446.1 Sale shown.

The county treasurer shall designate on the county system each parcel sold for taxes and not redeemed, by noting on the county system the year in which it was sold.

446.10 Publication costs.

The compensation for publication shall not exceed four dollars for each separately described parcel and shall be paid by the county. The amount paid shall be collected as a part of the costs of sale and deposited into the county general fund. If the taxes are paid before the date of sale, the amount paid for publication shall be included as a part of the costs of collecting the taxes.

446.11 Substituted service.

If the county treasurer cannot procure the publication of the notice for the sum specified in section 446.10, the notice may be given by posting it in the treasurer's office for two weeks.

446.12 Certificate of publication.

The county treasurer shall obtain a copy of the notice of sale with a certificate of its publication from the printer or publisher, and file it in the office of the treasurer. The certificate shall be substantially in the following form:

I, . . . . . . . . , publisher (or printer) of the . . . . . . . . , a newspaper printed and published in the county of . . . . . . . and state of Iowa, certify that the foregoing notice and list were published in that newspaper on the . . . day of . . . . . . , . . . . , and that copies of each issue of the paper in which the notice and list were published were delivered by carrier or transmitted by mail to each of the subscribers to the paper.

         . . . . . . . . .                                                                                                                              Signature of publisher (or printer) 
 State of Iowa,    )                                                                                                             . . . . . .  County.) ss.

The above certificate of publication was subscribed and sworn to before me by the above named . . . . . . . . , who is personally known to me to be the identical person described in the certificate, on the . . . . day of . . . . . . , . . . .

         . . . . . . . . .                                                                                                                                Notary                                                                                                                             . . . . . . County, Iowa. 

446.13 Method of describing parcels, etc.

In entries required to be made by the county auditor, county treasurer, or other officer, letters and figures may be used to denote townships, ranges, sections, parts of sections, lots, blocks, dates, and the amount of taxes, interest, fees, and costs.

446.14 Irregularities in advertisement.

An irregularity or informality in the advertisement does not affect the legality of the sale or the title to a parcel conveyed by the county treasurer's deed under this chapter and chapters 447 and 448, and in all cases its provisions shall be sufficient notice to the owners of the sale of the parcel.

446.15 Offer for sale.

The county treasurer shall offer for sale, on the day of the sale, each parcel separately for the total amount due against each parcel advertised for sale.

446.16 Bid--purchaser--registration fee.

1. The person who offers to pay the total amount due, which is a lien on any parcel, for the smallest percentage of the parcel is the purchaser, and when the purchaser designates the percentage of any parcel for which the purchaser will pay the total amount due, the percentage thus designated shall give the person an undivided interest upon the issuance of a treasurer's deed, as provided in chapter 448. If two or more persons have placed an equal bid and the bids are the smallest percentage offered, the county treasurer shall use a random selection process to select the bidder to whom a certificate of purchase will be issued.

2. The treasurer may establish and collect a reasonable registration fee from each purchaser at the tax sale. The fee shall not be assessed against a county or municipality as a purchaser. The total of the fees collected shall not exceed the total costs of the tax sale. Registration fees collected shall be deposited in the general fund of the county.

3. The delinquent tax lien transfers with the tax sale certificate, whether held by the county or purchased by an individual, through assignment or direct purchase at the tax sale. The delinquent tax sale lien expires when the tax sale certificate expires.

446.17 Sale continued.

The county treasurer shall continue the sale from day to day as long as there are bidders or until all delinquent parcels have been offered for sale.

If notice of annual tax sale has been published under section 446.9, as it appeared in the 1991 Code, the notice is valid and further notice is not required for an adjourned sale held under this section, unless it is a public bidder sale.

446.18 "Public bidder sale"--notice.

Each county treasurer shall, on the day of the regular tax sale each year or any continuance or adjournment of the tax sale, offer and sell at public sale all parcels which remain liable to sale for delinquent taxes, which have previously been advertised, offered for one year or more, and remain unsold for want of bidders. Notice of the sale shall be given at the same time and in the same manner as that given of the regular sale.

446.19 County or city as purchaser.

446.19A Purchase by county or city for low or moderate income housing.

