Tag: redemption

Georgia Tax Deed Foreclosures

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Who Gets Notice of a Tax Deed Foreclosure?

To determine who to serve with a Notice of Foreclosure to Redeem (also called a “barment”), the first place to look is the statutes dealing with tax sales. OCGA § 48-4-45 says that after 12 months from the date of a tax sale, the purchaser may start a tax deed foreclosure (foreclosure of the right to redeem) by sending notices to the owner of the property at the time of the tax sale, the occupant of the property, and all persons with a recorded right, title, interest, or lien upon the property.

Two additional parts of OCGA § 48-4-45 are important to understand. First, notice does not need to be provided to a person with no recorded interest in the property. And second, if the owner of the property at the time of the tax sale is deceased, the tax deed purchaser must serve the deceased’s heirs.

What is a Recordable Interest?

You may have heard the expression “title to property.”  Georgia counties maintain real estate records for each property in the county. Accordingly, paperwork related to the property is “recorded” with the county when a property is purchased or sold. This paperwork helps determine who owns the property.

Similarly, a creditor will record a lien on the real estate records against the property if a person borrows money or owes a debt. These records are available to the public. Tax deed purchasers are responsible for notifying all persons with a recorded interest in the property.

Tyner v. Edge

The above seems simple enough, but as is often the case with most laws, there are gray areas. Including tax deed foreclosures. Tyner v. Edge, 843 S.E.2d 632 (2020), is a good example of a case that is in the grey area. In that case, Robert Tyner purchased a property from Frances Cowart without any paperwork. Tyner paid in full for the property, but Cowart died before transferring title to Tyner.

Tyner failed to pay taxes year, and the county sold the property to The Edge Company Family LLC at a tax sale. A year after the tax sale, Edge sent out barment notices in compliance with OCGA § 48-4-45. When Edge sent the barment notices, Tyner did not have a recorded interest in the property.

A lawsuit resulted. Tyner claimed he should have received the barment notice. In hindsight, this was a pretty straightforward case. OCGA § 48-4-45 does not require notice to a party with no recorded interest, and therefore the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that Edge did not have to send a barment notice to Tyner.

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Please call (404) 382-9994 to speak with an attorney about your tax deed questions.

Judicial In Rem Tax Sales

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Recently, we have seen more judicial tax sales in Georgia. This type of sale is much different than a non-judicial tax sale. OCGA § 48-4-75. Both the procedures and the deadlines differ.

When a taxpayer fails to property taxes, a county may file a judicial-in-rem tax sale. OCGA § 48-4-78. When the county employs this type of tax sale, it files a “Petition” in the superior court. The Petition is against the property itself and anyone with an interest in the property, including the owner.

Once the county files the Petition, the county gives notice to the interested parties. OCGA § 48-4-78. The county posts the property with copies of the summons and Petition, notice to interested parties, and notice of hearing. The county also sends the documents by regular and certified mail to all interested parties. Lastly, the county publishes a legal notice in the county newspaper alerting the public. The notice runs for two weeks).

Following notice, the court holds a hearing. Any interested party has the right to be heard and to contest the allegations in the Petition at the hearing. If the superior court determines that the information in the Petition is accurate and that the county gave proper notice, the court will order the county to sell the property at an auction. OCGA § 48-4-79.

The county then advertises the sale of the property in the county’s legal newspaper for four weeks. The advertisement will show the owner’s name, a description of the property to be sold, and the amount of the tax due OCGA §§ 9-13-140-142.

Before judicial tax sale auction, an interested party may redeem the property by paying the redemption amount to the county tax commissioner. If an interested party pays the redemption amount, the county dismisses the Petition. OCGA § 48-4-80.

One of the main differences between judicial and non-judicial tax sales is that a judicial tax sale allows only 60 days to redeem (buy back the property). In a non-judicial tax sale, the owner has at least one year to redeem. OCGA § 48-4-81.

The other major difference is judicial tax sales vest title absolutely into the purchaser. In theory, this eliminates the need for post-sale barment procedures and quiet title actions. There is little case law to provide guidance, but we expect the courts to consider these issues in the future.

Tax Deed Redemption: Tricks of the Trade

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Redemption Process

A new Georgia appellate case, Moxie Capital v. Delmont 21 (2021), has been released that every tax deed purchaser, investor, and property owner should know about. The case involves how to redeem a property following a tax sale.

OCGA § 48-4-40 says the property owner or an interest holder in the property may redeem a property following a tax sale. Redemption must occur within a twelve-month window and after a notice of right to redeem has been provided. OCGA § 48-4-42 states how much a redeeming party must pay to redeem. Importantly, the funds required to redeem “shall be paid in lawful money of the United States.”

