2006 Ohio Revised Code - 5721.33. Negotiated sale of certificates; prohibited purchasers.

§ 5721.33. Negotiated sale of certificates; prohibited purchasers.
 

(A)  A county treasurer may, in the treasurer's discretion, negotiate the sale of any number of tax certificates with one or more persons, including, without limitation, any premium to be added to or discount to be subtracted from the certificate purchase price for the tax certificates and any other terms of the sale that the county treasurer, in the treasurer's discretion, determines appropriate or necessary for the sale. 

(B)  The sale of tax certificates under this section shall be governed by the criteria established by the county treasurer pursuant to division (E) of this section. 

(C)  The county treasurer may execute a tax certificate sale/purchase agreement and other necessary agreements with a designated purchaser or purchasers to complete a negotiated sale of tax certificates. 

(D)  The tax certificate may be sold at a premium to or discount from the certificate purchase price. The county treasurer may establish as one of the terms of the negotiated sale the portion of the certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium or less any applicable discount, that the purchaser or purchasers shall pay in cash on the date the tax certificates are sold and the portion, if any, of the certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium or less any applicable discount, that the purchaser or purchasers shall pay in noncash consideration and the nature of that consideration. 
 

The county treasurer shall sell such tax certificates at a certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount, and at a certificate rate of interest that, in the treasurer's determination, are in the best interests of the county. 

(E) (1)  The county treasurer shall adopt rules governing the eligibility of persons to purchase tax certificates or to otherwise participate in a negotiated sale under this section. The rules may provide for precertification of such persons, including a requirement for disclosure of income, assets, and any other financial information the county treasurer determines appropriate. The rules also may prohibit any person that is delinquent in the payment of any tax to the county or to the state, or that is in default in or on any other obligation to the county or to the state, from purchasing a tax certificate or otherwise participating in a negotiated sale of tax certificates under this section. The eligibility information required shall include the tax identification number of the purchaser and may include the tax identification number of the participant. The county treasurer, upon request, shall provide a copy of the rules adopted under this section. 

(2) Any person that intends to purchase a tax certificate in a negotiated sale shall submit an affidavit to the county treasurer that establishes compliance with the applicable eligibility criteria and includes any other information required by the treasurer. Any person that fails to submit such an affidavit is ineligible to purchase a tax certificate. Any person that knowingly submits a false or misleading affidavit shall forfeit any tax certificate or certificates purchased by the person at a sale for which the affidavit was submitted, shall be liable for payment of the full certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount, of the tax certificate or certificates, and shall be disqualified from participating in any tax certificate sale conducted in the county during the next five years. 

(3) A tax certificate shall not be sold to the owner of the certificate parcel or to any corporation, partnership, or association in which such owner has an interest. No person that purchases a tax certificate in a negotiated sale shall assign or transfer the tax certificate to the owner of the certificate parcel or to any corporation, partnership, or association in which the owner has an interest. Any person that knowingly or negligently transfers or assigns a tax certificate to the owner of the certificate parcel or to any corporation, partnership, or association in which such owner has an interest shall be liable for payment of the full certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount, and shall not be entitled to a refund of any amount paid. Such tax certificate shall be deemed void and the tax lien sold under the tax certificate shall revert to the county as if no sale of the tax certificate had occurred. 

(F)  The purchaser in a negotiated sale under this section shall deliver the certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount and including any noncash consideration, to the county treasurer not later than the close of business on the date the tax certificates are delivered to the purchaser. The certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount, or portion of the price, that is paid in cash shall be deposited in the county's general fund to the credit of the account to which ad valorem real property taxes are credited and further credited as provided in division (G) of this section. The purchaser also shall pay on the date the tax certificates are delivered to the purchaser the fee, if any, negotiated under division (J) of this section. If the purchaser fails to pay the certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount, and any such fee within the time periods required by this section, the county treasurer shall retain the tax certificate and may attempt to sell it at any auction or negotiated sale conducted at a later date. 