1. The board of supervisors of a county may adopt an ordinance authorizing the county and each city in the county to bid on and purchase delinquent taxes and to assign tax sale certificates of abandoned property. This section may only be used by a county or by a city in the county if such an ordinance is in effect.

3. If after the date that a parcel is sold pursuant to this chapter, or after the date that a parcel is sold under section 446.18, 446.38, or 446.39, the parcel assessed as residential property or as commercial multifamily housing property is identified as abandoned pursuant to a verified statement filed with the county treasurer by a city or county in the form set forth in subsection 2, a city or county may require the assignment of the tax sale certificate that had been issued for such parcel by paying to the holder of such certificate the total amount due on the date the assignment of the certificate is made to the county or city and recorded with the county treasurer. If the certificate is not assigned by the county or city pursuant to subsection 4, the county or city, whichever is applicable, is liable for the tax sale interest that was due the certificate holder pursuant to section 447.1, as of the date of assignment.

4. a. The city or county may assign the tax sale certificate obtained pursuant to this section. Preference shall be given to purchasers who are low or moderate income families or organizations which assist low or moderate income families to obtain housing. Persons who purchase certificates from the city or county under this subsection are liable for the total amount due the certificate holder pursuant to section 447.1.

b. All persons who purchase certificates from the city or county under this subsection shall demonstrate the intent to rehabilitate the property for habitation if the property is not redeemed. In the alternative, the county or city may, if title to the property has vested in the county or city under section 448.1, dispose of the property in accordance with section 331.361 or 364.7, as applicable.

5. For the purposes of this section, "abandoned" means the same as in section 657A.1. For the purposes of this section, "low or moderate income families" has the same meaning as in section 403.17.

446.2 Notice of sale.

For each parcel sold, the county treasurer shall notify the party in whose name the parcel was taxed, according to the treasurer's records at the time of sale, that the parcel was sold at tax sale. The notice of sale shall be sent by regular mail within fifteen days from the date of the annual tax sale or any adjourned tax sale. Failure to receive a mailed notice is not a defense to payment of the total amount due.

446.20 Remedies.

1. Without limiting the county's rights under section 445.3, once a certificate is issued to a county, a county may collect the total amount due by the alternative remedy provided in section 445.3 by converting the total amount due to a personal judgment. Entrance of the judgment shall be shown on the county system. Collection of the judgment may then be initiated as provided in section 445.4. The county attorney shall, upon request of the county treasurer, assist in prosecution of action authorized under this section and sections 445.3 and 445.4.

The remedies associated with tax sale and personal judgment may be simultaneously pursued until such time as the total amount due has been collected or otherwise discharged. If the total amount due is collected pursuant to a personal judgment, the tax sale shall be canceled by the treasurer. If a tax deed is issued, any personal judgment shall be released and a satisfaction of judgment shall be filed with the clerk of the appropriate district court.

2. If the board or council determines that any property located on a parcel purchased by the county or city pursuant to section 446.19 requires removal, dismantling, or demolition, the board or council shall, at the same time and in the same manner that the notice of expiration of right of redemption is served, cause to be served on the person in possession of the parcel and also upon the person in whose name the parcel is taxed a separate notice stating that if the parcel is not redeemed within the time period specified in the notice of expiration of right of redemption, the property described in the notice shall be removed, dismantled, or demolished. The notice shall further state that the costs of removal, dismantling, or demolition shall be assessed against the person in whose name the parcel is taxed and a lien for the costs shall be placed against any other parcel taxed in that person's name within the county.

Service of the notice shall also 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 memorandum of a recorded lease, and any other person who has an interest of record, at the person's last known address, if the mortgagee, vendor, lessor, or other person has filed a request for notice, as prescribed in section 446.9, subsection 3, and on the state of Iowa in case of an old-age assistance lien by service upon the department of human services. The notice shall also be served on any city where the parcel is situated. Failure to receive a mailed notice is not a defense to the payment of the total amount due.

3. This section is remedial and shall apply to all delinquent taxes included in a tax sale certificate of purchase issued to a county. Upon assignment of a county-held tax sale certificate, this section shall not apply to the assignee.

446.21 Assignment of certificate to bondholder.

In tax sales made under section 446.19, a holder of a special assessment certificate against a parcel, a holder of a bond payable in whole or in part out of a special assessment against a parcel, or a city within which a parcel is situated, which parcel has been sold, is entitled to an assignment of any certificate of tax sale of the parcel, upon tender to the holder or to the county treasurer of the amount to which the holder of the tax sale certificate would be entitled in case of redemption.

