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Division 5 - Scavenger Sales; Procedures

      (35 ILCS 516/Div. 5 heading)Division 5. Scavenger sales; procedures

(35 ILCS 516/200)     Sec. 200. Collector's scavenger sale. Upon the county collector's application under Section 90, to be known as the Scavenger Sale Application, the Court shall enter judgment for the taxes, interest, penalties, and costs as are included in the advertisement and appear to be due thereon after allowing an opportunity to object and a hearing upon the objections as provided in Section 115, and order those mobile homes sold by the county collector at public sale to the highest bidder for cash, notwithstanding the bid may be less than the full amount of taxes, interest, penalties, and costs for which judgment has been entered.     (a) Conducting the sale; bidding. All mobile homes shall be offered for sale in consecutive order as they appear in the delinquent list. The minimum bid for any mobile home shall be $250 or one‑half of the tax if the total liability is less than $500. The successful bidder shall immediately pay the amount of minimum bid to the County Collector in cash, by certified or cashier's check, by money order, or, if the successful bidder is a governmental unit, by a check issued by that governmental unit. If the bid exceeds the minimum bid, the successful bidder shall pay the balance of the bid to the county collector in cash, by certified or cashier's check, by money order, or, if the successful bidder is a governmental unit, by a check issued by that governmental unit by the close of the next business day. If the minimum bid is not paid at the time of sale or if the balance is not paid by the close of the next business day, then the sale is void and the minimum bid, if paid, is forfeited to the county general fund. In that event, the mobile home shall be reoffered for sale within 30 days of the last offering of mobile homes in regular order. The collector shall make available to the public a list of all mobile homes to be included in any reoffering due to the voiding of the original sale. The collector is not required to serve or publish any other notice of the reoffering of those mobile homes. In the event that any of the mobile homes are not sold upon reoffering, or are sold for less than the amount of the original voided sale, the original bidder who failed to pay the bid amount shall remain liable for the unpaid balance of the bid in an action under Section 175. Liability shall not be reduced where the bidder upon reoffering also fails to pay the bid amount, and in that event both bidders shall remain liable for the unpaid balance of their respective bids. A sale of mobile homes under this Section shall not be final until confirmed by the court.     (b) Confirmation of sales. The county collector shall file his or her report of sale in the court within 30 days after the date of sale of each mobile home. No notice of the county collector's application to confirm the sales shall be required except as prescribed by rule of the court. Upon confirmation, except in cases where the sale becomes void under Section 430, or in cases where the order of confirmation is vacated by the court, a sale under this Section shall extinguish the in rem lien of the taxes, for which judgment has been entered and a redemption shall not revive the lien. Confirmation of the sale shall in no event affect the owner's personal liability to pay the taxes, interest, and penalties as provided in this Act or prevent institution of a proceeding under Section 355 to collect any amount that may remain due after the sale.     (c) Issuance of tax sale certificates. Upon confirmation of the sale, the county clerk and the county collector shall issue to the purchaser a certificate of purchase in the form prescribed by Section 185 as near as may be. A certificate of purchase shall not be issued to any person who is ineligible to bid at the sale or to receive a certificate of purchase under Section 205.     (d) Scavenger Tax Judgment, Sale and Redemption Record; sale of parcels not sold. The county collector shall prepare a Scavenger Tax Judgment, Sale and Redemption Record. The county clerk shall write or stamp on the scavenger tax judgment, sale, forfeiture and redemption record opposite the description of any mobile home offered for sale and not sold, or not confirmed for any reason, the words "offered but not sold". The mobile homes that are offered for sale under this Section and not sold or not confirmed shall be offered for sale annually thereafter in the manner provided in this Section until sold. At any time between annual sales the county collector may advertise for sale any mobile homes subject to sale under judgments for sale previously entered under this Section and not executed for any reason. The advertisement and sale shall be regulated by the provisions of this Act as far as applicable.     (e) Proceeding to tax certificate of title. The owner of the certificate of purchase shall give notice as required by Sections 365 through 390, and may extend the period of redemption as provided by Section 330. At any time within 5 months prior to expiration of the period of redemption from a sale under this Act, the owner of a certificate of purchase may file a petition and may obtain a tax certificate of title under Sections 390 through 410. All proceedings for the issuance of a tax certificate of title and all tax certificates of title for mobile homes sold under this Section shall be subject to Sections 390 through 410. This Section shall be liberally construed so that the certificates of title provided for in this Section convey merchantable title.     (f) Redemptions from scavenger sales. Redemptions may be made from sales under this Section in the same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as redemptions from sales made under the county collector's annual application for judgment and order of sale, except that in lieu of penalty the person redeeming shall pay interest on that part of the amount for which the mobile home was sold equal to or less than the full amount of delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs, included in the judgment and order of sale as follows:         (1) If redeemed within the first 2 months from the

date of the sale, 3% per month upon the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due for each of the first 2 months, or fraction thereof.

