Senate Bill No. 232
(By Senators Snyder, Browning, Foster, Laird, Minard,
Oliverio, Kessler, Palumbo, Barnes, Deem, Unger, Stollings,
McCabe, Plymale and Wells)
____________
[Introduced January 19, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §11A-3-5a and
§11A-3-5b; and to amend and reenact §11A-3-6, §11A-3-8, §11A-
3-9, §11A-3-11, §11A-3-14, §11A-3-15, §11A-3-16, §11A-3-18,
§11A-3-19, §11A-3-20, §11A-3-21, §11A-3-22, §11A-3-23, §11A-3-
24, §11A-3-25, §11A-3-26, §11A-3-27, §11A-3-28, §11A-3-30,
§11A-3-31 and §11A-3-32 of said code, all relating to
delinquent land sales by the sheriff; authorizing the State
Auditor to perform certain duties for delinquent land sales by
sheriff instead of the clerk of the county commission; raising
fees; providing effective date; and allowing counties to
retain duties for delinquent land sales by sheriff.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §11A-3-5a and §11A-
3-5b; and that §11A-3-6, §11A-3-8, §11A-3-9, §11A-3-11, §11A-3-14,
§11A-3-15, §11A-3-16, §11A-3-18, §11A-3-19, §11A-3-20, §11A-3-21,
§11A-3-22, §11A-3-23, §11A-3-24, §11A-3-25, §11A-3-26, §11A-3-27,
§11A-3-28, §11A-3-30, §11A-3-31 and §11A-3-32 be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§11A-3-5a. Effective date of transfer of duties for delinquent
land sales by sheriff from the county clerk to the
State Auditor.
Effective July 1, 2010, the rights, duties and benefits of the
county clerk set out in sections fourteen, sixteen, eighteen,
nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four,
twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, thirty and
thirty-one of this article, for all real properties already
purchased at the delinquent land sales by the sheriff and for all
real properties subsequently purchased at the delinquent land sales
by the sheriff, are transferred to the State Auditor.
§11A-3-5b. Authorization for county clerk to perform duties for
delinquent land sales by sheriff.
(a) If the clerk of the county commission wants to perform the
duties of the State Auditor and retain the fees incident to the
duties as set forth in sections fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four,
twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, thirty and
thirty-one of this article, then the clerk of the county commission
shall petition its county commission for authorization.
(b) The county commission's order for authorization must be
entered, certified and received by the State Auditor on or before
October 1 and will apply to all real properties subsequently
purchased at the delinquent land sales by the sheriff:
Provided,
That if a county clerk wants to retain the duties and fees set
forth in this section on the enactment of this section in 2010,
then the county commission's order for authorization must be
entered, certified and received by the State Auditor on or before
August 1, 2010, and will apply to all real properties already
purchased at the delinquent land sales by the sheriff and to all
real properties subsequently purchased at the delinquent land sales
by the sheriff.
(c) The county commission's order for authorization remains in
effect until a new order rescinding the authorization is entered
and certified by the county commission and is received by the State
Auditor on or before October 1 and applies to all real properties
subsequently purchased at the delinquent land sales by the sheriff.
(d) As long as the county commission's order for authorization
remains in effect, the county clerk is authorized to perform the
duties of the State Auditor and retain the fees incident to the duties as set forth in sections fourteen, sixteen, eighteen,
nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four,
twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, thirty and
thirty-one of this article.
§11A-3-6. Purchase by sheriff, State Auditor, deputy commissioner
and clerk of county commission prohibited; coowner
free to purchase at tax sale.
(a)
No A sheriff, clerk of the county commission or circuit
court, assessor,
State Auditor nor or deputy
or assistant of any of
them shall
not directly or indirectly become the purchaser, or be
interested in the purchase, of any tax lien on any real estate at
the tax sale or receive any tax deed conveying
such the real
estate. Any
such officer
so purchasing
any tax lien shall forfeit
$1,000 for each offense. The sale of any tax lien on any real
estate, or the conveyance of
such the real estate by tax deed, to
one of the officers named in this section
shall be is voidable, at
the instance of any person having the right to redeem, until
such
the real estate reaches the hands of a bona fide purchaser.
