Delinquent Land Tax Sale

Overview

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Delinquent Tax Sales held August 2023

Jackson County held delinquent tax sales in August of 2023. The sale at the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence began Monday, August 14, 2023.  The sale at the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City began Monday, August 21, 2023.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please call 816-881-3232 or email collections@jacksongov.org.

 

Who is in the Tax Sale?

If a real estate parcel has a delinquent tax that is three years old, that property faces a foreclosure sale to recover back taxes. Jackson County may file a lawsuit seeking a judgment of foreclosure for unpaid delinquent taxes. If the Court agrees with the County’s action, the Court will issue a judgment granting the foreclosure order. The property owner has several opportunities to redeem their property before it is sold in a tax sale.

First, the property owner could pay the taxes, penalties and associated suit cost in full anytime prior to the sale to remove the property from the tax sale process. This payment must be made in person by cash or certified funds. 

In the alternative, the owner of a property pending sale for delinquent taxes may enter into a payment contract to avoid the sale of their property. These contracts may be entered only after the judgment of foreclosure, and will normally require an upfront non-refundable payment and non-refundable installment payments thereafter. If this property owner chooses not to enter into a contract, or did enter into a contract and later defaulted on those installment payments, the property will proceed in the sale process.

Notice of Tax Sale

Notices of the intent to sell properties on the courthouse steps are mailed to the last property owners on record with Jackson County and other interested parties such as escrow companies with deeds of trust. A notice of the sale and a legal description of the properties to be offered are published in a local newspaper for four consecutive weeks prior to sale. A scheduled sale parcel will appear in the paper for four weeks even though a property owner may have paid the delinquent tax after the first week of publication.

Conducting the Delinquent Tax Sales

The Jackson County Circuit Court Administrator generally conducts two delinquent tax sales each year, one at each of the Courthouses. These sales will be in an auction format and all prospective bidders must pre-register at least 10 days before the scheduled auction. In order to become a bidder, the registration form must be submitted 10 days prior to the sale to:

Department of Civil Process
1305 Locust, 2nd floor
Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone: 816-881-3696
DLTEmail@courts.mo.gov

All properties are sold by calling their legal description and are sold as is and all sales are final. The Bidder is responsible for ensuring that they are bidding on the correct property and have done their due diligence, as they are responsible for any potential environmental contamination, and any taxes and assessments that are not included in the judgment.

Recording the Deed

If the court finds everything in order at the confirmation hearing, the Court Administrator will record the deed at a later date. However, in the event the Court is not satisfied with the sale process or the sale price of a property, the Court may delay the confirmation until any defects of sale are corrected or the bidder increases their bid in order to constitute adequate consideration for sale. In the event adequate consideration is not offered to the satisfaction of the Court or the Court concludes the defects of sale cannot be corrected, the Court may decide to invalidate the sale until a later date.

Statutory Period of Limitation

There is a statutory period of limitation after the sale and confirmation during which a legal challenge could still be raised questioning the procedures the County followed in selling the property. In the event that such a challenge is successful, the property could revert to the original owner and the Court would then order a refund of the purchase price. 

Though not required, a bidder may wish to consult with their attorney regarding the legal alternatives before purchasing a property at a tax foreclosure sale auction. Neither the courts, the County Counselor’s Office nor the Court Administrator’s Office will provide such legal guidance to a bidder or property owner.