in office for nine months, with the multi-million dollar water crisis taking place within the first weeks of his administration. The city had already spent $6.7 million on it by July, and many more costly improvements are still needed.
2025: City out more than $32M in taxes, fees
As of July, Richmond property owners are overdue a combined $32.5 million in real estate taxes and fees, per a city financial report.
Delinquent taxes in the city of Richmond as of July 2025. The highlighted figure is total delinquent real estate taxes. (Photo: City of Richmond)
Approximately $15 million of this sum reflects bills that are between six months and 20 years old. The remaining balance of about $16 million reflects bills that were due more recently.
Information on properties that have been delinquent for six months or more is published on the city's website. The most recent report, published in August, lists just over 3,800 unique properties.
The statute of limitations on real estate tax bills is 20 years -- meaning that, after 20 years of nonpayment, a property owner is no longer obligated to pay their balance.
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Nearly 70 bills within the available dataset are just about 20 years old, with another 597 between 15 and 19 years old. These bills account for almost $763,000 of the amount owed to Richmond.
While ordinary citizens are certainly represented within the report, there are plenty of companies or LLCs among them. In fact, they are responsible for the nine largest bills, which total more than $2.2 million between them.
Among these top-owing companies is a "P.F. Net," which owes Richmond over $800,000 in real estate taxes for "various locations." Its oldest bills are 19 and nearly 20 years old -- meaning they will soon drop off.
Real impact of unpaid real estate taxes on residents
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A blighted home in the 1700 block of N. 23rd Street in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. There is evidence of a fire in the backyard. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
A vacant, overgrown lot in the 3200 block of Tuxedo Boulevard in Richmond. It has years of overdue real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
A vacant, overgrown lot in the 3200 block of Tuxedo Boulevard in Richmond. It has years of overdue real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
A vacant, overgrown lot in the 3200 block of Tuxedo Boulevard in Richmond. It has years of overdue real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Home in the 140 block of Green Acres Avenue in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Home in the 140 block of Green Acres Avenue in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Home in the 140 block of Green Acres Avenue in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Home in the 140 block of Green Acres Avenue in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Home in the 140 block of Green Acres Avenue in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Home in the 140 block of Green Acres Avenue in Richmond with years of unpaid real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
8News visited several of the properties listed within the report, with a focus on those that had been delinquent the longest.
Some had boarded-up windows and doors, mold and filth, uncut grass, piles of garbage and even a shed that was practically destroyed by fire.
One such property, located in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Avenue, is a home that is so consumed by overgrowth that it cannot be seen from the street. To approach it, you have to duck under the overhanging branches and walk through a gap in the greenery.
A blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Aerial view of a blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Erik Halvorson/8News)
A blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
The man who owns the land owes over $69,000 in unpaid real estate taxes on it, per the report, with bills going back nearly 20 years.
8News spoke to a next-door neighbor, Scott Robinson, who said he's lived alongside this lot for three decades. The property line, located just over his driveway and visible from his front porch, is a wall of overgrowth.
Over the past 30 years, Robinson has watched his neighbor's home continue to fall apart.
"It's been hell," he said.
A neighbor's view of a blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Not only is the lot unappealing to look at, but these kinds of conditions also foster an environment for vermin and bugs.
"We have raccoons living back there," Robinson said. "We have all kinds of bugs, because -- the back of it is so full of bamboo, there's a lot of water back there. So there's a lot of mosquitoes. Lord only knows what's in that house, as far as potential varmints, or other things."
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According to Robinson, the current owner was given the property by his mother. About a year ago, however, he was taken from the home due to medical problems. Robinson said he isn't sure what happened after that, but he heard he may be in a nursing home.
"I never wish any ill will on him," he said. "I probably could have called the city and complained about him for the last 30 years. But my perspective is, he didn't bother me, I didn't bother him."
Aerial view of a blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Erik Halvorson/8News)
A blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
A blighted property in the 1200 block of W. Laburnum Ave. that has been tax delinquent for nearly two decades. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
Robinson emphasized that he feels bad for the homeowner, but the impacts this lot has on his life need to be addressed.
"Now that he's not there anymore, that's where we're like, 'Hey, something has to happen,'" he said. "The city needs to come in here."
Robinson and another neighbor told 8News that city officials came out recently and mentioned possibly sending the property to auction. However, nothing has happened since.