(b) Any coowner, except a coparcener, in the absence of
satisfactory proof of a fiduciary relationship,
shall be entitled
to may acquire by tax purchase for his
or her own account the tax
lien on the interest of any, or all, of his
or her coowners in any
real estate, and to receive a tax deed conveying
such the interest
without being required to hold
such the tax lien or interest or interests under any constructive trust. There shall be a prima
facie presumption against the existence of any
such constructive
trust.
§11A-3-8. Certification of sold and unsold property to the
Auditor.
(a) If no person present bids the amount of taxes, interest
and charges due on any real estate offered for sale, the sheriff
shall certify the real estate to the Auditor for disposition
pursuant to section forty-four of this article, subject, however,
to the right of redemption provided by section thirty-eight of this
article. The Auditor shall prescribe the form by which the sheriff
certifies the property.
(b) If the highest bidder present at the sale as provided in
section five of this article bids and pays, at a minimum, the
amount of taxes, interest and charges for which the tax lien on any
real estate is offered, the sheriff shall certify the real estate
to the State Auditor for disposition pursuant to section fourteen
of this article.
§11A-3-9. Sheriff's list of sales, suspensions, redemptions and
certifications; oath.
(a) As soon as the sale provided
for in section five of this
article has been completed, the sheriff shall prepare a list of all
tax liens on delinquent real estate purchased at the sale, or
suspended from sale, or redeemed before sale, or certified to the Auditor. The heading of the list shall be in form or effect as
follows:
List of sales of tax liens on real estate in the county of
, returned delinquent for nonpayment of taxes thereon
for the year (or years)
19 20 , and sold in the month (or
months) of
,
19 20 , or suspended from sale, or
redeemed before sale, or certified to the Auditor.
(b) The sheriff shall, at the foot of
such the list, subscribe
an oath, which shall be subscribed before and certified by some
person duly authorized to administer oaths, in form or effect as
follows:
I,
, sheriff (or deputy sheriff or collector) of
the county of
, do swear that the above list contains
a true account of all the tax liens on real estate within my county
returned delinquent for nonpayment of taxes thereon for the year
(or years)
19 20 , which were sold by me or which were
suspended from sale or redeemed before sale or certified to the
Auditor, and that I am not now, nor have I at any time been,
directly or indirectly interested in the purchase of any such tax
liens.
(c) Except for the heading and the oath, the
Tax Commissioner
State Auditor shall prescribe the form of the list.
§11A-3-11. Return of list of sales, suspensions and redemptions.
(a) Within one month after completion of the sale, the sheriff shall deliver the original list of sales, suspensions and
redemptions described in section nine of this article, with a copy
thereof, to the clerk of the county commission. The clerk shall
bind the original of such list in a permanent book to be kept for
the purpose in his
or her office.
and shall note each sale and
suspension, each redemption not previously noted, and each
certification on his record of delinquent lands The clerk, within
ten days after delivery of the list to him
or her, shall transmit
the copy to
the State Auditor, who shall note each sale,
suspension, redemption and certification on the record of
delinquent lands kept in his
or her office.
(b) Any sheriff who fails to prepare and return the list of
sales, suspensions, redemptions and certifications within the time
required by this section shall forfeit not less than $50 nor more
than $500, for the benefit of the general school fund, to be
recovered by the Auditor or by any taxpayer of the county on motion
in a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon the petition of any
person interested, the sheriff may be compelled by mandamus to make
out and return
such the list and the proceedings thereon shall be
at his
or her cost.
§11A-3-14. Purchase by individual at tax sale; certificate of
sale.
(a) If the highest bidder present at the sale provided
for in
section five of this article, bids and pays at least the amount of taxes, interest and charges for which the tax lien on any real
estate is offered for sale, the sheriff shall issue to him or her
a certificate of sale for the purchase money,
retain the original
certificate for his or her file and forward a copy to the State
Auditor, except the sheriff shall require payment of any subsequent
taxes due at the time of the sale before a certificate of sale is
issued. The heading of the certificate shall be:
Memorandum of tax lien on real estate sold in the county of
on this
day of
,
19 20
, for the nonpayment of taxes charged thereon for the year (or
years)
19 20 .
(b) Except for the heading, the
Tax Commissioner State Auditor
shall prescribe the form of the receipt.
(b) (c) The certificate of sale shall describe the real estate
subject to the tax lien that was sold, the total amount of all
taxes, interest, penalties and costs paid for each lot or tract and
the rate of interest to which the purchaser is entitled upon
redemption. The certificate shall also set forth columns for the
entry of subsequent years taxes paid and costs required by the
sheriff to be paid on the date of the sale and for the entry of
subsequent taxes and costs paid. For each certificate delivered,
the purchaser shall pay a fee of $10 and that amount shall be
included in the costs described in the certificate.
