HB2445 - 542R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 42-18152, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE42-18152. Time lien may be fully redeemed; partial payment refund

A. A real property tax lien may be fully redeemed at any time:

1. Within three years after the date of sale.

2. After three years but before the entry of a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem or the delivery of a treasurer's deed to the purchaser or the purchaser's heirs or assigns.

B. A lien that has been partially redeemed under section 42‑18056, subsection C must be fully redeemed before the entry of a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem or the delivery of a treasurer's deed to the purchaser.

C. The county treasurer shall refund all partial payment amounts impounded under section 42‑18056, subsection E, to the person or persons or their heirs or assigns within thirty days after delivering the treasurer's deed to the purchaser. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 42-18204, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE42-18204. Judgment foreclosing right to redeem; effect

A. In an action to foreclose the right to redeem, if the court finds that the sale of the tax lien is valid and that the tax lien has not been redeemed, the court shall enter judgment:

1. Foreclosing the right of the defendant to redeem.

2. Directing the county treasurer to sell the property in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and expeditiously execute and deliver to the party in whose favor judgment is entered, including the state, purchaser, after the purchaser pays, a deed conveying the property described in the certificate of purchase.

B. After entering judgment, the parties whose rights to redeem the tax lien are thereby foreclosed have no further legal or equitable right, title or interest in the property subject to the right of appeal and stay of execution as in other civil actions.

C. The foreclosure of the right to redeem does not extinguish any of the following:

1. An easement on or appurtenant to the property.

D. The foreclosure of the right to redeem does not extinguish any

2. A lien for an assessment levied pursuant to title 48, chapter 4, 6, 14 or 18, or section 9‑276.

3. The property owner's or another lienholder's interest in the surplus proceeds from the sale of the property. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 42-18205, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE42-18205. Sale of real property by county treasurer; deed form; disposition of proceeds

A. On receiving a certified copy of a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem and a fee of fifty dollars $50 per parcel, the county treasurer shall execute and deliver to the party in whose favor the judgment was entered a deed conveying the property described in the judgment add the property described in the judgment to the list of properties to be sold at public auction that is prepared pursuant to section 42‑18301. The treasurer shall conduct the auction in the same manner as provided in section 42‑18303 and provide notice of the auction in the same manner as provided in section 42‑18302.

B. After the purchaser pays for the property in full, the county treasurer shall execute and deliver to the purchaser a deed conveying the property. The deed shall include the following information:

1. The date, court action number and name of the judgment foreclosing the right to redeem.

2. The name of the purchaser.

3. The property description.

4. The date of the public auction.

4. 5. The date of the conveyance.

5. 6. A formal acknowledgment by the treasurer.

7. The price the purchaser paid for the property.

C. The proceeds from the sale of the property shall be distributed in the same manner as provided in section 42‑18303. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Heading change

The article heading of title 42, chapter 18, article 7, Arizona Revised Statutes, is changed from "SALE OF LAND HELD BY STATE UNDER TAX DEED" to "SALE OF REAL PROPERTY BY COUNTY TREASURER".

Sec. 5. Section 42-18302, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE42-18302. Notice of sale

A. The board of supervisors county treasurer shall advertise the real property for sale at a public sale. The advertisement shall be by:

1. Publishing the list and notice of sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least once a week for at least two weeks, but not more than three weeks, before the stated date of the sale.

2. Continuously posting a current list and notice in the offices and on the official websites of the board of supervisors and the county treasurer.

3. mailing the notice of SALE to the predecessor property owner of record according to the records of the county recorder in the county in which the property is located, or to all of the following:

(a) The predecessor property owner according to the records of the county assessor in the county in which the property is located as determined by section 42‑13051.

(b) The situs address of the property, if shown on the tax roll.

(c) The tax bill mailing address according to the records of the county treasurer in the county in which the property is located, if that address is different from the addresses under subdivisions (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

B. The newspaper that prints publishes the list and notice shall also post the list and notice on the internet on a website that posts the legal notices of ten or more Arizona newspapers. END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Section 42-18303, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE42-18303. Auction and sale of real property by treasurer; disposition of proceeds; third‑party claimant identifier

A. After advertisement, pursuant to section 42‑18302, the board of supervisors may county treasurer shall sell to the highest bidder for cash the real property in the county held by the state by tax deed to the highest bidder for cash except as provided in subsections E and F of this section and the real property for which a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem has been entered. The property may also be posted on the treasurer's website. The sale may include a live auction or but shall include an online bidding process in which the board treasurer receives bids electronically over the internet in a real-time, competitive bidding event. The auction shall be held within six months after the entry of a judgment foreclosing the right to redeem.

B. The county treasurer shall post the property and date of the auction with a real estate listing service provided by an organization of real estate brokers licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 20, or an equivalent service.

C. The county treasurer may contract with a private party to operate and advertise the auction and to advertise the property. The contract may provide that if the property sells for more than the amount of the taxes, penalties, interest and costs charged against the property, the private party operating and advertising the auction and advertising the property may receive up to three percent of the amount of the sale price of a property that is more than the amount of the taxes, penalties, interest and costs charged against the property.

D. A judgment foreclosing the right to redeem gives the county treasurer the right to possess and access the property for the purposes of protecting the former owner's equity interest by attracting higher bids for the property. The treasurer may allow a private party to access the property to photograph or otherwise view the property.

