AN ACT to amend and reenact sections two, five, eighteen, twenty- seven, forty-five, forty-six and forty-eight, article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to real property tax liens sold by sheriff for delinquent ad valorem taxes; hours of sale; forfeiture of purchaser's rights because of the expiration of the tax lien; limitation on the time to apply for quitclaim deed; publication of notice of auction; and auction without additional advertising.
That sections two, five, eighteen, twenty-seven, forty-five,
forty-six and forty-eight, article three, chapter eleven-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:notice.(a) On or before the tenth day of September of each year,
the sheriff shall prepare a second list of delinquent lands,
which shall include all real estate in his county remaining
delinquent as of the first day of September, together with a
notice of sale, in form or effect as follows:Notice is hereby given that tax liens for the following
described tracts or lots of land or undivided interests therein
in the County of ________________ which are delinquent for the
nonpayment of taxes for the year (or years) 19____, will be
offered for sale by the undersigned sheriff (or collector) at
public auction at the front door of the courthouse of the county,
between the hours of nine in the morning and four in the
afternoon, on the _____ day of _________________, 19____.Tax liens on each unredeemed tract or lot, or each
unredeemed part thereof or undivided interest therein, will be
sold at public auction to the highest bidder in an amount which
shall not be less than the taxes, interest and charges which
shall be due thereon to the date of sale, as set forth in the
following table:|
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Total amount of taxes, interest and charges due to date of sale |
Any of the aforesaid tracts or lots, or part thereof or an
undivided interest therein, may be redeemed by the payment to the
undersigned sheriff (or collector) before sale, of the total
amount of taxes, interest and charges due thereon up to the date
of redemption.Given under my hand this _____________ day of_____________________, 19_____.__________________________ Sheriff (or collector).
The sheriff shall publish the list and notice prior to the
sale date fixed in the notice as a Class III-0 legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article
three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area
for such publication shall be the county.(b) In addition to such publication, no less than thirty
days prior to the sale the sheriff shall send a notice of the
delinquency and the date of sale by certified mail: (1) To the
last known address of each person listed in the land books whose
taxes are delinquent; (2) to each person having a lien on real
property upon which the taxes are due as disclosed by a statement
filed with the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of section
three of this article; (3) to each other person with an interest
in the property or with a fiduciary relationship to a person with an interest in the property who has in writing delivered to the
sheriff on a form prescribed by the tax commissioner a request
for such notice of delinquency; and (4) in the case of property
which includes a mineral interest but does not include an
interest in the surface other than an interest for the purpose of
developing the minerals, to each person who has in writing
delivered to the sheriff, on a form prescribed by the tax
commissioner, a request for such notice which identifies the
person as an owner of an interest in the surface of real property
that is included in the boundaries of such property: Provided,
That in a case where one owner owns more than one parcel of real
property upon which taxes are delinquent, the sheriff may, at his
option, mail separate notices to the owner and each lienholder
for each parcel or may prepare and mail to the owner and each
lienholder a single notice which pertains to all such delinquent
parcels. If the sheriff elects to mail only one notice, that
notice shall set forth a legally sufficient description of all
parcels of property on which taxes are delinquent. In no event
shall failure to receive the mailed notice by the landowner or
lienholder affect the validity of the title of the property
conveyed if it is conveyed pursuant to section twenty-seven or
fifty-nine of this article.(c) (1) To cover the cost of preparing and publishing the
second delinquent list, a charge of twelve dollars and fifty
cents shall be added to the taxes, interest and charges already due on each item and all such charges shall be stated in the list
as a part of the total amount due.(2) To cover the cost of preparing and mailing notice to the
landowner, lienholder or any other person entitled thereto
pursuant to this section, a charge of five dollars per addressee
shall be added to the taxes, interest and charges already due on
each item and all such charges shall be stated in the list as a
part of the total amount due.(d) Any person whose taxes were delinquent on the first day
of September may have his or her name removed from the delinquent
list prior to the time the same is delivered to the newspapers
for publication by paying to the sheriff the full amount of taxes
and costs owed by the person at the date of such redemption. In
such case, the sheriff shall include but three dollars of the
costs provided in this section in making such redemption. Costs
collected by the sheriff hereunder which are not expended for
publication and mailing shall be paid into the general county
fund.(a) The tax lien on each unredeemed tract or lot, or each
unredeemed part thereof or undivided interest therein shall be
sold by the sheriff, in the same order as set forth in the list
and notice prescribed in section two of this article, at public
auction to the highest bidder, between the hours of nine in the
morning and four in the afternoon on any business working day after the fourteenth day of October and before the twenty-third
day of November: Provided, That no tax lien for such unredeemed
tract or lot or undivided interest therein shall be sold upon any
bid or for any sum less than the total amount of taxes, interest
and charges then due: Provided, however, That at any such sale,
the tax lien for each unredeemed tract or lot, or undivided
interest therein, shall be offered for sale and sold for the
entirety of such tract or lot or undivided interest therein as
the same is described and constituted as a unit or entity in the
list and notice prescribed in section two of this article. If
the sale shall not be completed on the day designated in the
notice for the holding of such sale, it shall be continued from