(d) The State Auditor shall send a notice of the requirements to secure a deed to the purchaser, or an assignee, by first-class
mail. The notice shall be mailed to the last known address of each
person who received a certificate of sale from the sheriff and
shall be mailed between May 1 and September 1 of the year following
the sheriff's sale: Provided, That when a person purchased more
than one parcel of real property upon which a certificate of sale
was issued, the State Auditor may, at his or her option, prepare
and mail separate notices for each purchase to the purchaser or may
prepare and mail a single notice of all purchases made by the
purchaser. In no event shall failure to receive the notice by the
purchaser, or the assignee, affect the procedures required by
section nineteen of this article.
§11A-3-15. Certificate of sale assignable.
The certificate of sale shall be assignable by endorsement and
an assignment
thereof when entered upon the delinquent lands book
of
the certificate, recorded with the clerk of the county
commission,
shall vest vests in the assignee or his
or her legal
representative all the right and title of the original purchaser.
The clerk shall be entitled to a fee of two dollars for the entry
thereof. The recording fee for a certificate of sale is $10.
§11A-3-16. Subsequent tax payments by purchaser.
Any person who has paid any subsequent taxes, other than the
subsequent taxes paid on the date of the sale as provided
for in
section fourteen of this article, on lands for which he or she holds the certificate of sale described in section fourteen or
fifteen of this article shall produce the certificate and copies of
paid tax receipts to the
clerk of the county commission State
Auditor, who shall endorse the amount of the subsequent taxes and
the date of payment of the taxes in his or her records upon the
payment to the
clerk State Auditor of a fee for the endorsement in
the amount of
two dollars $10.
§11A-3-18. Limitations on tax certificates.
(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 on the real property for a period
longer than eighteen months after the original issuance
thereof of
the tax certificate of sale.
(b) All rights of a purchaser shall be
deemed considered
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 State Auditor 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 State Auditor shall also make proper
entries in his or her records. The
clerk State Auditor shall also
present a copy of every
such certificate of cancellation to the
sheriff who shall enter
the same it 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
in the
certificate. Failure to record the certificate of cancellation
does not extend the lien evidenced by the certificate of sale. The
sheriff and
county clerk State Auditor 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.
§11A-3-19. What purchaser must do before the deed can be secured.
(a) At any time after October 31 of the year following the
sheriff's sale, and on or before December 31 of the same year, the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed
for the real estate subject to the tax lien or liens purchased,
shall:
(1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and request the
clerk State Auditor to prepare and serve the notice
as provided in sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article;
(2) Provide the
clerk State Auditor with a list of any
additional expenses incurred after January 1 of the year following
the sheriff's sale for the preparation of the list of those to be
served with notice to redeem including proof of the additional
expenses in the form of receipts or other evidence of reasonable
legal expenses incurred for the services of any attorney who has
performed an examination of the title to the real estate and
rendered
a written
opinion and certification thereon documentation
used in the preparation of the list of those to be served with the
notice to redeem;
(3) Deposit
or offer to deposit with the
clerk State Auditor
a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and serving the
notice; and
(4) Present the purchaser's certificate of sale, or order of
the county commission where the certificate has been lost or
wrongfully withheld from the owner, to the
clerk of the county
commission State Auditor.
For failure If the purchaser fails to meet these requirements,
the purchaser he or she shall lose all the benefits of his or her
purchase.
(b) If the person requesting preparation and service of the
notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he or she shall, at the
time of the request, file with the
clerk State Auditor a written
assignment to him or her of the purchaser's rights, executed, acknowledged and certified in the manner required to make a valid
deed.
(c) Whenever any certificate given by the sheriff for a tax
lien on any land, or interest in the land sold for delinquent
taxes, or any assignment of the lien is lost or wrongfully withheld
from the rightful owner of the land and the land or interest has
not been redeemed, the county commission may receive evidence of
the loss or wrongful detention and, upon satisfactory proof of that
fact, may cause a certificate of the proof and finding, properly
attested by the
county clerk under the seal of the county State
Auditor, to be delivered to the rightful claimant and a record of
the certificate shall be duly made by the county clerk in the
recorded proceedings of the commission.