Redemption Dispute

In Moxie Capital, an investor attempted to redeem a property. For various reasons, the attempted redemption occurred on the last day of the redemption period. The investor contacted the tax deed holder for a payoff. There were conflicting versions of what happened from there. The investor said the tax deed holder did not cooperate; while the tax deed holder argued he had no obligation to cooperate.

What the parties don’t dispute is that the investor timely delivered a personal check to the tax deed holder. The investor claimed that certified funds were not available because the banks had closed by the time he found out the details of where to deliver the redemption amount. On the next day, the tax deed holder returned the personal check to the investor. And claimed that the investor’s right to redeem had expired.

Naturally, this went to court. While somewhat complicated, ultimately, the investor lost. And the tax deed purchaser got the property. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that to redeem, funds must be in the form of cash or certified check. The Court cited OCGA § 48-4-42, which says funds must be “paid in lawful money of the United States.” Although no Georgia court has clearly defined “lawful money,” the Georgia Court of Appeals reasoned that a personal check is a promise to pay. Thus, the Court of Appeals did not consider the investor’s personal check to be a payment.

The Court of Appeals also suggested that a tax deed purchaser has no obligation to act in “good faith” when responding to a party trying to redeem.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute – Call Us

Moxie Capital is consistent with other Georgia cases that apply redemption statutes strictly. Some would say harshly. Whether you agree or disagree with the outcome will depend on which side of the ledger you’re on.

Regardless of if you are a tax deed purchaser or a homeowner, we will be glad to represent you to get you through the process safely.

Call Us at 404-382-9991 to speak with an attorney regarding your options!

Another Georgia Excess Tax Sale Funds Case

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Republic Title Co. v. Freeport Title & Guar., Inc., A19A0274 (May. 29, 2019) concerns entitlement to excess funds remaining following a tax sale pursuant to OCGA § 48-3-3. We’ve discussed this in previous blogs. There isn’t much new here but the case does reinforce some tax deed principles of interest. In this case, the property owner at the time of the tax sale sought to collect excess tax sale proceeds following the tax sale. Also following the tax sale, a security deed holder on the property similarly sought the excess tax funds.

The owner filed a lawsuit seeking the excess tax funds, and, in the same lawsuit, sought to quiet the security deed holder’s lien as a cloud on title. The argument was the loan had matured for more than seven years and therefore wasn’t enforceable at the time of the tax sale. In Georgia, under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-80, title to real property conveyed to secure a debt or debts revert to the grantor the expiration of seven years from the maturity of the debt or debts or the maturity of the last installment thereof as stated or fixed in the record of the conveyance (this is the general rule).

Following the recommendation issued by a special master appointed in the case, the trial court ruled in favor of the owner; awarding the owner the excess tax funds and quieting title against the security deed holder. The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed. The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected the security deed holder’s argument that the special master didn’t have authority to issue a ruling on excess funds. And the security deed holder’s argument that the property owner lacked standing to bring a quiet title was likewise disregarded. Although the quiet title was filed by the owner after the tax sale, it was filed within the time period in which the owner had a right to redeem the property. Thus, the owner’s right to redeem was enough to give the owner standing to quiet title against the security deed holder.

If you have any questions regarding tax deeds, please call us at 404-382-9994.

Does a Foreclosure Sale Determine Fair Market Value in Georgia?

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The answer is a resounding yes according to an interesting case that came out recently. SeeDekalb County Board Of Tax Assessors v. Astor Atl, LLC, A19A0516 (April 1, 2019). In that case, the Georgia Court of Appeals rejected DeKalb County’s argument that it could assess property taxes in an amount higher than the price paid for the same property at a foreclosure sale.

Dekalb County argued that a foreclosure sale does not qualify under as an arm’s length, bona fide sale, and that it had appraised the property in conformity with its rules using the sales comparison approach.

In deciding the case, the Georgia Court of Appeals referenced O.C.G.A. § 48-5-2(3), which provides a limitation on the maximum allowable fair market value. Under that statute, “the transaction amount of the most recent arm’s length, bona fide sale in any year shall be the maximum allowable fair market value for the next taxable year.”

The decision concluded by holding that foreclosure sales can be arm’s length, bona fide sales. Moreover, the fact that the sale may not bring in the true market value of the property does not require a different rule; the fact that the sale results in a financial loss is not relevant.

The court noted that foreclosure sales are distinct from tax sales. While foreclosures are considered arm’s length, bona fide sales, tax sales are considered “forced sales” because owner retains a right of redemption, so the tax deed purchaser does not obtain proper title until the redemption period has run.

While this isn’t super helpful in the current market with surging property values, it would definitely help investors should the real estate market turn south down the road. Something to keep in mind.

Please call us at 404-382-9994 for real estate related questions.