"Again, he's [the property owner] been there for a long time, and I feel bad for the gentleman," he said. "But, at the same time, we also want to sell within the next 3 or 4 years. And that's going to be a sticking point for us."
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
A second property 8News visited is a heavily overgrown adjoining lot in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street.
The untamed greenery has gotten so high that it hangs over the sidewalk and onto the roof of the home next door. There is a stark line where this lot ends and the next begins in the grass, where it goes from neatly trimmed to several inches tall.
One neighbor, Sam Krause, told 8News his family of three has lived on N. 31st Street since 2022 -- and this lot has been like this for at least that long.
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Krause, his young son and their dog love to take walks together, but this lot heavily impacts the route they can take.
"We like to walk around this area a lot -- that's one thing we love about Church Hill," he said. "But we pretty much always have to go the other direction because, if we go that way, we immediately run into [the] overgrown area on the sidewalk and we can't get around it."
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Though Krause said he would like something done, he offered sympathy to those who cannot afford to pay their taxes. He mentioned that Church Hill, historically, is a lower-income neighborhood.
"I think it's probably a bigger issue than just trying to get people to pay ... there's a reason that they can't pay," he said. "I think it's probably deeper than something we can fix just by getting people to pay taxes."
Especially given rising inflation and housing prices, it's very reasonable to assume that many individuals who owe delinquent real estate taxes just aren't able to afford them. However, in this instance, company Samover, Inc. owns the lot, and it hasn't paid the more than $13,400 it owes on the property in nearly 20 years.
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"It doesn't really seem fair, because I also know that a lot of neighbors in our Church Hill community get fined for having [tall] grass that is nothing compared to what is going on across the street," said Emily Jovanovic, the neighbor across the street.
Jovanovic, who sees this lot every time she walks out her front door, said that she finds it "kind of crazy" that this severe overgrowth is, seemingly, being ignored by both the taxpayer responsible for it and the city.
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
Parcel of land in the 1300 block of N. 31st Street in Richmond that is overgrown and heavily encroaching on a nearby home and the sidewalk. Its owner is years behind on real estate taxes. (Photo: Ryan Nadeau/8News)
"I have seen it somewhat maintained," she said. "Other times I've seen the city go up and put a little stake in the ground with a notice saying that it needs to be cut ... but, obviously, nobody stops by to really do anything about it."
Church Hill has been seeing an increase in development as of late, according to Jovanovic, including a set of identical townhomes right next door to her. She said they were recently constructed -- and, soon after they went up, neighbors started to move out.
She added that, according to communications she's received from the city, a developer intends to demolish the home next to the overgrown lot and build a triplex.
"It's kind of sad to watch people be displaced like that ... to watch them [developers] take care of this and push these kinds of houses, but then not want to maintain the property next to an older house ... it's a little disheartening," Jovanovic said.
A look into the auction process, how it works
To better understand the auction process, 8News sat down with Mark Motley, the man behind Motley Asset Disposition Group -- the company that previously ran Richmond's tax delinquent property auctions. Motley's been working with the city for over two decades.
Under state law, Virginia localities can seize a property that's been tax delinquent for two years or more and sell it at auction. If the home is uninhabitable, they can do so after one year. Motley told 8News that Richmond's auctions primarily featured unoccupied, dilapidated homes.
Through these actions, roughly 100 properties were being sold quarterly in Richmond, which comes out to about 400 properties a year, Motley said.
Notably, not all of the revenue from each home sale goes directly into Richmond's pocket. These homes are put up for auction at their assessed value. When a sale is made, a portion of the sale price goes towards settling the tax debt and fees associated with said sale. Whatever's left over actually goes back to the homeowner.
Mark Motley of Motley Asset Disposition Group during an interview with 8News about Richmond real estate tax delinquencies on Aug. 26, 2025. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
"I think a lot of this narrative that you hear [is] that this is doom and gloom for the person who owns a house," Motley said. "Sometimes it can be liberating, because they owe the money and they're going to get a check at the end of the process."
As previously said, the city increased its revenue by several million dollars through these auctions.
“That could go a long way with fixing our water system, but also fixing the schools, also fixing the streets and providing good security and police force on the roads," Motley said.
When asked about the potential impact on housing that these auctions have, Motley said that the impact is really only positive. He emphasized that no one has ever been forced out of a house for it to be sold at a Motley auction.
