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Below are the most comonly asked questions concerning how Martin County conducts its
annual certificate sale and an explanation of the tax deed application process. If you should have
any additional questions, please contact our office at 288-5749.
1. What is the difference between a Tax Certificate Sale and a Tax Deed Sale?
At a Tax Certificate Sale, tax liens are auctioned off against numerous parcels for unpaid taxes.
Tax Certificate Sales are held only once a year. At the conclusion of a tax certificate sale, a lien
against the property is recorded to the lowest bidder (hereafter
referred to as the ‘certificate holder’).
Tax Deed Sales can
be held at any time, whenever a certificate holder should decide to exercise
their lien holder rights to bring a parcel up for tax deed auction. However, certificates cannot be used to
file tax deed proceedings until two (2) years, April 1 following the date of
issue. At the conclusion of a tax deed
sale, a deed to the property is issued to the highest
bidder (Tax Deed). For this
reason, tax deed sales are commonly referred to as tax deed auctions. Upon
issuance, Tax Deeds supersede all other liens against the property with the
exception of county or federal liens.
2. What is the date, time and location of the annual Tax Certificate Sales in Martin County?
All certificate sales are
held in accordance with Florida State Statute 197.432. The Martin County tax certificate sales are
held on or before June 1st. On the first day of the sale, registration will begin at 7:45 AM
and bidding will begin at approximately 8:30 AM. On the second day bidding will begin at approximately 8:00
AM. The location of the sale is County Commission Chambers, first floor of the Martin County Administration Building at 2401 SE Monterey
Road.
3. How often are Tax Deed Sales held?
Tax Deed Auctions are
performed by the Clerk of Circuit Court as the final step to the tax deed
application proceedings initiated in the Tax Collector’s Office by the certificate
holder. Certificates are eligible for tax deed application on April 1st, two
(2) years following the year the certificate was issued. At that time the certificate holder can
initiate Tax Deed proceedings, which will eventually bring the property up for
final Tax Deed sale. Certificates are
only valid for seven (7) years from date of issue. After seven (7) years all unpaid certificates are cancelled,
therefore, eliminating the certificate holder’s lien against the property. Prior to initiating tax deed application it
is preferred that the certificate holder contact the Tax Collector’s Office
requesting that a warning letter, stating their intentions, be sent to the
property owner. If payment is not received
from the property owner the Tax Collector’s Office will, upon request, inform
the certificate holder of the funds required to officially expedite the tax
deed proceedings.
4. When and where are Tax Certificate Sales advertised?
Tax Certificate sales are performed only once a year, on or before June 1st. The list of
delinquent taxes are advertised once per week for three consecutive weeks prior to
tax certificate sale in a newspaper selected by the Martin County Board of County Commissioners. These
are not ‘updated’ publications; therefore, if a particular parcel is not
announced at the certificate sale it means the taxes were paid prior to the
sale. For publication information, call the Tax Collector’s Office at 288-5600 anytime after May 1st.
5. When and where are Tax Deed Sales advertised?
The office of the Clerk of
Circuit Court advertises tax Deed Auctions in the legal section of the Stuart
News on Fridays. The property is
advertised 30 days prior to the final property auction.
6. How and when do you have to register for the annual Tax Certificate Sale?
Certificate sale registration can be done as early as 30 days prior to the sale, or on the sale day beginning at 7:45 AM.
It only takes approximately 5 minutes to register. Registration is performed by filling out a W-9 and a very short
general information form (social security or federal tax number is
required). Only one (1) bidder
number and one (1) paddle will be assigned for each registered Federal ID
number or Social Security number.
7. What type of payment is required at the certificate sale?
Is there a deposit required before the sale?
A 10% deposit is required
prior to or immediately following the close of the sale. Deposits prior to the sale or payments made
at the sale may be in the form of personal or business check or cash. Within 2 business days following the sale
the final payment must be received in the Tax Collector’s
Office. This payment must
be in the form of cashier’s check, money order or cash. If payment is not received within the 2-day
limit, the certificates you were granted will be resold.
8. What is the bidding process at the certificate sale?
Bidding for tax
certificates begins at 18%, the certificate will be awarded to the lowest
bidder. Certificates are guaranteed a
flat non-accruing 5% yield of the face value (purchase amount) or until, when
calculated, the APR percentage bid on the certificate, whichever is greater
(See back page of this packet for explanation of the guaranteed 5% interest
rate).
At registration you will be assigned a bidder number and given a paddle with that number.
After the sequence number and amount due is read by the announcer, bidders raise their paddles
and call out their bids, starting at 18% and lower. When the bidding ends, the certificate is
awarded to the lowest bidder.
*Rotation bidding is strictly prohibited*
9. What type of document is issued at the certificate sale?
A computer printout of the
parcels numbers, interest percentage and amount due can be requested any time
during the sale. Most bidders request
this printout at the end of the sale or when they have completed their bidding. A final printout showing the actual
certificate numbers will not be issued until a few days after the sale. If there is a balance due for your
purchase(s), you will not receive your final certificate printout until full
payment is received by the Tax Collector’s office.