§11A-3-20. Refund to purchaser of payment made at sheriff's sale
where property is subject of an erroneous assessment
or is otherwise nonexistent.
If, by December 31 of the year following payment of the amount
bid at a sheriff's sale, the purchaser discovers that the lien
purchased at that sale is the subject of an erroneous assessment or
is otherwise nonexistent, the purchaser shall submit the abstract
or certificate of an attorney at law that the property is the
subject of an erroneous assessment or is otherwise nonexistent.
Upon receipt of the abstract or certificate, the sheriff shall
cause
the any moneys
so paid to be refunded. Upon refund, the sheriff shall inform the assessor
and the State Auditor of the
erroneous assessment for the purpose of having the assessor correct
the error. For failure to meet this requirement, the purchaser
shall lose all benefits of his or her purchase.
§11A-3-21. Notice to redeem.
(a) Whenever the provisions of section nineteen of this
article have been complied with, the
clerk of the county commission
State Auditor shall prepare a notice in form or effect as follows:
To ___________________________________.
You will take notice that _______________, the purchaser (or
_____________, the assignee, heir or devisee of _______________,
the purchaser) of the tax lien(s) on the following real estate,
__________________, (here describe the real estate for which the
tax lien(s) thereon were sold) located in ___________________,
(here name the city, town or village in which the real estate is
situated or, if not within a city, town or village, give the
district and a general description) which was returned delinquent
in the name of ________________, and for which the tax lien(s)
thereon was sold by the sheriff of ____________________ County at
the sale for delinquent taxes made on the _______________ day of
_____________,
19 20 , has requested that you be notified that
a deed for such real estate will be made to him
or her on or after
April 1,
19 20 ____, as provided by law, unless before that day you
redeem such real estate. The amount you will have to pay to redeem on the last day, March 31, will be as follows:
Amount equal to the taxes, interest, and charges due on the
date of sale, with interest to March 31,
19 20____
........$__________
Amount of subsequent years taxes paid on the property, since
the sale, with interest to March 31,
19 20 ____ ........
$___________
Amount paid for title examination and preparation of list of
those to be served, and for preparation and service of the notice
with interest from January 1,
19 20 (insert year) following the
sheriff's sale to March 31,
19 20 ____ ........ $__________
Amount paid for other statutory costs (describe)
_____________________ ........ $___________
Total ................. $_____________
You may redeem at any time before March 31,
nineteen hundred
20 _______________, by paying the above total less any unearned
interest.
Given under my hand this _____ day of __________,
19 20 ____.
_________________________________________________________________
Clerk of the county commission of ___________________ County State
Auditor, State of West Virginia
(b) The
clerk State Auditor for his or her service in
preparing the notice shall receive a fee of
five dollars $10 for
the original and
one dollar $2 for each copy required. Any additional costs which must be expended for publication, or service
of the notice in the manner provided for serving process commencing
a civil action, or for service of process by certified mail, shall
be charged by the
clerk State Auditor. All costs provided by this
section shall be included as redemption costs and included in the
notice described in this section.
§11A-3-22. Service of notice.
(a) As soon as the
clerk State Auditor has prepared the notice
provided for in section twenty-one of this article, he
or she shall
cause it to be served upon all persons named on the list generated
by the purchaser pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen of
this article.
(b) 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 the notice.
(c) If any person entitled to notice is a nonresident of this
state, whose address is known to the purchaser, he
or she shall be
served at
such that address by certified mail, return receipt
requested.
(d) 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 the publication shall be the county in which
such the
real estate is located. If service by publication is necessary,
publication shall be commenced when personal service is required as
set forth
above in this section 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 the 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
clerk State Auditor in his
or
her office, together with any return receipts for notices sent by
certified mail.
§11A-3-23. Redemption from purchase; receipt; list of redemptions;
lien; lien of person redeeming interest of another;
record.
