Return and Claim Notice

This is part 2 in the Tax Claim Life Cycle series.

After receiving the list of delinquent tax parcels from the tax collectors, the Tax Claim Bureau mails a single “Notice of Filing Returns and Entry of Claim.”  By law, the bureau must send the notice by July 31 of each year, though most bureaus send their notices well in advance of that date.

Only a single notice is sent per parcel; each owner does not receive his own notice.  The bureau must send the notice via US registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid.  If the owner of the property has been unknown for 5 years or more, then the notice must be physically posted on the property itself.

Each notice must:

• show all the information from the claim entered
• state that the claim will become absolute if not paid by December 31st
• state that the property will be exposed to sale if still unpaid by June 1st of the following year
• state that there will be no redemption after the sale
• state that the owner may apply for a 12-month extension of the sale date
• contain the following text, verbatim, in at least a 10-point font:

WARNING

IF YOU FAIL TO PAY THIS TAX CLAIM OR FAIL TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION TO CHALLENGE THIS TAX CLAIM, YOUR PROPERTY WILL BE SOLD WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT AS PAYMENT FOR THESE TAXES. YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE SOLD FOR A SMALL FRACTION OF ITS FAIR MARKET VALUE. If YOU PAY THIS TAX CLAIM BEFORE JULY 1, 20xx, YOUR PROPERTY WILL NOT BE SOLD. IF YOU PAY THIS CLAIM AFTER JULY 1, 20xx, BUT BEFORE ACTUAL SALE, YOUR PROPERTY WILL NOT BE SOLD BUT WILL BE LISTED ON ADVERTISEMENTS FOR SUCH SALE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL YOUR ATTORNEY, THE TAX CLAIM BUREAU AT THE FOLLOWING TELEPHONE NUMBER ___________, OR THE COUNTY LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE.

The costs associated with mailing or posting this notice will be added to the costs of the proceedings for each parcel.

For additional information, refer to Section 308 of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law.