447.1 Redemption--terms.

A parcel sold under this chapter and chapter 446 may be redeemed at any time before the right of redemption expires, by payment to the county treasurer, to be held by the treasurer subject to the order of the purchaser, of the amount for which the parcel was sold, including the fee for the certificate of purchase, and interest of two percent per month, counting each fraction of a month as an entire month, from the month of sale, and the total amount paid by the purchaser or the purchaser's assignee for any subsequent year, with interest at the same rate added on the amount of the payment for each subsequent year from the month of payment, counting each fraction of a month as an entire month. The amount of interest must be at least one dollar and shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar. Interest shall accrue on subsequent amounts from the month of payment by the certificate holder.

When the county or city is the certificate holder of the parcel redeemed from a sale held under section 446.19, the redemption amount shall be apportioned among the several funds for which the taxes were levied. All interest, costs, and fees shall be apportioned to the general fund of the county regardless of who is the certificate holder. If a city is the certificate holder of the parcel redeemed from a sale held under section 446.7 or 446.28, the city shall be entitled to the total amount redeemed.

447.10 Service by publication--fees.

If notice in accordance with section 447.9 cannot be served upon a person entitled to notice in the manner prescribed in that section, then the holder of the certificate of purchase shall cause the required notice to be published once in an official newspaper in the county. If service is made by publication, the affidavit required by section 447.12 shall state the reason why service in accordance with section 447.9 could not be made. Service of notice by publication shall be deemed complete on the day of the publication. Fees for publication, if required under section 447.13, shall not exceed the customary publication fees for official county publications.

447.11 Agent of nonresident.

A nonresident may in writing appoint a resident of the county in which the parcel is situated as agent, and file the appointment with the county treasurer of the county, who shall make note of the appointment in the county system, after which personal service of notice shall be made upon the agent.

447.12 When service deemed complete--presumption.

Service is complete only after an affidavit has been filed with the county treasurer, showing the making of the service, the manner of service, the time when and place where made, under whose direction the service was made, and costs incurred as provided in section 447.13. Costs not filed with the treasurer before a redemption is complete shall not be collected by the treasurer. Costs shall not be filed with the treasurer prior to the filing of the affidavit. The affidavit shall be made by the holder of the certificate or by the holder's agent or attorney, and in either of the latter cases stating that the affiant is the agent or attorney of the holder of the certificate. The affidavit shall be filed by the treasurer and entered in the county system and is presumptive evidence of the completed service of the notice. The right of redemption shall not expire until ninety days after service is complete. A redemption shall not be considered valid unless received by the treasurer prior to the close of business on the ninetieth day from the date of completed service except in the case of a public bidder certificate held by the county in which case the county may accept a redemption at any time prior to the issuance of the tax deed. When the parcel is held by a city or county, a city or county agency, or the Iowa finance authority, for use in an Iowa homesteading project, whether or not the parcel is the subject of a conditional conveyance granted under the project, the affidavit shall be made by the treasurer of the county or the county attorney, a city officer designated by resolution of the council, or on behalf of the agency or authority, by one of its officers as authorized in rules of the agency or authority.

447.13 Cost--fee--report.

The cost of a record search and the cost of serving the notice, including the cost of mailing certified mail notices and the cost of publication under section 447.10 if publication is required, shall be added to the amount necessary to redeem. The county treasurer shall file the proof of service and statement of costs and record these costs against the parcel. The certificate holder or the holder's agent shall report in writing to the treasurer the amount of authorized costs incurred, and the treasurer shall file the statement. Costs not filed with the treasurer before a redemption is complete shall not be collected by the treasurer and may be recovered through a court action against the parcel owner by the certificate holder. If the parcel is held by a city or county, a city or county agency, or the Iowa finance authority, for use in an Iowa homesteading project, whether or not the parcel is the subject of a conditional conveyance granted under the project, the costs incurred for repairs and rehabilitation work required and undertaken in order to make the parcel meet applicable building or housing code standards shall be added to the amount necessary to redeem.

447.14 Law in effect at time of sale.

The law in effect at the time of tax sale governs redemption.

447.2 Nonallowable penalties.

Repealed by 91 Acts, ch 191, §123, 124.

