HB 4486 Text

ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4486

(By Delegates Frazier, Moore, Ellem and Hunt)

[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect ninety days from passage.]

AN ACT to amend and reenact §11A-3-52 and §11A-3-55 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the procedures, notice and redemption requirements which apply when Class II real property is auctioned or sold for failure to pay taxes; requiring the purchaser of real property at a tax lien sale or auction to provide the actual mailing address for the Class II property as a part of the post-sale or post- auction information provided to the deputy commissioner; and requiring that a copy of the notice of the right to redeem the property be sent to the actual mailing address of the Class II property, in the name of "Occupant".

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11A-3-52 and 11A-3-55 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.

§11A-3-52. What purchaser must do before he can secure a deed.
(a) Within forty-five days following the approval of the sale by the auditor pursuant to section fifty-one of this article, the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed for the real estate purchased, shall:
(1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem and request the deputy commissioner to prepare and serve the notice as provided in sections fifty-four and fifty-five of this article;
(2) When the real property subject to the tax lien was classified as Class II property, provide the deputy commissioner with the actual mailing address of the property that is subject to the tax lien or liens purchased; and,
(3) Deposit, or offer to deposit, with the deputy commissioner a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and serving the notice.
(b) If the purchaser fails to fulfill the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, the purchaser shall lose all the benefits of his or her purchase.
(c) After the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section have been satisfied, the deputy commissioner may then sell the property in the same manner as he sells lands which have been offered for sale at public auction but which remain unsold after such auction, as provided in section forty-eight of this article.
(d) If the person requesting preparation and service of the notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he shall, at the time of the request, file with the deputy commissioner a written assignment to him of the purchaser's rights, executed, acknowledged and certified in the manner required to make a valid deed.
§11A-3-55. Service of notice.
As soon as the deputy commissioner has prepared the notice provided for in section fifty-four of this article, he shall cause it to be served upon all persons named on the list generated by the purchaser pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-two of this article. Such notice shall be mailed and, if necessary, published at least thirty days prior to the first day a deed may be issued following the deputy commissioner's sale.
The notice shall be served upon all such persons residing or found in the state in the manner provided for serving process commencing a civil action or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall be served on or before the thirtieth day following the request for such notice.
If any person entitled to notice is a nonresident of this state, whose address is known to the purchaser, he shall be served at such address by certified mail, return receipt requested.
If the address of any person entitled to notice, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, is unknown to the purchaser and cannot be discovered by due diligence on the part of the purchaser, the notice shall be served by publication 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 in which such real estate is located. If service by publication is necessary, publication shall be commenced when personal service is required as set forth above, and a copy of the notice shall at the same time be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the person to be served. The return of service of such notice, and the affidavit of publication, if any, shall be in the manner provided for process generally and shall be filed and preserved by the auditor in his office, together with any return receipts for notices sent by certified mail.
In addition to the other notice requirements set forth in this section, if the real property subject to the tax lien was classified as Class II property at the time of the assessment, at the same time the deputy commissioner issues the required notices by certified mail, the deputy commissioner shall forward a copy of the notice sent to the delinquent taxpayer by first class mail, addressed to "Occupant", to the physical mailing address for the subject property. The physical mailing address for the subject property shall be supplied by the purchaser of the property, pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-two of this article.

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