(a) After the sale of any tax lien on any real estate pursuant
to section five of this article, the owner of, or any other person
who was entitled to pay the taxes on, any real estate for which a
tax lien
thereon on the real estate was purchased by an individual
may redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued for the real
estate. In order to redeem, he or she shall pay to the
clerk of
the county commission State Auditor the following amounts:
(1) An amount equal to the taxes, interest and charges due on
the date of the sale, with interest at the rate of one percent per
month from the date of sale;
(2) All other taxes which have since been paid by the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, with interest at the rate
of one percent per month from the date of payment;
(3) Any additional expenses incurred from January 1 of the
year following the sheriff's sale to the date of redemption for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and any
title examination incident thereto written documentation
used for the preparation of the list, with interest at the rate of
one percent per month from the date of payment for reasonable legal
expenses incurred for the services of an attorney who has performed
and certifies an examination of the title to the real estate and
rendered
a written opinion and certification thereon written
documentation used for the preparation of the list: Provided, That
the
maximum amount
he or she the owner or other authorized person
shall
be required to pay, excluding the interest, for the expenses
incurred for the preparation of the list of those to be served
with
notice to redeem required by section nineteen of this article
and
any title examination performed shall not exceed two hundred
dollars is $300: Provided however, That the attorney may only
charge a fee for legal services actually preformed and must certify
that he or she conducted a title examination; and
(4) All additional statutory costs paid by the purchaser.
(b) Where the
clerk State Auditor has not received from the
purchaser satisfactory proof of the expenses incurred in preparing
the notice to redeem, and any
examination of title written
documentation used for the preparation of the list of those to be
served with notice to redeem incident thereto, in the form of
receipts or other evidence of legal expenses,
including the
certification required in subdivision (3), incurred as provided in
section nineteen of this article, the person redeeming shall pay
the
clerk State Auditor the sum of
two hundred dollars $300 plus
interest at the rate of one percent per month from January 1 of the
year following the sheriff's sale for disposition by the sheriff
pursuant to the provisions of sections ten, twenty-four, twenty-
five and thirty-two of this article.
(c) The person redeeming shall be given a receipt for the
payment
and the written opinion or report used for the preparation
of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem required by
section nineteen of this article.
(b) (d) Any person who, by reason of the fact that no
provision is made for partial redemption of the tax lien on real
estate purchased by an individual, is compelled in order to protect
himself or herself to redeem the tax lien on all of the real estate
when it belongs, in whole or in part, to some other person, shall
have a lien on the interest of that other person for the amount paid to redeem the interest. He or she shall lose his or her right
to the lien, however, unless within thirty days after payment he or
she files with the clerk of the county commission his or her claim
in writing against the owner of the interest, together with the
receipt provided
for in this section. The clerk shall docket the
claim on the judgment lien docket in his or her office and properly
index the claim. The lien may be enforced as other judgment liens
are enforced.
(e) Before a tax deed is issued, the county clerk may accept,
on behalf of the State Auditor, the payment necessary to redeem any
real estate encumbered with a tax lien and to write a receipt. The
amount of the payment necessary to redeem any real estate
encumbered with a tax lien shall be provided by the State Auditor
and the State Auditor shall update the required payments plus
interest at least monthly.
(f) On or before the tenth day of each month, the county clerk
shall deliver to the State Auditor the redemption money paid and
the name and address of the person who redeemed the property on a
form prescribed by the State Auditor.
§11A-3-24. Notice of redemption to purchaser; moneys received by
sheriff.
(a) Upon payment made by cashier check, money order, certified
check or United States currency in the amount necessary to redeem,
the
clerk State Auditor shall deliver to the sheriff the redemption money paid and the name and address of the purchaser, his or her
heirs and assigns. The
clerk State Auditor shall also note the
fact of redemption on his or her record of delinquent lands.
(b) Of the redemption money received by the sheriff pursuant
to this section, the sheriff shall deposit into the sale of tax
lien surplus fund provided by section ten of this article an amount
equal to the amount of taxes, interest and charges due on the date
of the sale, plus the interest at the rate of one percent per month
from the date of sale to the date of redemption, the amount of the
subsequent years' taxes paid the day of or after the sheriff's
sale, plus interest at the rate of one percent per month thereon
from the date of payment to the date of redemption, the amount of
any additional expenses incurred after January 1 of the year
following the sheriff's sale for the preparation of the list of
those to be served with notice to redeem and any examination of
title performed and certified pursuant to the provisions of section
nineteen of this article, plus interest at a rate of one percent
per month from the date of payment to the date of redemption. In
cases where the
clerk State Auditor has not received from the
purchaser satisfactory proof of additional expenses incurred after
January 1 of the year following the sheriff's sale as provided in
section twenty-three of this article, the sheriff shall deposit the
money received in the sale of tax lien surplus fund provided by
section ten of this article.
§11A-3-25. Distribution of surplus to purchaser.
