Private Sale

This is part 4 in the Tax Claim Life Cycle series.

Properties not sold at Upset Sale are immediately available for Private Sale.  Properties sold at Private Sale are still subject to all other liens.  The Tax Claim Bureau may accept any offer it deems reasonable, but the price is subject to review.

The bureau must notify the property owner and each taxing district of the proposed sale.  The bureau must also publish details of the proposed sale in one newspaper and the county legal journal.  The advertisement must run twice with roughly ten days between each publication.

Within 45 days of notice of the proposed sale, any interested party may challenge the sale with the courts.  The court will hear from all parties then approve or disapprove the sale.  If it disapproves the sale, it will also set a minimum acceptable Private Sale bid price.  At that point, the bureau *cannot* accept any bids below that minimum.  Additionally, any bid that meets the court-ordered minimum will be approved and may not be challenged.

For a successful sale, the bureau will issue a deed to the purchaser conveying title “free, clear and discharged of all tax claims and tax judgments…”  Note, again, that the property is *not cleared* of any other liens, such as outstanding mortgages.

For additional information, refer to Sections 613-615 of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law.