day to day between the same hours until disposition shall have
been made of all the land. The payment for any tax lien
purchased at a sale shall be made by check or money order payable
to the sheriff of the county and delivered before the close of
business on the day of the sale.(b) Each sheriff is immune from liability if a loss or claim
results from the sale of a tax lien conducted pursuant to the
provisions of this article or from any subsequent conveyance of
the property to which the lien attaches: Provided, That where a
sheriff fails or refuses to sell said tax lien pursuant to the
provisions of this article for reasons other than those provided
by section seven of this article, the sheriff may be compelled by
mandamus to sell the same upon the petition of the auditor or any taxpayer of the county in a court of competent jurisdiction.(a) No lien upon real property evidenced by a tax
certificate of sale issued by a sheriff on account of any
delinquent property taxes may remain a lien thereon for a period
longer than eighteen months after the original issuance thereof.(b) All rights of a purchaser shall be deemed forfeited and
expired and no tax deed is to be issued on any tax sale evidenced
by a tax certificate of sale where the certificate has ceased to
be a lien pursuant to the provisions of this section and
application for the tax deed, pursuant to the provisions of
section twenty-seven of this article, is not pending at the time
of the expiration of the limitation period provided for in this
section.(c) Whenever a lien evidenced by a tax certificate of sale
has expired by reason of the provisions of this section, the
county clerk shall immediately issue and record a certificate of
cancellation describing the real estate included in the
certificate of purchase or tax certificate and giving the date of
cancellation and the clerk shall also make proper entries in his
or her records. The clerk shall also present a copy of every
such certificate of cancellation to the sheriff who shall enter
the same in the sheriff's records and the certificate and the
record are prima facie evidence of the cancellation of the
certificate of sale and of the release of the lien of the certificate on the lands therein described. Failure to record
the certificate of cancellation does not extend the lien
evidenced by the certificate of sale. The sheriff and county
clerk are not entitled to any fees for the issuing of the
certificate of cancellation nor for the entries in their books
made under the provisions of this subsection.If the real estate described in the notice is not redeemed
within the time specified therein, but in no event prior to the
first day of April of the second year following the sheriff's
sale, the person entitled thereto shall thereafter, but prior to
the expiration of the lien evidenced by a tax certificate of sale
issued by a sheriff for such real estate as provided in section
eighteen of this article, make and deliver to the clerk of the
county commission subject to the provisions of section eighteen
of this article, a quitclaim deed for the real estate in form or
effect as follows:This deed made this _________ day of _____________, 19___,
by and between _________________, clerk of the county commission
of ______________________ County, West Virginia, (or by and
between _______________, a commissioner appointed by the Circuit
Court of ______________ County, West Virginia) grantor, and
_____________, purchaser, (or __________________, heir, devisee
or assignee of _______________________, purchaser), grantee,
witnesseth, that:Whereas, In pursuance of the statutes in such case made and
provided, _________________, Sheriff of ____________ County, (or
______________, deputy for ______________, Sheriff of ___________
County), (or ______________, collector of ______________ County),
did, in the month of ____________, in the year 19_____, sell the
tax lien(s) on real estate, hereinafter mentioned and described,
for the taxes delinquent thereon for the year (or years) 19_____,
and ______________, (here insert name of purchaser) for the sum
of $___________, that being the amount of purchase money paid to
the sheriff, did become the purchaser of the tax lien(s) on such
real estate (or on ________ acres, part of the tract or land, or
on an undivided _____________ interest in such real estate) which
was returned delinquent in the name of ___________________; andWhereas, The clerk of the county commission has caused the
notice to redeem to be served on all persons required by law to
be served therewith; andWhereas, The tax lien(s) on the real estate so purchased has
not been redeemed in the manner provided by law and the time for
redemption set in such notice has expired;Now, therefore, the grantor, for and in consideration of the
premises and in pursuance of the statutes, doth grant unto
______________, grantee, his heirs and assigns forever, the real
estate on which the tax lien(s) so purchased existed, situate in
the county of _____________________, bounded and described as
follows: ______________________________Witness the following signature: __________________________Clerk of the County Commission of ___________________
County.Except when ordered to do so, as provided in section
twenty-eight of this article, no clerk of the county commission
may execute and deliver such a deed more than thirty days after
the person entitled to the deed delivers the same and requests
the execution thereof. Upon the clerk's determination that the
deed presented substantially complies with the requirements of
this section, the clerk shall execute the deed and acknowledge
the same, record the deed in the clerk's office and deliver the
original thereof to the purchaser.For the execution of the deed and for all the recording
required by this section, a fee of seven dollars and fifty cents
and the recording expenses shall be charged, to be paid by the
grantee upon delivery of the deed. The deed, when duly
acknowledged or proven, shall be recorded by the clerk of the
county commission in the deed book in the clerk's office,
together with assignment from the purchaser, if one was made, the
notice to redeem, the return of service of the notice, the
affidavit of publication, if the notice was served by
publication, and any return receipts for notices sent by
certified mail.(a) Each tract or lot certified to the deputy commissioner pursuant to the preceding section shall be sold by the deputy
commissioner at public auction at the courthouse of the county to
the highest bidder between the hours of nine in the morning and
four in the afternoon on any business working day within one
hundred twenty days after the auditor has certified the lands to
the deputy commissioner as required by the preceding section.