(2) If redeemed at any time between 2 and 6 months

from the date of the sale, 12% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due.

(3) If redeemed at any time between 6 and 12 months

from the date of the sale, 24% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due.

(4) If redeemed at any time between 12 and 18 months

from the date of the sale, 36% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due.

(5) If redeemed at any time between 18 and 24 months

from the date of the sale, 48% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due.

(6) If redeemed after 24 months from the date of

sale, the 48% provided for the 24 months together with interest at 6% per annum thereafter on the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due.

The person redeeming shall not be required to pay any interest on any part of the amount for which the mobile home was sold that exceeds the full amount of delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs included in the judgment and order of sale.     Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the amount required to be paid for redemption shall also include an amount equal to all delinquent taxes on the mobile home which taxes were delinquent at the time of sale. The delinquent taxes shall be apportioned by the county collector among the taxing districts in which the mobile home is situated in accordance with law. In the event that all moneys received from any sale held under this Section exceed an amount equal to all delinquent taxes on the mobile home sold, which taxes were delinquent at the time of sale, together with all publication and other costs associated with the sale, then, upon redemption, the county collector and the county clerk shall apply the excess amount to the cost of redemption.     (g) Bidding by county or other taxing districts. Any taxing district may bid at a scavenger sale. The county board of the county in which mobile homes offered for sale under this Section are located may bid as trustee for all taxing districts having an interest in the taxes for the nonpayment of which the mobile homes are offered. The county shall apply on the bid the unpaid taxes due upon the mobile home and no cash need be paid. The county or other taxing district acquiring a tax sale certificate shall take all steps necessary to acquire certificate of title to the mobile home and may manage and operate the mobile home so acquired.     When a county, or other taxing district within the county, is a petitioner for a tax certificate of title, no filing fee shall be required on the petition. The county as a tax creditor and as trustee for other tax creditors, or other taxing district within the county shall not be required to allege and prove that all taxes that become due and payable after the sale to the county have been paid. The county shall not be required to pay the subsequently accruing taxes at any time. Upon the written request of the county board or its designee, the county collector shall not offer the mobile home for sale at any tax sale subsequent to the sale of the mobile home to the county under this Section. The lien of taxes that become due and payable after a sale to a county shall merge in the certificate title of the county, or other taxing district, on the issuance of a certificate of title. The County may sell the mobile homes so acquired, or the certificate of purchase thereto, and the proceeds of the sale shall be distributed to the taxing districts in proportion to their respective interests therein. The presiding officer of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, may appoint some officer or person to attend scavenger sales and bid on its behalf.     (h) Miscellaneous provisions. In the event that a mobile home sold at any such sale is not redeemed within the time permitted by law and a tax certificate of title is issued, all moneys that may be received from the sale of mobile homes in excess of the delinquent taxes, together with all publication and other costs associated with the sale, shall, upon petition of any interested party to the court that issued the tax certificate of title, be distributed by the county collector pursuant to order of the court among the persons having legal or equitable interests in the mobile home according to the fair value of their interests in the mobile home. Appeals may be taken from the orders and judgments entered under this Section as in other civil cases. The remedy herein provided is in addition to other remedies for the collection of delinquent taxes. (Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)

(35 ILCS 516/205)     Sec. 205. Scavenger sale; persons ineligible to bid or purchase.     (a) No person, except a unit of local government, shall be eligible to bid or receive a certificate of purchase at any sale under Section 200 unless that person has completed and delivered to the county clerk a true, accurate, and complete application for certificate of purchase which shall affirm that:         (1) the person has not bid upon or applied to

purchase any mobile home at the sale for a person who is the party or agent of the party who owns the mobile home or is responsible for the payment of the delinquent taxes;

(2) the person is not, nor is he or she the agent

for, the owner or party responsible for payment of the taxes on any mobile home which is located in the same county in which the sale is held and which is tax delinquent or forfeited for all or any part of each of 2 or more years; and

(3) the person, although otherwise eligible to bid,

has not either directly or through an agent twice during the same sale failed to complete a purchase by the immediate payment of the minimum bid or the payment of the balance of a bid within the time provided by Section 200.

(Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)

(35 ILCS 516/210)     Sec. 210. Scavenger sale registration. No person, except a unit of local government, shall be eligible to bid or to receive a certificate of purchase who did not register with the county collector at least 5 business days in advance of the first day of the sale under Section 200. The collector may charge, for each registration, a fee of not more than $50 in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants. Registration shall be made upon such forms and according to such regulations as the county collector deems necessary in order to effect complete and accurate disclosure of the identity of all persons beneficially interested, directly or indirectly, in each sale under Section 200. The information to be disclosed shall include, but not be limited to, the name, address, and telephone number of the purchaser to whom the clerk and collector will be requested to issue a certificate of purchase; if the purchaser is a corporation, the place of incorporation and the names and addresses of its shareholders unless the corporation is publicly held; if the purchaser is a partnership, the names and addresses of all general and limited partners; if the purchaser is doing business under an assumed business name, the county where such name is registered and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all persons having an ownership interest in the business; and the identity and location of any other tax delinquent mobile home owned by the bidder and purchaser.     Every application for certificate of purchase and form for registration authorized and required by this Section and Section 215 shall be executed under penalty of perjury as though under oath or affirmation, but no acknowledgement is required. (Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)

(35 ILCS 516/215)     Sec. 215. Scavenger sale; application for certificate of purchase. The application for certificate of purchase shall be executed by the purchaser and by any individual bidder acting in the purchaser's behalf. The application shall be initially executed and delivered to the county clerk at the time of registration for the sale as provided in this Section. Before receiving any certificate of purchase, each purchaser and individual bidder acting in the purchaser's behalf shall sign and deliver to the county clerk a schedule or schedules of the mobile homes for which that purchaser has successfully bid and is applying to purchase, which schedule or schedules shall be attached to and incorporated within the application. The schedule or schedules shall be accompanied by a fee, for each mobile home listed, of $10 in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants. The application and schedule or schedules shall be in substantially the following form: APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF PURCHASE Date of Application: ............... Name of Purchaser: ................. Address: ........................... Name of Bidder: .................... Address: ...........................     I (we) hereby apply to the County Clerk and County Treasurer of ..... County for issuance of a certificate of purchase for each of the mobile homes on the attached schedule(s), and state as follows:     1. I (we) made (or authorized) the successful bid on each mobile home listed on the attached schedule or schedules at the sale of delinquent mobile homes under Section 200 of the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Enforcement Act conducted by the County Treasurer of ..... County, Illinois, on the dates indicated for each mobile home on the schedule(s).     2. At least 5 business days before the first day of this sale, I (we) submitted a truthful, accurate and complete registration to the Treasurer of ..... County on the form(s) and according to the regulations prescribed by the Treasurer's office.     3. Neither I (we) nor any person or firm identified in the registration submitted to the Treasurer of ..... County was an owner or agent of an owner, lienholder or agent of a lienholder (other than the mobile home park owner or his or her agent), holder of beneficial interest or agent of a holder of a beneficial interest in or of any mobile home identified on the schedule(s) attached to this application on January 1st of any years for which taxes were delinquent at the time of my (our) bid(s) described in the schedule(s).     4. Neither I (we) nor any person or firm identified in the registration submitted to the Treasurer of ..... County was an owner or agent of an owner, lienholder or agent of a lienholder (other than the mobile home park owner or his or her agent), holder of a beneficial interest or agent of a holder of a beneficial interest in or of the mobile home identified on the schedule(s) attached to this application at the time of the bid(s) described in the schedule.     5. Neither I (we) nor any person or firm identified in the registration submitted to the Treasurer of ..... County was an owner or agent for an owner, or party or agent for a party responsible for the payment of delinquent taxes, on any mobile home in the county that was tax delinquent or forfeited for all or any part of each of 2 or more years when the registration was submitted.     6. Neither I (we) nor any person acting in my (our) behalf has twice failed to complete a purchase at the sale during which the mobile homes on the attached schedule(s) were offered by failing to immediately pay a minimum bid or by failing to pay the balance of a bid for any mobile home within one business day thereafter.     I (we) hereby affirm that I (we) have read this application and that the statements made in it are personally known by me (us) to be true, accurate and complete, under penalty of perjury as provided by law.     I (we) further understand that this application shall be void unless the schedule(s) of mobile homes referred to in the application is (are) completed and delivered to the County Clerk. ........................                 Dated: .............. (Signature of Purchaser) ........................                 Dated: .............. (Signature of Bidder) SCHEDULE OF PROPERTIES Mobile home vehicle identification number (or other identification)                          Date of Bid (insert number or other identification)          (insert date)     I (we) hereby affirm that I (we) successfully bid upon the above mobile homes at the sale conducted by the County Treasurer of ..... County on the indicated dates, and I (we) request that the County Clerk of ..... County attach this schedule to my (our) application for certificate of purchase dated ......     Signed under penalty of perjury as provided by law: ........................                 Dated: .............. (Signature of Purchaser) ........................                 Dated: .............. (Signature of Bidder) (Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)