(a) Where the land has been redeemed in the manner set forth
in section twenty-three of this article and the
clerk State Auditor
has delivered the redemption money to the sheriff pursuant to
section twenty-four of this article, the sheriff shall, upon
delivery receipt of the sum necessary to redeem, promptly notify
the purchaser
or his or her heirs or assigns, by mail, of the fact
of the redemption and pay to the purchaser
or his or her heirs or
assigns the following amounts:
(1) From the sale of tax lien surplus fund provided by section
ten of this article:
(A) The surplus of money paid in excess of the amount of the
taxes, interest and charges
due and paid
by the purchaser to the
sheriff at the sale; and
(B) The amount of taxes, interest and charges
due paid by the
purchaser on the date of the sale, plus the interest at the rate of
one percent per month from the date of sale to the date of
redemption;
(2) All other taxes on the land which have since been paid by
the purchaser
or his or her heirs or assigns, with interest at the
rate of one percent per month from the date of payment to the date
of redemption;
(3) Any additional
reasonable expenses that
the purchaser may
have
been incurred from January 1 of the year following the sheriff's sale to the date of redemption
in preparing for
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and any
title examination performed written documentation used for
preparation of the list in accordance with section nineteen of this
article with interest at the rate of one percent per month from the
date of payment, but the amount which shall be paid, excluding the
interest, for the expenses incurred for the preparation of the list
of those to be served with notice to redeem required by section
nineteen of this article and any title examination shall not exceed
two hundred dollars $300: Provided, That the attorney may only
charge a fee for legal services actually preformed and must certify
that he or she conducted a title examination; and
(4) All additional statutory costs paid by the purchaser.
(b) (1) The notice shall include:
(A) A copy of the redemption certificate issued by the
county
clerk State Auditor;
(B) An itemized statement of the redemption money to which the
purchaser is entitled pursuant to the provisions of this section;
and
(C) Where, at the time of the redemption, the
clerk State
Auditor has not received from the purchaser satisfactory proof of
the expenses incurred in preparing the list of those to be served
with notice to redeem and any
title examination performed written
documentation used for preparation of the list in accordance with section nineteen of this article, the
clerk State Auditor, shall
also include instructions to the purchaser as to how these expenses
may be claimed.
(2) Subject to the limitations of this section, the purchaser
is entitled to may recover any expenses incurred in preparing the
list of those to be served with notice to redeem and any
title
examination incident thereto written documentation used for
preparation of the list from January 1 of the year following the
sheriff's sale to the date of the sale to the date of the
redemption.
(c) Where, pursuant to section twenty-three of this article,
the
clerk State Auditor has not received from the purchaser
satisfactory proof of the expenses incurred in preparing the list
of those to be served with notice to redeem,
and any title
examination incident thereto including written documentation used
for preparation of the list, in the form of receipts or other
evidence
and therefore received from the purchaser as required by
that section and delivered to the sheriff the sum of two hundred
dollars plus interest at the rate of one percent per month from the
first day of January of the year following the sheriff's sale to
the date of the sale to the date of redemption, and the sheriff has
not received from the purchaser satisfactory proof of the expenses
within thirty days from the date of notification
by the State
Auditor, the sheriff shall refund the amount to the person redeeming and the purchaser is barred from any claim. Where,
pursuant to that section, the
clerk State Auditor has received from
the purchaser and therefore delivered to the sheriff the sum of
two
hundred dollars $300 plus interest at the rate of one percent per
month from January 1 of the year following the sheriff's sale to
the date of the sale to the date of redemption, and the purchaser
provides the sheriff within thirty days from the date of
notification satisfactory proof of the expenses, and the amount of
the expenses is less than the amount paid by the person redeeming,
the sheriff shall refund the difference to the person redeeming.
§11A-3-26. Certificate of redemption issued by State Auditor;
recordation; disposition of redemption money.
(a) Upon payment of the sum necessary to redeem, the
clerk
State Auditor shall execute a certificate of redemption in
duplicate quadruplicate, which
certificate shall specify the real
estate redeemed, or the part thereof or the interest
therein in the
real estate, as the case may be, together with any changes in
respect
thereto to the real estate which were made in the landbook
and in the record of delinquent lands; shall specify the year or
years for which payment was made; and shall state that it is a
receipt for the money paid and a release of the tax lien on the
real estate redeemed. The original certificate shall be retained
in the files in the
clerk's State Auditor's office,
and one copy
shall be delivered to the person redeeming,
one copy to the sheriff and one copy to be retained in the files of the clerk of the county
commission. The clerk
shall make any necessary changes in his
record of delinquent lands and shall note the fact of redemption on
such record and shall record the certificate in a separate volume
provided for
the that purpose.