(G)  Upon receipt of the full payment of the certificate purchase price, plus any applicable premium and less any applicable discount, and the negotiated fee, if any, from the purchaser, the county treasurer, or a qualified trustee whom the treasurer has engaged for such purpose, shall issue the tax certificate and record the tax certificate sale by marking on each of the tax certificates sold or, if issued in book-entry form, on the global tax certificate, and marking into a tax certificate register, the certificate purchase price, any premium paid or discount taken, the certificate rate of interest, the date the certificates were sold, and the name and address of the certificate holder or, in the case of issuance of the tax certificates in a book-entry system, the name and address of the nominee, which may be, upon receipt of instructions from the purchaser, the secured party of the actual purchaser, or an agent or custodian for the purchaser or secured party. The county treasurer also shall transfer the tax certificates to the certificate holder and, upon presentation to the treasurer of instructions signed by the certificate purchaser or purchasers, shall record in the tax certificate register the name and address of any secured party of the certificate purchaser or purchasers having a security interest in the tax certificate. Upon the transfer of the tax certificates, the county treasurer shall apportion the part of the cash proceeds from the sale representing taxes, penalties, and interest among the several taxing districts in the same proportion that the amount of taxes levied by each district against the certificate parcels in the preceding tax year bears to the taxes levied by all such districts against the certificate parcels in the preceding tax year, and credit the part of the proceeds representing assessments and other charges to the items of assessments and charges in the order in which those items became due. If the cash proceeds from the sale are not sufficient to fully satisfy the items of outstanding delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and charges on the certificate parcels against which tax certificates were sold, the county treasurer shall credit the cash proceeds to such items pro rata based upon the proportion that each item of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, and charges bears to the aggregate of all such items, or by any other method that the county treasurer, in the treasurer's sole discretion, determines is equitable. Upon completion of the sale of the tax certificates, the delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties, and interest that make up the certificate purchase price are transferred, and the superior lien of the state and its taxing districts for those taxes, assessments, penalties, and interest is conveyed intact to the certificate holder or holders. 

(H)  If a tax certificate is offered for sale under this section but is not sold, the county treasurer may strike the corresponding certificate parcel from the list of parcels selected for tax certificate sales. The lien for taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest against a parcel stricken from the list thereafter may be foreclosed in the manner prescribed by section 323.25, 5721.14, or 5721.18 of the Revised Code unless, prior to the institution of such proceedings against the parcel, the county treasurer restores the parcel to the list of parcels selected for tax certificate sales. 

(I)  Neither a certificate holder nor its secured party, if any, shall be liable for damages arising from a violation of sections 3737.87 to 3737.891 [3737.89.1] or Chapter 3704., 3734., 3745., 3746., 3750., 3751., 3752., 6109., or 6111. of the Revised Code, or a rule adopted or order, permit, license, variance, or plan approval issued under any of those chapters, that is or was committed by another person in connection with the parcel for which the tax certificate is held. 

(J)  When selling a tax certificate under this section, the county treasurer may negotiate with the purchaser of the certificate for a fee paid by the purchaser to the treasurer to reimburse the treasurer for any part or all of the treasurer's costs of preparing for and administering the sale of the tax certificate. Such fee, if any, shall be added to the certificate purchase price of the certificate and shall be paid by the purchaser on the date of delivery of the tax certificate. The county treasurer shall deposit the fee in the county treasury to the credit of the tax certificate administration fund. 

(K)  After selling tax certificates under this section, the county treasurer shall send written notice by certified or registered mail to the last known address of the owner of the certificate parcel. The notice shall inform the owner that a tax certificate with respect to such owner's parcel was sold and shall describe the owner's options to redeem the parcel, including entering into a redemption payment plan under division (C)(2) of section 5721.38 of the Revised Code. 
 

HISTORY: 147 v H 371 (Eff 2-25-98); 149 v H 198. Eff 3-31-2003; 150 v H 168, § 1, eff. 6-15-04.

 

Effect of Amendments

H.B. 168, Acts 2004, effective June 15, 2004, inserted "and at a certificate rate of interest" in the second paragraph of (D); in (E)(1), substituted "shall adopt" for "may promulgate", and added the last sentence; inserted "the name and address" preceding "of the nominee" in (G); inserted the first instance of "county" in the last sentence of (J); and made minor stylistic changes. 

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