As everyone knows, there are two certainties in life and one of them is that you will have to pay taxes. What many people don't know is that when you don't pay your taxes on real estate that you own, other people can do that for you, whether you want them to or not. Those people don't do that out of the goodness of their hearts; they do so with hopes that they will be able to purchase your property for next to nothing and make a windfall profit. Most people usually don't wilfully refuse to pay property taxes. The main reason people don't pay taxes is because they don't have the money. When it comes down to either paying property taxes or paying for food, clothing, making a mortgage payment and buying other necessities of life in order to survive, most people will pay to survive. We at Three Rivers Legal Services often see people after they have failed to pay taxes and long after a problem has been created, many times after it's too late to do anything about it. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, this public service announcement is written in hopes that it may prevent a truly unfortunate and unfair result when a person loses valuable real property for a fraction of what it is worth, and gets absolutely nothing for it. If taxes are not paid, the Clerk of Court in each and every county in the state is authorized to sell a document called a 'Tax Certificate' to anyone who pays the taxes that are due on any specific piece of real property. The sale of tax certificates must be advertized and proper notice of the sale must be given. The sale occurs on the steps of the Courthouse, just like foreclosure sales. Interestingly, the sale of tax certificates is much different than the sale of property for failure to pay a mortgage. The bidding is all about the interest rate the buyer will be willing to accept as his or her rate of return on his or her investment. Florida Statute provides that the sale be conducted in an auction style with participants bidding DOWNWARD on interest rates, starting at 18%. If the property attracts enough attention, it is possible for a tax certificate to be purchased at ZERO interest, though that rarely occurs. After the Tax Certificate has been purchased, the law does not allow the person who purchases a Tax Certificate to contact the owner of the land and attempt to get payment. A person who purchases a 'Tax Certificate' usually will sit quietly waiting for the expiration of two years and then that person will apply to the clerk for a tax deed. Of course, if taxes for later years aren't paid, then Tax Certificates for those years will be available for purchase and all taxes must be paid before a tax deed will be issued. The holder of the most recent tax certificate is said to have a 'higher priority' than the holder of an older certificate, but the holder of ANY Tax Certificate will be paid before any tax deed is issued. The classified section of all newspapers will contain a section called "Legal Notices'. When a person who holds a TAX CERTIFICATE seeks to obtain a TAX DEED, a notice of the application will be put in the newspaper and such notices are labeled quite clearly as "NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED". Such notices must be published in a newspaper to notify and advise the general public and anyone who might have an interest in the land that someone is seeking to claim the legal title to real property by virtue of paying the delinquent taxes. Such interested persons may want to bid on the property in order to protect their financial interests in the property. The legal procedure must be followed before a Tax Deed will be issued. There are, on occasion, 'loopholes' or 'cracks' through which things can fall, and mistakes can be made, but as a general rule, if and when a Tax Deed is issued, it is PRESUMED to be valid and enforceable. The burden of proving that a mistake had been made that was of sufficient magnitude to justify setting aside the Tax Deed would be on the person seeking to have the Tax Deed set aside. That normally does not occur and the sale of property by the Clerk of Court and the issuance of a Tax Deed is usually FINAL. The best advice, as with all things, is to pay your taxes on time so that you don't become delinquent. However, if your taxes become delinquent and a Tax Certificate is issued, do everything you can to pay the delinquent taxes, PLUS the interest that is due the holder of the Tax Certificate, and other charges, BEFORE a Tax Deed is issued. The good news is that even if taxes have been delinquent for years, and even if there are several Tax Certificates being held by people on your property, and even if there is a date scheduled for the sale of the property on the steps of the courthouse, if you can pay the taxes due at any time PRIOR to the time that the sale occurs and the Tax Deed is actually issued, you can redeem your property. The next best advice is that if you can't come up with the money to pay the delinquent taxes, you should sell the property on your own and get what you can for your property BEFORE the property is sold by the Clerk and the Tax Certificate is issued. Otherwise, you will lose all of your right, title and interest in real property, for no compensation, or money whatsoever, in all probability, once the Tax Deed is issued. Finally, as with all matters, should you have any questions about your legal rights and responsibilities, you should consult with a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you can call the Three Rivers Legal Services program and find out if you qualify for our services. SEQ CHAPTER
The material in this article is intended only to offer general information and is not intended as legal advice. It is always best to consult an attorney about your legal rights and responsibilities regarding your particular case. | 
