Earl
K. Wood
Orange
(407)
836-2700
Orange
County Tax Certificate Sale 2008
The annual Tax Certificate Sale for prior year delinquent taxes will be
held via the Internet on Saturday, May 31. The sale will start at 9:00 a.m. and
will run until approximately 4:00 p.m..
Please visit the Orange County Tax Collector’s
bidding site www.orangetaxsale.com
for details. Although you may register any time from May 15, 2008 through the end of the sale, you are
advised to register and bid well in advance of the sale date, since the sale
will proceed at a fast pace. All deposits and payments will be made by
electronic funds transfer. Bidders are required to complete a W-9 form. The information obtained from the W-9 form will be
reported to the IRS on the year-end 1099INT statement.
The delinquent list
will be published three consecutive Thursdays beginning May 15, 2008 by the Orlando
Sentinel. The other dates are May 22, and May 29, 2008. On May 15, 2008, the delinquent accounts will be posted to the Tax
Collector's web site www.octaxcol.com
and to the www.orangetaxsale.com site. The
delinquent information will be updated periodically until the sale.
Not all of the items
printed in the newspaper will be sold, due to late payments received after the
list was prepared for
publication. Revenue from the sale pays the
ad valorem property taxes/non ad valorem assessments, interest, and costs and
charges related to the sale.
The Tax
Collector requires a minimum deposit of $1,000 or 10% of intended purchases,
whichever is greater, to be posted through the auction web site.
There
will be
The advertising list
will include the amount of taxes due, as well as interest and the cost of the
sale, which represents the face value of the tax certificate. Simple interest for the amount that the
certificate was purchased will be calculated. Any bidder has the right to bid
on any certificate, as long as the deposit requirement is met. Tax certificates are sold in the order they
appear on the tax roll.
The bidder willing to
accept the lowest interest rate is awarded the certificate. If there are no
bidders for a certificate, it will be struck to the County. Bidding starts at 18% and interest is bid down until
there are no lower offers. "No
Interest" bids will give the bidder the certificate at 0% interest. (The
5% mandatory charge will not apply.) Bids
shall be accepted in even and fractional increments of .25% points only.
Certificates
will be issued in the name of a person or a corporation. After the sale,
certificates may be sold and transferred by assignment through the delinquent tax
department. A fee of $2.25 is charged
for each certificate transferred. When making inquiries about tax certificates
or when requesting an address change, please provide the delinquent tax
department with all social security numbers/tax id numbers currently and
previously used to buy certificates.
The sale will continue until delivery of all certificates. If a bidder fails to pay for certificates, the deposit will be forfeited and the certificates will be resold by the Tax Collector. Any bidder in default will be barred from future Orange County tax certificate sales.
Bidders will be notified of certificates purchased and the balance due within 24 hours of the closing of the Internet auction. Balance of payment will be required within 48 hours of e-mail notification. If you do not receive a bill, please contact the tax office immediately at 407-836-2778.
Upon
redemption of tax certificates, interest shall be calculated on a monthly basis
from the first day of each month beginning June 1. Certificate holders shall draw no interest
during April and May while the mandatory charge is in effect (FS 197.172).
Application for tax deed may be made no sooner than two years after the
certificate purchase.
Caution: You are hereby informed that this is not a sale of land, but a lien for the amount of delinquent taxes plus interest. Certificates issued will be in effect for a period of seven years, and then canceled by Act of the 1973 Florida Legislature. Purchasing a tax certificate does not entitle the certificate buyer to enter the property, or harass the owner in any manner.
Certificate
value may be affected by subsequently filed bankruptcy cases.
There is risk to principal and
interest with respect to tax certificates if property conditions or the utility
changes. This is true when changes are made to correct errors arising from
obvious or concealed facts. The Property Appraiser may correct only clerical
errors after the tax roll has been certified [Markham v. Friedland, 245 So. 2d 645 (
In a few recent instances, principal
and interest were lost to