Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Tennessee Landowners ma purchase real property sold to pat delinquent taxes

HOME FUNDS DIRECT, A California Corporation/Delinquent Taxpayers v. William Garrett (Tenn. Ct. App. May 5, 2009).

This case involves the right to redeem property purchased at a tax sale. The trial court confirmed the petitioner’s right to redeem the property, divested title from the purchaser, and vested title in the original owners. The purchaser appeals. We affirm.

Opinion may be found at the TBA website:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2009/homefundsd_0500509.pdf

“In order to redeem property under these statutes, three requirements must be satisfied. State v. Burns, No. 01A01-9604-CH-00178, 1996 WL 668347, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 20, 1996) perm. app. denied (Tenn. Apr. 7, 1997). First, Tennessee Code Annotated section 67-5-2701 outlines who may redeem the property. The statute provides that a “‘person entitled to redeem property’ includes any person who owns a legal or equitable interest in the property sold at the tax sale and creditors of the taxpayer having a lien on the property[.]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5- 2701(a) (2006). Second, the person redeeming the property must pay “moneys to the clerk as required by § 67-5-2703 within one (1) year from the date the property was sold, as evidenced by the order of confirmation” entered by the trial court. Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2702(a) (2006) (emphasis added). Third, the amount paid to the clerk must equal the sum of the following values: (1) “the amount paid for the delinquent taxes, interest and penalties,” (2) “court costs and any court ordered charges,” and (3) “interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum computed from the date of the sale on the entire purchase price paid at the tax sale.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2703 (2006); see also Burns, 1996 WL 668347, at *6. “In the event the purchaser expended additional funds during the redemption period, Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-2704 provides a procedure for recouping these funds[.]” Id.