On-line Delinquent Property Tax Advertising and Tax Certificate Auction Begin Today

May 9, 2008 – Palm Coast, FL – Just as the appearance of Christmas decorations serves to announce that Thanksgivings Day is upon us, the overly thick local May newspaper with reams of delinquent property tax notices portends the arrival of Memorial Day. The first of these (the same list is advertised three weeks in a row) will arrive next Wednesday, May 14th. But you can view them on-line starting today. This year, Flagler County implements an on-line system to advertise delinquent taxes and auction tax certificates.

 

Unpaid 2007 property taxes became delinquent on April 1, 2008. If unpaid by April 30, they are advertised publicly. Not surprisingly, this year’s list will be longer than last year’s.

 

2006 to 2007 Flagler County Delinquent Tax Comparison

	2006	2007
Total Tax Roll	73,944 parcels	75,075 parcels
Total Taxes	$167,299,037.27	$180,414,991.90
Advertised	4,433 parcels	5,481 parcels
Advertised taxes	$8,507,701.57	$11,223,464.24
% of parcels	6.00%	7.30%
% of tax	5.09%	6.22%

 

wwwFlaglerTaxSale.com is where to go. Click "Preview Items for Sale." To best search an area, click on the column heading above Parcel ID. This will group parcels within the same area. For instance, all lots in The Conservatory have the number 421030321000000XXX0, where XXX represents the lot number. Clicking on the ADV Num will provide the tax details. Clicking on the Parcel ID will take you to the Flagler County Property Appraisers record for that property.

2007 Property taxes became delinquent as of April 1, 2008.

 

For those interested in participating in the on-line auction, a training session is scheduled for 2 p.m. May 14th. Visit the Flagler County Tax Collector’s website  to get more details.

 

 

Beginning on or before June 1st, the Tax Collector is required by law to hold a tax certificate sale. The certificates represent liens on all unpaid taxes on real estate properties. The sale allows citizens to buy certificates by paying off the owed tax debt. The sale is conducted in reverse auction style with participants bidding downward on interest rates starting at 18%. The certificate is awarded to the lowest bidder. A tax certificate earns a minimum of 5% interest to the investor until the interest has accrued to greater than 5%, with the exception of "zero" interest bids, which always earn "zero" interest.

 

A tax certificate, when purchased, becomes an enforceable first lien against the real estate. The certificate holder is actually paying the taxes for a property owner in exchange for a competitive bid rate of return on his investment. In order to remove the lien, the property owner must pay the Tax Collector all delinquent taxes plus accrued interest, penalties, and advertising fees. The Tax Collector then notifies the certificate holder of any certificates redeemed and a redemption check is issued to the certificate holder.

 

A tax certificate is valid for seven years from the date of issuance. The holder may apply for a tax deed when two or more years have elapsed since the date of delinquency. If the property owner fails to pay the tax debt, the property tax deed is sold at public auction.