(b) The fee for issuing the certificate of redemption
shall be
is $35, of which $10 of that amount shall be deposited in the
Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six,
article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(b) (c) All certificates of redemption issued by the
clerk
State Auditor in each year shall be numbered consecutively and
shall be filed
by with the clerk
of the county commission. in
numerical order Reference to the year and number of the
certificate shall be included in the notation of redemption
required
herein in this section. No fee shall be charged by the
clerk for any recordation, filing or notation required by this
section.
§11A-3-27. Deed to purchaser; record.
(a) If the real estate described in the notice is not redeemed
within the time specified
therein in the notice, but in no event
prior to April 1 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 the real estate as provided in section eighteen of this article,
the State Auditor or his or her deputy
shall upon request of the purchaser 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 20
___, by and between _________________,
clerk of the county
commission of ______________________ County State Auditor, 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 20 _____, sell
the tax lien(s) on real estate, hereinafter mentioned and
described, for the taxes delinquent thereon for the year (or years)
19 20 _____, 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
___________________; and
Whereas, The
clerk of the county commission State Auditor has
caused the notice to redeem to be served on all persons required by
law to be served therewith; and
Whereas, 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
or her 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
State Auditor.
(b) Except when ordered to do so, as provided in section
twenty-eight of this article,
no clerk of the county commission the
State Auditor may
not execute and deliver
such a deed more than
thirty sixty days after the person entitled to the deed delivers
the same and requests the execution
thereof of the deed. 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.
(c) For the execution of the deed and for all the recording
required by this section, a fee of
seven dollars and fifty cents
$50 and the recording
and transfer tax 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
any 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.
(d) The State Auditor shall appoint employees of his or her
office to act as his or her designee to effect the purposes of this
section.
§11A-3-28. Compelling service of notice or execution of deed.
(a) If the
clerk of the county commission State Auditor fails
or refuses to prepare and serve the notice to redeem as required in
sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article, the person
requesting the notice may, at any time within two weeks after
discovery of
such the failure or refusal, but in no event later
than sixty days following the date the person requested that notice
be prepared and served, apply by petition to the circuit court of the county for an order compelling the
clerk State Auditor to
prepare and serve the notice or appointing a commissioner to do so.
If the person requesting the notice fails to make
such application
within the time allowed, he
or she shall lose his
or her right to
the notice, but his
or her rights against the
clerk State Auditor
under the provisions of section sixty-seven of this article shall
not be affected. Notice given pursuant to an order of the court or
judge shall be as valid for all purposes as if given within the
time required by section twenty-two of this article.
(b) If the
clerk State Auditor fails or refuses to execute the
deed as required in section twenty-seven of this article, the
person requesting the deed may, at any time after such failure or
refusal, but not more than six months after his
or her right to the
deed accrued, apply by petition to the circuit court of the county
for an order compelling the
clerk State Auditor to execute the deed
or appointing a commissioner to do so. If the person requesting
the deed fails to make
such an application within the time allowed,
he
or she shall lose his
or her right to the deed, but his
or her
rights against the
clerk State Auditor under the provisions of
section sixty-seven of this article shall not be affected. Any
deed executed pursuant to an order of the court or judge shall have
the same force and effect as if executed and delivered by the
clerk
State Auditor within the time specified in
the preceding section
twenty-seven of this article.
(c) Ten days' written notice of every
such application must be
given to the
clerk State Auditor. If, upon the hearing of
such the
application, the court or judge is of the opinion that the
applicant is not entitled to the notice or deed requested, the
petition shall be dismissed at his
or her costs; but if the court
or judge is of the opinion that he
or she is entitled to
such the
notice or deed, then, upon his
or her deposit with the clerk of the
circuit court of a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing
and serving the notice, unless
such a deposit has already been made
with the
clerk of the county commission State Auditor, an order
shall be made by the court or judge directing the
clerk State
Auditor to prepare and serve the notice or execute the deed, or
appointing a commissioner for the purpose, as the court or judge
shall determine. If it appears to the court or judge that the
failure or refusal of the
clerk State Auditor was without
reasonable cause, judgment shall be given against him
or her for
the costs of the proceedings; otherwise the costs shall be paid by
the applicant.