E. The county treasurer shall set the minimum bid for the property at the property's limited cash value. If there are no bids at the first action of the property, a second auction for the property shall be held within six months after the first auction. If advertisements for the first auction of the property meet the requirements of this section, the county treasurer shall set the minimum bid for the property at the second auction at the amount of taxes, penalties, interest and costs charged against the property.

B. F. On selling the property and after receiving full payment for the property, the board county treasurer shall execute and deliver to the purchaser, at the purchaser's cost, a deed conveying the title of the state in and to the parcel purchased. The deed shall be acknowledged by the chairman of the board of supervisors and clerk of the board.

C. G. The purchase money monies shall be paid to the county treasurer. After deducting and distributing interest, penalties, fees and costs charged against the parcel, the treasurer shall apportion the remainder to the funds of the various taxing authorities in proportion to their current share of the taxes charged against real property post a public list of the remaining monies that any party that had a legal interest in the property before the judgment foreclosing the right to redeem or the issuance of the tax deed to this state may claim. The treasurer shall add the property, the amount of surplus monies from the sale of the property and the date of the sale of the property to a list of properties sold in the past five years pursuant to this section. The list shall be continuously posted in the treasurer's office and on the treasurer's official website.

D. If the property is not sold before the time for the next succeeding notice of sale, the board may omit it from the notice.

E. The board of supervisors may accept an offer from, and sell real property held by this state by tax deed to, the county or a city, town or special taxing district in the county for a public purpose related to transportation or flood control. The board of supervisors shall convey the deed and apportion the monies received in the transaction in the manner prescribed by this section.

F. The board of supervisors may sell real property in the county held by the state by tax deed to the owner of contiguous real property that is used for residential purposes, and the board may accept an offer by the contiguous owner to purchase the property, if both of the following conditions apply:

1. Both the property offered for sale and the contiguous property were at one time under common ownership, or the property offered for sale is part of a common area maintained by a homeowners' association as determined by the county assessor.

2. The property offered for sale cannot be separately used for residential purposes pursuant to applicable building codes and ordinances of the jurisdiction in which the property is located due to its size, configuration or recorded common area restrictions.

G. If an offer under subsection E or F of this section is pending at the time of the auction under this section, the board of supervisors shall remove the property from the auction.

H. Subsection F of this section does not apply if there is more than one contiguous parcel of property that meets the requirements prescribed by subsection F of this section.

H. After receiving full payment for the property, the county treasurer shall notify by mail the former property owner and any person with a recorded interest in the property. The notice shall state the following:

1. That the property was sold.

2. The purchase price of the property.

3. The total amount owed as a result of delinquent property taxes and water and sewer bills.

4. any other amount owed that exceeds the amount in paragraph 3 of this subsection.

5. That all interested parties, including the former property owner, must file a statement of interest to claim any surplus monies within six months after the date the notice is mailed.

6. That, if any filed claims dispute entitlement to the surplus monies, the monies shall be deposited with the superior court in the county in which the real property is located and the court will determine entitlement to the surplus monies.

7. That, regardless of whether the former property owner or the owner's heirs or assigns file a claim within the six‑month period, any amount remaining after disbursement of surplus monies to any lienholders or other interested parties that filed a claim will be available for the former property owner or the owner's heirs or assigns to claim for up to five years.

8. That failure to file a claim within the six‑month period may forfeit the right to prevent the county treasurer from disbursing the surplus monies to other interested parties that timely filed a claim and demonstrated an apparently valid interest in the surplus monies.

9. That failure to file a claim within the six‑month period may entitle a third party to charge a fee of up to $500 as provided in subsection K of this section for providing the treasurer with contact information for the rightful owner or other interested parties.

I. If more than one interested party files a claim for only a portion of the monies, after the county treasurer disburses the monies to those interested parties, the county treasurer shall publicly list the amount of the monies remaining and the names of the former property owner and other interested parties.

J. Any portion of the surplus monies that remains unclaimed after five years shall be treated as unclaimed property pursuant to title 44, chapter 3.

K. Within six months after the date the notice required by subsection H of this section is mailed, a third party may seek out the rightful owner of the surplus monies or other interested parties. A third party may not purchase a right to claim the monies but may charge a fee for being the first person to identify the rightful owner or other interested parties and submit that information to the county treasurer. The amount of the fee shall be determined as follows:

1. If the person identified is the rightful owner or other interested party that can successfully claim at least $1,500 of the surplus monies, $500.

2. If the person identified is the rightful owner or other interested party that can successfully claim less than $1,500, an amount equal to thirty percent of the amount the person identified successfully claims.

3. an amount agreed on by the third party and the person identified. If this amount is more than $500, the contract required by subsection L of this section shall be signed and notarized with a witness present.

L. A third party that seeks to identify the rightful owner of the surplus monies or other interested parties for the purpose of claiming surplus monies shall disclose in writing that the person may be eligible to claim surplus monies and that the third party may charge a fee on the amount successfully claimed by the person identified. the third party shall enter into a written contract with the person who may be eligible to claim surplus monies. The contract shall substantially conform with the following format:

The county treasurer's office, _____________ county, state of Arizona, is holding $ (amount) in surplus monies from the sale of the property located at (address) . If you owned all or some portion of this property or an interest in this property when the property was sold for failure to pay (property taxes or other public debt) , some of that money may belong to you. The form and procedures required to claim that money are available from the treasurer's office. For $ (fee) , i will help you claim that money. END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Short title

This act may be cited as the "Equity Theft Prevention Act".

Sec. 8. Emergency

This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law.