10. Are there any other expenses connected with the certificate sale other than the cost of the lien?
There are no other expenses
involved with the certificate sale other than the amount recorded in the
newspaper, which is the full amount of taxes due for the tax year
advertised. This amount will become the
face amount of the certificate (lien) on which the interest will be calculated.
11. What happens to the certificates that do not receive bids at the tax certificate sale?
Can they be purchased following the sale?
Certificates that are not bid on at the sale are “struck to the county” at an interest rate of 18%.
These certificates can be purchased from the county for their current redemption amount.
At the time of the sale, a certificate will not be sold against property that: a) is
known to be included in a litigation or bankruptcy process b) is
homesteaded with taxes due in the amount of $250.00 or less, or c) tax
deferral application has been approved.d) Where a tax deed applcation is pending.
12. Can a list of the county owned certificates
be obtained from the Tax Collector’s Office?
Printouts of county owned certificates can be purchased approximately one (1) week following the
certificate sale. The cost is $.15 per page.
13. Can certificate holders transfer any of their certificates to another party?
After two (2) weeks following the certificate sale a certificate holder can, at any time, transfer any of his
open certificates to another party. All certificate transfers must be processed through the
Tax Collector’s Office. If not already registered, the
party purchasing certificate(s) must register and receive a bidder number.
A notarized reassignment form and a transfer fee of $2.25 will be required for each certificate transfer.
14. Do you allow investors to invest in tax certificates without attending the actual sale?
Tax certificates can only be purchased at the annual tax certificate sale, with the exception
of county held certificates as described above. If an individual investor is unable to attend, he or she
may appoint a substitute bidder to bid on their behalf. Before the bidder’s paddle is relinquished
to a substitute, written permission for the substitute and a W-9 form signed and dated by the
registered bidder must be submitted to the Delinquent Tax Dept. of the Tax
Collector’s office. The permission affidavit must include the
substitute bidder’s name and the signature and social security number of the
registered bidder. This rule does not
apply to financial institutions or bidders registered under company name.
15. How often does the Tax Collector’s Office
disburse checks to certificate holders for redeemed (paid) certificates?
Redemption checks are usually disbursed to certificate holders by the delinquent tax department once a week.
16. What is the process of filing for Tax Deed?
Any certificate holder, other than the county, making application for Tax Deed, must pay the Tax
Collector at the time of application, a title search fee, an application fee, all amounts required for
redemption of all other outstanding tax certificates, interest, omitted taxes, and current taxes. The
Clerk of the Circuit Court will collect their fees, once the application has been turned over to their office.
Note:
There are risks involved when purchasing tax certificates (such as bankruptcy
filings, property value changes, certificate cancellations & etc.). These risks are borne solely
by the certificate holder. We do not file claims for the certificate holder in bankruptcy cases.
EXPLANATION OF THE GUARANTEED 5% INTEREST RATE ON CERTIFICATES AS STIPULATED IN FLORIDA STATE STATUTE 197.472(2):
Basically, the statute states that tax lien certificates are
guaranteed an interest rate return of a flat (non-accruing) 5% OR your
bid, on an APR basis, whichever is greater
See below to compare and/or
further understand how the guaranteed 5% interest rate effects your investment
and subsequent return when purchasing tax certificates:
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Certificate
Age |
What your return will be withoutt the the 5% Guaranteed return |
What your return will be with the the 5% Guaranteed return |
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| If you hold a certificate at 18 % interest |
| 1 month |
1.5 % |
5 % |
| 2 months |
3.0 % |
5 % |
| 3 months |
4.5 % |
5 % |
| 4 months |
6.0 % |
Your bid, on an APR basis, is now greater
than the 5% guaranteed rate-therefore,your certificate interest will start
calculating at your bid percentage rate. In this case your interest will revert to accruing at a rate of 1.5% on
the first of each month.
|
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| If you hold a certificate at 5 % interest |
| 1 month |
0.417 % |
5 % |
| 2 months |
0.834 % |
5 % |
| 3 months |
1.251 % |
5 % |
| 4 months |
1.668 % |
5 % |
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This calculation will continue
until the percentage you bid on the certificate (on an APR basis) is greater than
5%. At that time the non-accruing 5%
rate will stop and your certificate interest will start calculating at your bid
percentage rate. In this case your
interest will revert to accruing at a rate of 0.417% on the first of each
month.
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PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE INTEREST
RATE ON CERTIFICATES ARE CALCULATED AS SIMPLE INTEREST – NOT COMPOUND
INTEREST. THE INTEREST IS CALCULATED ON
THE ORIGINAL FACE AMOUNT AND ACCRUES ON THE FIRST DAY OF EACH MONTH UNTIL THE
CERTIFICATE IS REDEEMED.
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