What Happens When Real Estate Taxes Become Delinquent?
What are Tax Certificates?
June 27, 2007 – Palm Coast , Florida
Since,a recent article on the large number of Tax Certificates sold on lots in The Conservatory at
What happens when real estate taxes become delinquent?
In the State of
Are delinquent taxes publicized?
Prior to the certificate sale, the delinquent taxes must be advertised once a week for three consecutive weeks. This advertisement must specify the place, date and time of the sale. In
What information is given in the notice of unpaid real estate taxes?
For each parcel:
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A sequential item number
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The property identification number (usually tax ID)
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Owner
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Legal description
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Delinquent tax amount plus costs, consisting of:
Delinquent taxes
Interest accrued between the date of delinquency and the date of sale, calculated at 18% per year
Any costs or fees, including advertising charges.
What is a tax certificate?
Tax certificates are a first lien on real estate and bear interest at a maximum rate allowed by law (18%), unless the winning bidder specifies a lower rate. When a tax certificate is redeemed, it will include the face amount of the certificate, a 5% Tax Collector fee and a $6.25 certificate fee, as well as the interest rate that is bid, or a mandatory 5% interest, whichever is greater. The mandatory interest applies to all tax sale certificates except those with an interest rate bid of zero percent. If a tax sale certificate should be canceled, the interest rate due would be 8% or the rate of the interest bid at the tax certificate sale, whichever is less.
Why would a tax certificate be canceled?
Any tax sale certificate can be canceled if errors, omission, or double assessments have been made. For example, an error in assessment could result in a change of the face amount of the certificate.
Coming next – How tax certificates are sold or redeemed and tax deeds.
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