Also known as: tax foreclosure sale · tax-foreclosure sales · tax foreclosure sales · tax foreclosure · tax sale
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory mechanism for selling real property to satisfy unpaid taxes. Title passes by operation of law without a deed from the former owner.
A bank executive died owing years of property taxes on a vacation condo. The city conducted a public tax-foreclosure sale and conveyed the condo to Blake by tax deed before the estate distributed the property under the will. Blake recorded the deed. The tax sale transferred superior title to Blake by operation of law.
A clothing retailer leased a shop from a landlord who had fallen behind on taxes. The city sold the building at tax foreclosure to Apex Holdings, which recorded its deed before the lease began. Apex obtained a writ of possession and ordered the tenant to vacate. The tax-foreclosure sale gave Apex paramount title that terminated the lease.
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A tax-foreclosure sale does not automatically extinguish an appurtenant covenant recorded before the tax lien arose. The purchaser at the sale takes the property subject to the running burden when the covenant satisfies the requirements for the burden to run, including that the covenant was recorded in the chain of title before the lien.
Supporting sources
A tax-foreclosure sale conducted after death but before distribution prevails over a specific devise when the tax lien attached before death. The sale transfers title by operation of law and confers clear title superior to any interest arising under the will.
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Due process requires notice reasonably calculated to apprise interested parties of the tax sale. Personal notice or notice by mail must be given to both mortgagor and mortgagee when their names and addresses are reasonably ascertainable. Mere publication is insufficient.
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…after obtaining separate appraisals. The air rights conveyed to Delbay had since been acquired by the City of New York in a tax foreclosure proceeding, however, and, with the air rights and the ground rights in separate ownership, the parties were unable to reach agreement. Accordingly, they selected arbitrators and submitted…