446.22

Repealed by 79 Acts, ch 68, § 19.

446.23 Resale.

The person purchasing a tax sale certificate against any parcel shall immediately pay to the county treasurer the total amount bid. Upon failure to do so the parcel is again offered as if no such sale had been made. These payments may be made in the funds receivable in payment of taxes.

446.24 Record of sales.

The county treasurer or a designee shall attend all tax sales and keep a record in the county system of the sales, describing each parcel on which the total amount due was paid by the purchaser, as they are described in the copy of the notice on file in the treasurer's office. The county system shall include a statement of the amount, kind of tax, interest, fees, and costs for each parcel, to whom sold, and the date of sale.

446.25 Sale adjourned.

When all the parcels advertised for sale have been offered and parcels remain unsold for want of bidders, the county treasurer shall adjourn the sale to some day not exceeding two months from adjournment, due notice of which day shall be given at the time of adjournment, and by keeping the notice posted in a conspicuous place in the treasurer's office. Further notice is not necessary. On the day fixed by the adjournment, the same proceedings shall occur as in the first instance. Further adjournments shall be made, not exceeding intervals of two months, and the sales continue until the next regular annual sale or until all the parcels are sold.

446.26 Responsibility of treasurer to attend tax sale.

A county treasurer failing to attend a tax sale in person, by a deputy treasurer, or by another designated employee is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.

446.27 Liability of treasurer.

1. If the county treasurer, deputy treasurer, or other designated employee sells or assists in selling any parcel, knowing it is not subject to taxation or that the amount for which it is sold has been paid, or knowingly and willfully sells or assists in selling a parcel to defraud the owner, or knowingly and willfully executes a deed for such a parcel sold, the treasurer, deputy treasurer, or designated employee is guilty of a serious misdemeanor and liable to pay the injured party all damages sustained as a result of the illegal sale.

2. If the treasurer, deputy treasurer, or designated person is directly or indirectly concerned in the purchase of a parcel sold at tax sale, the treasurer and the treasurer's sureties are liable on the treasurer's official bond for all damages sustained by the owner of the parcel. In addition, the treasurer, deputy treasurer, or designated person, as the case may be, is guilty of a fraudulent practice.

3. Sales made in violation of this section are void.

446.28 Subsequent sale.

If for good cause, a parcel cannot be advertised and offered for sale on the third Monday of June or on another date in June designated by the treasurer, the county treasurer shall make the sale on the third Monday of the next succeeding month in which the required notice can be given.

446.29 Certificate of purchase.

The county treasurer shall prepare, sign, and deliver to the purchaser of any parcel or part of a parcel sold a certificate of purchase, describing the parcel or part of the parcel as shown in the county system identifying the parcel or part of the parcel sold, the total amount due for each parcel as described, and that payment has been made. Not more than one parcel shall be entered upon each certificate of purchase. The certificate fee is the amount specified in section 331.552, subsection 23. The delinquent tax lien transfers with the tax sale certificate, whether held by the county or purchased by an individual through assignment or direct purchase at the tax sale. The delinquent tax lien expires when the tax sale certificate expires.

446.3 Sale of personal property.

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

446.30 Loss of certificate.

If a certificate of purchase is lost or destroyed, the owner of record, may, by filing an affidavit of the loss or destruction with the county treasurer, receive a duplicate of the certificate, which shall take the place of the original certificate and have the same force and effect in law and be subject to the same laws. The cost of a duplicate certificate of purchase is the same as the cost of the original certificate as provided in section 331.552, subsection 23.

446.31 Assignment--presumption from deed recitals.

The certificate of purchase is assignable by endorsement and entry in the county system in the office of county treasurer of the county from which the certificate was issued, and when the assignment is so entered and the assignment transaction fee paid, it shall vest in the assignee or legal representatives of the assignee all the right and title of the assignor. The statement in the treasurer's deed of the fact of the assignment is presumptive evidence of that fact. For each assignment transaction, the treasurer shall charge the assignee an assignment transaction fee of one hundred dollars, or ten dollars in the case of an assignment by an estate, to be deposited in the county general fund. The assignment transaction fee shall not be added to the amount necessary to redeem.

