Some owners would have 90 days to reclaim tax sale property

Owners would have six months or 90 days to reclaim property in the covered cases. Six months applies to property sold directly to a land bank. Ninety days applies to unsold county liens, certificates sold to land banks, and property a court keeps out of a tax sale. Certificates for county liens sold to buyers other than land banks have a 120-day window. Property on the vacant and abandoned list has no right to be reclaimed after it is sold. A payment agreement may extend the deadline for a county lien whose certificate has not been sold. Six months begins with the direct land bank sale. Ninety days begins with the county lien, the certificate sale to a land bank, or the end of the skipped tax sale. If the county assigns its certificate to a local government or land bank, the 90 days runs from assignment.

The responsible buyer or county auditor would send notice of the sale. Notice goes to the owner and anyone with a substantial property right shown in public records. A tax deed depends on the property remaining unredeemed after its redemption period ends. For a direct land bank sale, notice is due within three months of sale. For an unsold county lien or a sale of its certificate, notice is due within 60 days of that event.

If the county disposes of court-withheld property within one year after the skipped tax sale, it would distribute proceeds above the minimum bid under tax sale rules; some surplus claimants must petition a court. These rules concern property a court kept out of a tax sale and the money left after the county receives payment for it. The county must dispose of the property within one year after the skipped tax sale for proceeds above the minimum bid to follow tax sale rules. People claiming leftover money through a contract with an owner or while acting for an owner need a court order. Unless federal bankruptcy law extends the redemption period, money left unclaimed for one year after the county receives it goes to the county general fund. The transfer and court petition periods run from the end of the tax sale that excluded the property. The unclaimed-money period runs from when the county receives the money.

The county auditor would withhold a tax deed until the buyer meets the listed requirements. This applies when a court grants a tax sale buyer's request for a deed. The buyer must file the court order and sales disclosure form, pay recording fees, and pay outstanding property taxes. The requirements must be met no later than 90 days after the hearing at which the court grants the buyer's request.