(35 ILCS 516/220)     Sec. 220. Scavenger sale; ineligible bid; liability.     (a) Any person who is ineligible under Section 205 to bid or to receive a certificate of purchase from a sale under Section 200, who nevertheless registers to bid or bids or receives or acquires ownership of a certificate of purchase from a sale, and any person who registers to bid or bids at a sale on behalf of an ineligible person, shall be personally liable, jointly and severally, in a sum equal to the full amount of delinquent or forfeited taxes, interest, penalties, and costs for which the judgment for sale under Section 200 was entered.     (b) The State's Attorney of the county in which the sale under Section 200 was conducted may bring an action in the name of the People of the State of Illinois against the person and, upon a finding of liability under this Section, the court shall enter judgment against the person in a sum equal to the full amount of delinquent or forfeited taxes, interest, penalties, and costs for which judgment for sale under Section 200 was entered, together with the costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees. The proceeds of any judgment under this Section shall be paid into the county general fund. (Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)

(35 ILCS 516/225)     Sec. 225. Tax scavenger sale fraud; definitions. For purposes of Section 230:         (1) "Ownership interest" means any title or other

interest in a mobile home, the holder of which is considered to be the owner of the mobile home for purposes of taxation under Section 3 of the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act. Mobile home park owners are not deemed to have an ownership interest as defined in this Section.

(2) "Nonownership interest" means any interest in a

mobile home other than a contingent interest and other than an ownership interest as defined in this Section, including without limitation an easement or lien.

(3) "Mobile home" has the same meaning as defined in

Section 1 of the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act.

(Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)

(35 ILCS 516/230)     Sec. 230. Offense of scavenger sale fraud. A person commits the offense of tax sale fraud who knowingly:         (a) enters a bid or authorizes or procures the entry

of a bid on any mobile home offered for sale under Section 200, when the person in whose behalf the bid is made or authorized or procured has an ownership interest or nonownership interest in the mobile home, or where that person had such an interest on January 1 of any year for which delinquent taxes were included within the judgment for sale under Section 200;

(b) acquires, or attempts to acquire, ownership of

any certificate of purchase for a mobile home sold under Section 200, when the person in whose behalf such certificate of purchase is or would be acquired has an ownership interest or nonownership interest in the mobile home, or where that person had that interest on January 1 of any year for which delinquent taxes were included within the judgment for sale under Section 200;

(c) conveys or assigns any certificate of purchase

for a mobile home sold under Section 200 to any person who has an ownership interest or nonownership interest in the mobile home, or who had that interest on January 1 of any year for which delinquent taxes were included within the judgment for sale under Section 200;

(d) makes a false statement in any application for

certificate of purchase or registration form submitted under Sections 210 and 215; or

(e) forfeits 2 or more bids at any one sale under

Section 200 by failing to pay the minimum cash bid timely or by failing to pay the balance of the bid timely as required by Section 200.

Tax sale fraud is a Class A misdemeanor. A subsequent conviction for tax sale fraud as defined in subsections (a) through (d) of this Section is a Class 4 felony. (Source: P.A. 92‑807, eff. 1‑1‑03.)