When the county acquires a certificate of purchase, the county may assign the certificate for the total amount due as of the date of assignment or compromise the total amount due and assign the certificate. An assignment or a compromise and assignment shall be by written agreement. A copy of the agreement shall be filed with the treasurer. For each assignment transaction, the treasurer shall collect from the assignee an assignment transaction fee of ten dollars to be deposited in the county general fund. The assignment transaction fee shall not be added to the amount necessary to redeem. All money received from the assignment of county-held certificates of purchase shall be apportioned to the tax-levying and certifying bodies in proportion to their interests in the taxes for which the parcel was sold with all interest, fees, and costs deposited in the county general fund. After assignment of a certificate of purchase which is held by the county, section 446.37 applies. In that instance, the three-year requirement shall be calculated from the date the assignment is recorded by the treasurer in the county system. When the assignment is entered and the assignment transaction fee is paid, all of the rights and title of the assignor shall vest in the assignee or the legal representative of the assignee. The statement in the treasurer's deed of the fact of the assignment is presumptive evidence of that fact.

A certificate of purchase for a parcel shall not be assigned to a person, other than a municipality, who is entitled to redeem that parcel.

446.32 Payment of subsequent taxes by purchaser.

The county treasurer shall provide to the purchaser of a parcel sold at tax sale a receipt for the total amount paid by the purchaser after the date of purchase for a subsequent year. Taxes for a subsequent year may be paid by the purchaser beginning fourteen days following the date from which an installment becomes delinquent as provided in section 445.37.

446.33

Repealed by 81 Acts, ch 117, § 1244.

446.34 School, agricultural college, or university land.

When any school, agricultural college, or university land sold on credit is sold for taxes, the purchaser shall acquire only the interest of the original purchaser therein, and no sale of any such lands for taxes shall prejudice the rights of the state, agricultural college, or university. In all cases where the real estate is mortgaged or otherwise encumbered to the school, agricultural college, or university fund, the interest of the person who holds the fee shall alone be sold for taxes, and in no case shall the lien or interest of the state be affected by any sale thereof. The foregoing provision shall include all lands exempt from taxation by law, and any legal or equitable estate therein held, possessed, or claimed for any public purpose, and no assessment or taxation of such lands, nor the payment of any such tax by any person, or the sale and conveyance for taxes of any such lands, shall in any manner affect the right or title of the public therein, or confer upon the purchaser or person who pays such taxes any right or interest in such land.

446.35 Assessment to wrong person.

A sale of a parcel through tax sale is not invalid if taxed in any other name than that of the rightful owner, if it is in other respects sufficiently described.

446.36 Certified copies of records as evidence.

The information in the county system of the office of the county treasurer, or a copy properly certified, is sufficient evidence to prove the sale of a parcel at tax sale, the redemption of the parcel, or the payment of taxes on it.

446.37 Failure to obtain deed--cancellation of sale.

After three years have elapsed from the time of any tax sale, and action has not been completed during the time which qualifies the holder of a certificate to obtain a deed, the county treasurer shall cancel the sale from the county system. However, this section does not apply to certificates of purchase at tax sale which are held by a county.

446.38 Suspended taxes of old-age assistance recipients.

In cases where taxes were suspended one year or more upon the parcel of a deceased old-age assistance recipient and no estate was opened within ninety days after the death of the recipient and the surviving spouse of the recipient is not occupying the parcel, the county may apply to the probate court to have the parcel conveyed to it for satisfaction of the suspended taxes. The probate court shall prescribe the manner and notices to be given. The probate court shall order the parcel conveyed to the county for satisfaction of the suspended taxes if an estate is not opened within a time specified by the court. The probate court shall make and enter all appropriate orders to effect this conveyance to the county if an estate is not opened within the time specified. The parcel, at the election of the county treasurer, may be offered at tax sale in accordance with chapter 446 in lieu of the county making application to the probate court.