(d) Any commissioner appointed under the provisions of this
section shall be subject to the same liabilities as are provided
for the
clerk State Auditor. For the preparation of the notice to
redeem, he
or she shall be entitled to the same fee as is provided
for the
clerk State Auditor. For the execution of the deed, he
or
she shall also be entitled to a fee of
seven dollars and fifty cents $50 and the recording
and transfer expenses, to be paid by
the grantee upon delivery of the deed.
§11A-3-30. Title acquired by individual purchaser; action to
quiet title.
(a) Whenever the purchaser of any tax lien on any real estate
sold at a tax sale, his
or her heirs or assigns
shall have has
obtained a deed for
such the real estate from the
clerk of the
county commission State Auditor or from a commissioner appointed to
make the deed, he
or she or they shall
thereby acquire all
such
right, title and interest, in and to the real estate, as was, at
the time of the execution and delivery of the deed, vested in or
held by any person who was entitled to redeem, unless
such that
person is one who, being required by law to have his
or her
interest separately assessed and taxed, has done so and has paid
all the taxes due
thereon on the real estate, or unless the rights
of
such that person are expressly saved by the provisions of
section six of this article or section two, three, four or six,
article four of this chapter.
(b) The tax deed shall be conclusive evidence of the
acquisition of
such title. The title
so acquired shall relate back
to July 1 of the year in which the taxes, for nonpayment of which
the tax lien on the real estate was sold, were assessed.
(b) (c) Any individual purchaser to whom a tax deed has been
issued may institute and prosecute actions to quiet title in any
such real estate conveyed
thereby by the tax deed. Such The action
may be maintained for all or any one or more of the lots or tracts
conveyed.
§11A-3-31. Effect of irregularity on title acquired by purchaser.
No irregularity, error or mistake in respect to any step in
the procedure leading up to and including delivery of the tax deed
by the
clerk State Auditor shall invalidate the title acquired by
the purchaser unless
such the irregularity, error or mistake is, by
the provisions of section six of this article or section two,
three, four or six, article four of this chapter, expressly made
ground for instituting a suit to set aside the sale or the deed.
§11A-3-32. Sheriff to keep proceeds in separate accounts;
disposition.
(a) The sheriff shall keep in a separate fund the proceeds of
all redemptions and sales paid to him
or her under the provisions
of this chapter, except for those proceeds for which a separate
fund is directed by the provisions of section sixty-four of this
article. Out of the total proceeds of each sale or redemption he
or she shall in the order of priority stated below credit the
following amounts, for payment as
hereinafter provided
in this
section:
(1) To the general county fund,
such the part
as that
represents costs paid out of
such the fund for publishing the
sheriff's delinquent and sales list and all other costs incurred by the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of this article;
(2) Surplus proceeds from the sale of tax liens on delinquent
lands shall be held by the sheriff for the periods provided for in
section ten of this article, and if no application is made within
the time
therein specified,
such the surplus shall be distributed
by the sheriff in the manner provided by law for the distribution
of property taxes collected by him
or her; and
(3) The balance, if any, of the proceeds of the lands included
in each suit shall be prorated among the various taxing units on
the basis of the total amount of taxes due them in respect to the
lands that were sold or redeemed.
(b) The amounts
so determined shall be credited as follows,
for payment as
hereinafter provided
in this subsection:
(1) To
the State Auditor,
such the part
as that represents
state taxes and interest; and
(2) To the fund kept by the sheriff for each local taxing
unit,
such the part
as that represents taxes and interest payable
to
such the unit.
(b) (c) All amounts which under the provisions of this section
were
so credited by the sheriff to the Auditor shall be paid to him
or her semiannually; and those credited to the various local taxing
units shall be transferred semiannually by the sheriff to the fund
kept by him
or her for each
such taxing unit.
(c) (d) The
Tax Commissioner, in cooperation with the land department in the Auditor's office, State Auditor shall prescribe
the form of the records to be kept by the sheriff for the purposes
of this section, and the method to be used by him
or her in making
the necessary pro rata distributions.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to transfer certain filing
and notice requirements for redeeming delinquent lands after tax
sales from the county clerks to the State Auditor's office. The
bill also increases certain filing fees.
§11A-3-5a and §11A-3-5b are new; therefore, strike-throughs
and underscoring have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.