447.3 Agricultural college lands.

In redeeming from a sale of a leasehold interest in agricultural college land, the amount to be paid shall include any amount paid by the holder of the certificate as interest or principal due by the terms of the lease or otherwise to prevent a forfeiture, and for which proper voucher has been filed with the county treasurer, with interest at eight percent per annum from date of payment, which amount shall be paid by the treasurer to the holder of the certificate, and the certificate of redemption shall show the amount paid by the party redeeming.

447.4 Redemption from sale for part of tax.

In case a redemption is made of a parcel compromised and assigned for a sum less than the total amount due, the purchaser is entitled to receive only the amount paid and a ratable part of the interest and costs. In determining the interest to be paid upon redemption from sale, the sum due on a parcel sold shall be taken to be the total amount due on the parcel at the time of sale, and the amount paid for a parcel at sale shall be apportioned ratably in accordance with section 447.1. Parcels so sold are redeemable in the same manner and with the same interest as those sold for the taxes of the preceding year.

447.5 Certificate of redemption--issued by treasurer.

The county treasurer, upon application of a party to redeem a parcel sold at a tax sale, and being satisfied that the party has a right to redeem the parcel upon the payment of the proper amount, shall issue to the party a certificate of redemption, setting forth the facts of the sale substantially as contained in the certificate, the date of the redemption, the amount paid, and by whom redeemed, and shall make the proper entries in the county system in the treasurer's office. The amount of the fee shall be as provided in section 331.552, subsection 23, for either the original certificate or duplicate certificate.

447.6 Documentation of corrections.

The entries by the county treasurer on the county system shall be of a permanent nature and if errors are subsequently discovered the correcting entries shall be adequately documented to support the correction.

447.7 Minors and persons of unsound mind.

If a parcel of a minor or person of unsound mind is sold at tax sale, it may be redeemed at any time within one year after the disability is removed, in the manner specified in section 447.8, or redemption may be made by the guardian or legal representative under sections 447.1 and 447.3 at any time before the delivery of the treasurer's deed.

447.8 Redemption after delivery of deed.

After the delivery of the treasurer's deed, a person entitled to redeem a parcel sold at tax sale shall do so by an equitable action in a court of record, in which all persons claiming an interest in the parcel derived from the tax sale, as shown by the record, shall be made defendants, and the court shall determine the rights, claims, and interests of the several parties, including liens for taxes and claims for improvements made on or to the parcel by the person claiming under the tax title. A person is not allowed to redeem a parcel sold for taxes in any other manner after the service of the notice provided for by section 447.9 and the execution and delivery of the treasurer's deed.

447.9 Notice of expiration of right of redemption--county right of redemption.

1. After one year and nine months from the date of sale, or after nine months from the date of a sale made under section 446.18, 446.19A, or 446.39, the holder of the certificate of purchase may cause to be served upon the person in possession of the parcel, and also upon the person in whose name the parcel is taxed, a notice signed by the certificate holder or the certificate holder's agent or attorney, stating the date of sale, the description of the parcel sold, the name of the purchaser, and that the right of redemption will expire and a deed for the parcel be made unless redemption is made within ninety days from the completed service of the notice. The notice shall be served by both regular mail and certified mail to the person's last known address and such service is deemed completed when the notice by certified mail is deposited in the mail and postmarked for delivery. The ninety-day redemption period begins as provided in section 447.12. When the notice is given by a county as a holder of a certificate of purchase the notice shall be signed by the county treasurer or the county attorney, and when given by a city, it shall be signed by the city officer designated by resolution of the council. When the notice is given by the Iowa finance authority or a city or county agency holding the parcel as part of an Iowa homesteading project, it shall be signed on behalf of the agency or authority by one of its officers, as authorized in rules of the agency or authority.

2. Service of the notice shall be made by mail on any mortgagee having a lien upon the parcel, a vendor of the parcel under a recorded contract of sale, a lessor who has a recorded lease or recorded memorandum of a lease, and any other person who has an interest of record, at the person's last known address. The notice shall be served on any city where the parcel is situated. Notice shall not be served after the filing of the affidavit required by section 447.12. Only those persons who are required to be served the notice of expiration as provided in this section or who have acquired an interest in or possession of the parcel subsequent to the filing of the notice of expiration of the right of redemption are eligible to redeem a parcel from tax sale.