Tax Lien Sale Procedures
Select from one of the following topics:
Pre-Sale Information
Advertisement of Sale
The list of tax liens available to purchase is advertised in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks prior to the sale. The list is also available on the Treasurer's web site in a format that can be downloaded into a spreadsheet for analysis. A "condensed list" is posted on the internet site at the beginning of the tax sale. This is the advertised list minus the tax liens that have been paid after the list was published.
What you will be purchasing
You are purchasing only the tax lien on the property. This does not give you ownership or legal rights to the property in any way. All buyers are encouraged to research all relevant state statutes relating to tax liens in article 11 of title 39, Colorado Revised Statutes and elsewhere. Most people participate in the tax lien sale because the interest rates are much better than those offered for savings accounts or Certificate of Deposit. Jefferson County has never deeded a house or building of substantial value for unpaid taxes. Individuals wishing to obtain property may wish to contact the Public Trustee regarding foreclosure sales.
Registration
Click here for information regarding registration.
Rate of Return
The interest rate offered at each year's tax sale is nine points above the Federal discount rate set on September 1st per Colorado State Statue 39-12-103(3). The interest rate you receive on your certificate will remain the same for as long as you hold that certificate. The rate of return for the 2011 certificates sold in 2012 will be 10%.
The Sale
The tax lien sale auction will held on the internet be October 25-29,2012
Internet Sale Information
To be held as an on-line public auction through www.sri-onlineauctions.com.
Beginning October 25,2012 at 9:00 a.m., tax liens will be available for bid on SRI?s web site www.sri-onlineauctions.com. Bidding will close hourly in batches of approximately 200 liens per batch. The first batch will close at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Savings Time on October 29, 2012 and continues closing each hour until 5:00 p.m.
Questions regarding the operation of the auction should be addressed to SRI at 1-800-800-9588.
Parcels will be offered in four sections:
- Improved propery
- Vacant land
-
Unbuildable strips
-
Mobile Homes
The bidding sequence will be in schedule number order per the four sections mentioned above.
Bids for the Internet sale will be accepted on-line through the internet auction only after registering with both the Treasurer?s office and SRI. Bidding may be made on-line from any internet terminal through SRI?s site.
- You may bid or track more than one item at a time in the list. You may also click on the title of an item for more information and bid from there.
- You may add an item to your Members Area tracking list without placing a bid. Just check the box and you will be able to view the status of the item quickly with the rest of the items you have tracked or bid on by logging into the Members Area.
- Bids will be accepted in the amount of the minimum with the first bid.
- i.e. A minimum of $968 will be accepted in that amount. The next bid will be increased to the next even amount that is less than the required increment. All subsequent bids will be increased in the amount of the increment.
- PROXY BIDDING - You may enter the largest amount you are willing to pay for an item in the bid box. The amount entered must be in an amount that will equal the minimum plus the increment rounded to the nearest total by using the established increment. The auction system will place the lowest bid necessary for you now, and then will bid on your behalf if someone else bids against you, up to the amount of the bid you placed.
A bidder may increase the amount of the proxy bid any time before the bid is accepted as the final bid. Once a bidder has placed a bid amount, it can not be lowered or cancelled.
All successful bids are final. No changes in, or cancellation of a purchased lien will be made after a bid has been made on a lien or the item has closed.
Bids will be recognized up to the time of closing and the system will display "bidding is closing" and the highest bid received at that time will be the winning bid.
Bidding will be closed in groups of approximately 200 liens per hour for 10 hours on October 29th starting at 8:00 a.m. for the first group. The closing will continue until 5:00 p.m. with a batch closing every hour. Items in each group will be identified with a closing time.
Access to a computer for bidding will be available in the Jefferson County Treasurers office starting on October 25th between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Liens not sold at the sale
Any tax liens not sold at the sale are struck to the county and are, in most cases, available to buy through the Treasurer's Office. To find out more please visit the County Held Certificates web page.
General Information
The asset you are purchasing is the tax lien,
not the property.
Every parcel will be offered in compliance with Chapter 39, Article 11, of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Each parcel will be subject to online bidding and will be sold to the person who pays the highest amount, in excess of said taxes, penalty, interest, and costs.
No individual updated publications will be available. However, you may use the Treasurer's automated phone (303-271-8322) to see if an individual schedule number has been paid.
The auctioning will provide all bidders with an opportunity to compete for each parcel. The County Treasurer may change the method of sale at his discretion prior to commencement of the sale.
Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware):
- It is the bidders' responsibility to know what they are bidding on.
- The tax schedule number and total tax lien dollar amount of each parcel will be displayed. All successful bids are final. No changes in, or cancellation of a purchased parcel will be made after a bid has been made on a parcel or the item has closed.
- The certificate to be issued on a successful bid will be in the statutory form, showing the lawful rate of interest for the life of the certificate, the legal description, purchase amount, and the buyer's name (as entered on the registration form), and the date of the sale.
- Certificates will not be issued in a name other than the name or names on the registration form. All certificates may be endorsed (see Endorsement of Tax Liens below) each year until redeemed, and certificates must be returned to the Treasurer's Office for this purpose.
- Interest begins in October at the rate set after September 1st per annum. All county redemption's are made per CRS 39-12-111(2) (a) (b) but will be no lower than 8% per annum.
Post-Sale Information
Record of Purchase
All tax lien certificates will be kept in safekeeping at our office. With the certificates held at Treasurers office, you will receive your payment faster when the lien is paid. It also allows for endorsing without having to find your certificates and mailing them in to the office. A list of the certificates you purchased will be emailed to you after the sale is completed.
Endorsement of Tax Liens
If the taxes for the following year become delinquent, you will be given the opportunity to pay the taxes and add them onto the certificate(s) you hold. this process is called endorsing. This enables you to pay the delinquent taxes and add them to your existing tax lien certificate of purchase without participating in the tax lien sale. You will receive the same interest rate on the subsequent taxes as you did on the original tax sale purchase. Endorsements are processed in August. If your certificates are eligible for endorsement you will be notified by mail in August.
Redemption
When the owner pays their back taxes and redeems the tax lien, the Treasurers office will process the redemption and send your payment to you. You will receive a check, which will include the amount of tax you purchased plus the interest that has accrued from the day of sale to the date of redemption. You are not refunded for any premium amount.
The redemption period is three years from the year of the original tax sale. Certificates sold in 2012 are eligible for application of a treasurer's deed in 2015.
Last Modified:
Sep 5, 2012 02:37 PM