"Imagine what the conditions of the home [are] going to be with a leaky roof, mold, et cetera," Motley said. "If they don't have the money to pay the taxes, are they really going to [have] the money to improve the property?"
While sensitivity to a person's situation is important, he said that, more often than not, he's found that the people stuck in these crumbling homes genuinely need a nudge to move on to something healthier.
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"A lot of these people that I've talked to, they are just in the habit of being in this home," Motley said. "They're there for so long that they don't want to leave -- even if they're renting the property, right? They don't have the incentive to move out and try to find something else that would be healthier for them ... and, quite frankly, at the same price. So, like I said, it's a necessary evil. It's part of the process."
On the flipside, Motley said he's watched couples buy their first homes at these auctions. His company actually hosts seminars to help people approach buying property.
"There's a couple who stands up and they scream and yell and give each other a hug and all that [when they win an auction,]" Motley said. "It's kind of rewarding to see that happen."
While developers are certainly in attendance, he said the turnout is always diverse -- from neighbors to builders to house flippers.
Motley Asset Disposition Group. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
Ultimately, Motley said that auctions actively help put people in good houses as well as generate revenue for the city, which it can then invest in affordable housing.
Motley was able to tell 8News about the day the Stoney administration informed his company that it was halting the auctions.
"And of course, my first question was, 'Well, how are you going to collect the taxes?'" he said.
According to Motley, he was then told that the Stoney administration had other "means" to generate the lost revenue. However, Motley said that allowing these properties to rack up unpaid taxes isn't fair to law-abiding taxpayers.
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"There needs to be some consequences if you don't pay your taxes," he said.
Motley said he's spoken to Avula several times about resuming the auction process and that he believes Avula is invested in getting it going again.
"I think this is a high priority for the mayor," Motley said. "The mayor also has inherited a tremendous amount of problems with the water and ... obviously, so many other things, that he's been working through. So I think this is of concern to him, as well."
How is the Avula administration planning to tackle this?
Avula was first made aware of this issue in the spring when a concerned resident asked him about a delinquent property in the city.
"I then had a meeting with our attorney's office, who used to run this program, [to] try and get a little bit of a sense of what happened," Avula said. "Their only explanation was that the [Stoney] administration just wanted to stop the process."
These discussions became all the more pressing when the city had to find $5.8 million to pay the wrongfully incarcerated Marvin Grimm, ultimately doing so out of the delinquent tax special fund.
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When 8News told Avula about some of the concerns we heard from residents, he agreed that lax enforcement of real estate tax law creates many victims. He said that the city has a "collective responsibility" to use all tools at its disposal to ensure properties are kept up with -- even if it's hard.
"There are scenarios where somebody may pass away and then that house that the ownership of that house goes on to a complicated network of heirs that can take years to sort out," Avula said, as an example of how tax enforcement can be complex. "Now, is it fair to the residents of that neighborhood, and to the city where taxes are owed, that we let that process play out indefinitely? Or should we actually create some accountability around that?"
Mayor Danny Avula during an interview with 8News about Richmond real estate tax delinquencies on Sept. 16, 2025. (Photo: Jakobi Davis/8News)
However, Avula said it's also important to be compassionate towards people who want to pay their taxes but are struggling to do so.
"There may be circumstances where an owner just has fallen on financial hard times and has had difficulty -- and there are lots of ways for us to work with that owner, to put them on a payment plan, [or] to provide some tax relief for lower-income owners," he said.
Especially with Richmond experiencing a housing crisis, Avula said keeping people housed remains a priority. So, when it comes to resuming the real estate tax auction process, Avula said he wants to primarily focus on homes that don't have an "engaged owner who's trying to chip away at unpaid taxes."
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"Rather, [we're really focusing on] a house that's sitting in the courts and really needs some, some fire behind them to make sure that that actually goes through a process," Avula said. "To be able to return that house to an owner who will do something with it, and ultimately beautify the neighborhood -- or make an investment in the neighborhood -- that everybody benefits from."
To that effect, chief administrative officer Odie Donald, II has been instructed to look into how the auction program can resume in a way that balances these ideas, Avula said. He added that, while he wants to ensure this process is carried out the right way, he's dedicated to taking action to recoup these unpaid taxes.
"We owe [it] to our entire community to make sure that we're enforcing the code that exists," he said.
Avula said he expects Donald to have information on possible paths forward for him within the next few months. While he couldn't give a definitive timeline on when the auction process will resume, he did say the administration is looking at early 2026.