446.39 Iowa finance authority statement.

A city or county, a city or county agency as authorized by the Iowa finance authority, or the Iowa finance authority may file with the county treasurer a verified statement that a parcel to be sold at tax sale is abandoned and deteriorating in condition, is inhabited but is not safe for human habitation, or is, or is likely to become, a public nuisance, and that the parcel is suitable for use and is to be used in an Iowa homesteading project under section 16.14. Other information may be included. Upon proper filing of the statement, and if the parcel is offered at a tax sale and no bid is received, or if the bid received is less than the total amount due, the city, county, city or county agency, or Iowa finance authority may bid for the parcel for use in an Iowa homesteading project, bidding a sum equal to the total amount due. Each of the tax-levying and tax- certifying bodies having an interest in the taxes for which the parcel is sold shall be charged with its proportionate share of the purchase price.

446.4 Notice of time and place of sale.

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

446.40 through 446.44

Reserved.

446.45 Applicable law.

Sections 446.21, 446.31, 446.32, and 446.37, as amended by 1991 Iowa Acts, chapter 191, sections 73, 82, 83, and 86, only apply if associated with a tax sale that occurred on or after April 1, 1992. For tax sales occurring prior to April 1, 1992, the provisions of sections 446.21, 446.31, 446.32, and 446.37 in effect on the date of the tax sale apply.

446.5 Time of sale--adjournment.

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

446.6 Surplus.

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

446.7 Annual tax sale.

Annually, on the third Monday in June the county treasurer shall offer at public sale all parcels on which taxes are delinquent. The sale shall be made for the total amount of taxes, interest, fees, and costs due. If for good cause the treasurer cannot hold the annual tax sale on the third Monday of June, the treasurer may designate a different date in June for the sale.

446.8

Repealed by 81 Acts, ch 117, § 1244.

446.9 Notice of sale--service--publication--costs.

1. A notice of the date, time, and place of the annual tax sale shall be served upon the person in whose name the parcel subject to sale is taxed. The county treasurer shall serve the notice by sending it by regular first class mail to the person's last known address not later than May 1 of each fiscal year. The notice shall contain a description of the parcel to be sold which is clear, concise, and sufficient to distinguish the parcel to be sold from all other parcels. It shall also contain the amount of delinquent taxes for which the parcel is liable each year, the amount of the interest, fees, and the actual cost of publication of the notice as provided in subsection 2, all to be incorporated as a single sum. The notice shall contain a statement that, after the sale, if the parcel is not redeemed within the period provided in chapter 447, the right to redeem expires and a deed may be issued.

2. Publication of the date, time, and place of the annual tax sale shall be made once by the treasurer in at least one official newspaper in the county as selected by the board of supervisors and designated by the treasurer at least one week, but not more than three weeks, before the day of sale. The publication shall contain a description of the parcel to be sold that is clear, concise, and sufficient to distinguish the parcel to be sold from all other parcels. All items offered for sale pursuant to section 446.18 may be indicated by an "s" or by an asterisk. The publication shall also contain the name of the person in whose name the parcel to be sold is taxed, the amount delinquent for which the parcel is liable each year, the amount of the interest, fees, costs, and the cost of publication in the newspaper, all to be incorporated as a single sum. The publication shall contain a statement that, after the sale, if the parcel is not redeemed within the period provided in chapter 447, the right to redeem expires and a deed may be issued.

3. In addition to the notice required by subsection 1 and the publication required by subsection 2, the treasurer shall send, at least one week but not more than three weeks before the day of sale, a notice of sale in the form prescribed by subsection 1, by regular first class mail to any mortgagee having a lien upon the parcel, a vendor of the parcel under a recorded contract of sale, a lessor of the parcel who has a recorded lease or memorandum of a recorded lease, and to any other person who has an interest of record in the parcel, if the mortgagee, vendor, lessor, or other person having an interest of record has done both of the following:

a. Requested on a form prescribed by the treasurer that notice of sale be sent to the person.

b. Filed the request form with the treasurer at least one month prior to the date of sale, together with a fee of twenty-five dollars per parcel.

The request for notice is valid for a period of five years from the date of filing with the treasurer. The request for notice may be renewed for additional periods of five years by the procedure specified in this subsection.

4. Notice required by subsections 1 and 3 shall be deemed completed when the notice is enclosed in a sealed envelope with the proper postage on the envelope, is addressed to the person entitled to receive it at the person's last known mailing address, and is deposited in a mail receptacle provided by the United States postal service. Failure to receive a mailed notice is not a defense to the payment of the total amount due.