The payment for any tract or lot purchased at a sale shall be
made by check or money order payable to the sheriff of the county
and delivered before the close of business on the day of sale.
No part or interest in any tract or lot subject to such sale, or
any part thereof of interest therein, that is less than the
entirety of such unredeemed tract, lot or interest, as the same
is described and constituted as a unit or entity in said list,
shall be offered for sale or sold at such sale. If the sale
shall not be completed on the first day of the sale, it shall be
continued from day to day between the same hours until all the
land shall have been offered for sale.(b) A private, nonprofit, charitable corporation,
incorporated in this state, which has been certified as a
nonprofit corporation pursuant to the provisions of Section
501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, as amended, which
has as its principal purpose the construction of housing or other
public facilities and which notifies the deputy commissioner of
an intention to bid and subsequently submits a bid that is not
more than five percent lower than the highest bid submitted by any person or organization which is not a private, nonprofit,
charitable corporation as defined in this subsection, shall be
sold the property offered for sale by the deputy commissioner
pursuant to the provisions of this section at the public auction
as opposed to the highest bidder.The nonprofit corporation referred to in this subsection
does not include a business organized for profit, a labor union,
a partisan political organization or an organization engaged in
religious activities and it does not include any other group
which does not have as its principal purpose the construction of
housing or public facilities.Once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the auction
required in the preceding section, the deputy commissioner shall
publish notice of the auction as a Class III-0 legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for
such publication shall be the county.The notice shall be in form or effect as follows:Notice is hereby given that the following described tracts
or lots of land in the County of ___________, have been certified
by the Auditor of the State of West Virginia to
_________________, Deputy Commissioner of Delinquent and
Nonentered Lands of said County, for sale at public auction. The
lands will be offered for sale by the undersigned deputy commissioner at public auction in (specify location) the
courthouse of ______ County between the hours of nine in the
morning and four in the afternoon, on the ______ day of
_____________, 19___.Each tract or lot as described below will be sold to the
highest bidder. The payment for any tract or lot purchased at a
sale shall be made by check or money order payable to the sheriff
of the county and delivered before the close of business on the
day of the sale. If any of said tracts or lots remain unsold
following the auction, they will be subject to sale by the deputy
commissioner without additional advertising or public auction.
The deputy commissioner sale may include tracts or lots remaining
unsold from a previous auction not required by law to be
readvertised and described for this subsequent auction of those
same tracts and lots. All sales are subject to the approval of
the auditor of the state of West Virginia.Any of the aforesaid tracts or lots may be redeemed by any
person entitled to pay the taxes thereon at any time prior to the
sale by payment to the deputy commissioner of the total amount of
taxes, interest and charges due thereon up to the date of
redemption. Lands listed above as escheated or waste and
unappropriated lands may not be redeemed.Given under my hand this _______ day of ______________,
19_____.The description of lands required in the notice shall be in
the same form as the list certifying said lands to the deputy
commissioner for sale. If the deputy commissioner is required to
auction lands certified to him in any previous years, pursuant to
section forty-eight of this article, he shall include such lands
in the auction without further advertisement, with reference to
the year of certification and the item number of the tract or
interest.To cover the cost of preparing and publishing the notice, a
charge of thirty dollars shall be added to the taxes, interest
and charges due on the delinquent and nonentered property.§11A-3-48. Unsold lands subject to sale without auction or additional advertising.
If any of the lands which have been offered for sale at the
public auction provided in section forty-five of this article
shall remain unsold following such auction, or if the auditor
refuses to approve the sale pursuant to section fifty-one of this
article, the deputy commissioner may sell such lands at any time
subsequent to such auction, without any further public auction or
additional advertising of such land, to any party willing to
purchase such property. The price of such property shall be as
agreed upon by the deputy commissioner and purchaser, subject to
approval by the auditor as provided in section fifty-one of this article.