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Real property and mobile home delinquent taxes are enforced through the annual tax lien sale.
El Paso County Treasurer's Tax Lien Sale Procedures:
**Please note dates are subject to change.**
Date, Time, Location
Deposits
Seating
Buyer Data
Buyer's Responsibility
Sale Procedures
Rules for General (Open) Bidding
Bonus Bids
Record of Purchase
Redemption Interest
Prohibited Buyers
General Information
Publication Information
Contact Information |
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Date, Time,
Location
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The sale of El Paso County's unpaid taxes and special assessment liens was held on October 30, 2007 and October 31, 2007. Our next tax lien sale will be held on October 28, 2008 and October 29, 2008. (Dates subject to change.) The sale will be conducted at the following location:
El Paso County Office Building,
27 East Vermijo Ave., 3rd Floor,
Colorado Springs, CO 80903 |
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Deposits |
All bids must be covered by cash or certified funds made payable to the El Paso County Treasurer. Electronic fund transfers (wires) will be accepted if the money is received in our office two business days before the tax sale. Early deposits are encouraged. Buyer deposits may be mailed to, or made in the Office of the County Treasurer, 27 East Vermijo Avenue, First Floor, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. Buyers must indicate in writing whether they DO or DO NOT desire to participate in the automatic rotation selling at the time their deposit is made. See "Required Forms" in the "Buyer Information" section. Buyers do not need to be present to participate in the automatic rotation selling. See "Buyer Information" for additional procedures.
Except as stated above for electronic fund transfers, deposits must be received prior to 11 a.m. on October 28, 2008 for inclusion in the automatic rotation selling which will begin promptly at 1 p.m. Once the automatic rotation selling begins no deposits will be allowed until that process is completed. During the automatic rotation selling once a buyer's deposit amount is expended, that bidder number will no longer be considered. If the amount of the lien exceeds the available balance, the bidder number will be skipped. Deposits for open bidding will again be accepted after the conclusion of the automatic rotation selling the afternoon of October 28, 2008 and at 8:30 a.m. on October 29, 2008.
Deposits must be made in the name which will appear on the tax lien certificate. Transfers of deposits or purchases from one account to another will not be permitted during or immediately following the sale.
In the open bidding categories it is the buyers' responsibility to monitor their purchases to avoid overspending. All remaining unexpended funds will be refunded as quickly as possible after the close of the sale.
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Seating |
Seating for the open bidding portion of the tax sale is limited and reserved for registered buyers. We ask that observers move to the back of the room or outer corridor. Children younger than 16 years old are discouraged from attending. Buyers only need to be registered and have made their deposit to participate in the automatic rotation selling. |
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Buyer Information |
Only one bidder card will be issued per buyer. Each buyer must be registered and have funds on deposit to participate in the sale. Each buyer participating in the open bidding categories must pick up his/her own bidder card on tax sale day. The Treasurer reserves the right to limit buyer numbers issued to any individual or agent. Each buyer is required to complete an Internal Revenue Service form W-9 with name, address, and social security number or federal tax identification number, buyer registration and automatic rotation selling authorization form. See forms below. Bidder numbers for new buyers will be assigned only after the completed forms are submitted with a deposit. Bidder cards are issued on the day of the open bidding sale. If the buyer does not desire to participate in the automatic rotation selling, written notice must be given at the time deposit is made.
Required forms:
Buyers who have purchased tax liens at prior sales do not need to register again. Any changes to existing buyer information must be provided annually. Buyers are responsible to assure that the information on their registration is correct and current. Tax lien sale certificates, refund checks, redemption checks, and 1099 interest forms are prepared from this information. Before leaving the sale all bidder cards must be returned to the Treasurers Office. |
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Disclaimer |
It is the buyers' responsibility to know the quality of the property on which they are paying the taxes and receiving a lien. Buyers must rely entirely on their own information, judgment, and inspection of the property records. |
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Sale
Procedures |
Each parcel will be offered in compliance with Title 39, Article 11, of the Colorado Revised Statutes. To facilitate the sale procedure, parcels which are contiguous or contained within one subdivision may be combined and sold as a group.
The base (minimum) amount for each tax lien is comprised of the unpaid ad valorem tax, special assessments, late payment interest, collection fees, advertising cost, and other fees.
The tax liens will be separated into categories to facilitate the sale. The sale will officially commence on October 28, 2008 and conclude on October 29, 2008.
All sales are final.
Automatic Rotation Selling
October 28, 2008 at 1 p.m.
- Category Two-will contain the liens for a single property or multiple properties where the total amount of the lien is greater than $100.00 and less than or equal to $2,000.00.
Buyers do not need to be present to participate in the automatic rotation selling. Buyers must be registered and have sufficient funds on deposit by 11 a.m. on October 28, 2008, to be considered. If buyers do not want to participate in the automatic rotation selling, they must so state in writing at the time their deposit is made. Once the sale starts, no deposits will be allowed until after the completion of the rotation selling. At 3 p.m., reports which list the liens sold to each buyer will be available. Buyers who do not pick up their reports on that day will receive the reports when they pick up their bidder cards on October 29, 2008. Any reports not picked up by October 29, 2008 at the conclusion of the sale will be mailed out.
Open Bidding
October 29, 2008 at 9 a.m.
- Category One - will contain the liens where the total amount of the lien is less than or equal to $100.00.
- Category Three - will contain the liens for a single property or multiple properties where the total lien is greater than $2,000.00.
- Category Four - will contain the liens for properties with alert information. The alert information is a good faith effort to share known information with prospective tax lien sale buyers. It is not all inclusive. The Treasurer and the County are unable to warrant the alert information or lack of alert information. The tax lien sale buyer participates at his or her own risk.
Make sure you know what you are bidding on. All sales are final.
These liens will be offered for general (open) bidding and will be sold to the buyer who pays the largest bonus (premium) bid in excess of the minimum amount.
The sale process is subject to change depending on the number of tax liens available.
For all open bidding the sequence index number and the base (minimal) amount of each parcel or unit will be read only once. All successful bids are final (assuming the buyer has sufficient monies on deposit). No changes in, or cancellation of, parcels purchased can be made after the lien is sold.
The sale will be conducted as rapidly as possible, consistent with the objectives of the sale and in fairness to all buyers. We may recess for lunch at around noon or choose to continue until the sale is concluded.
Any announcement of adjournment or reconvening will be made at the sale. |
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Rules for
General
(Open) Bidding |
Tax liens will be sold to the person who shall pay in addition to the lien amount a bonus (premium) bid. Bonus (premium) bids are not returned or recovered when a tax lien is redeemed (cured). |
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Bonus Bids |
Minimum bids and bid increase increments are as follows:
Categories 1 and 4 will not be less than $1.00 and after reaching $5.00 will be increased by increments of $5.00 to $20.00. After reaching a bonus bid of $20.00, the amount will be increased by increments of $20.00.
Category 3 will start at $20.00 and increase in increments of $20.00. |
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Record of
Purchase |
A tax lien sale certificate of purchase will be issued for each property and will be in the statutory form stating the property description, purchase amount, rate of interest, buyer name as shown on the registration, and the date of sale. Certificates are assignable; however, no assignments will be permitted until 10 business days after the sale. If delinquent taxes occur in the future, the certificate holder may endorse the amount of delinquent taxes and lawful charges onto his/her certificate until redemption. |
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Redemption
Interest |
Interest begins to accrue from the month the certificate is issued. The interest earned is calculated based on the interest rate and the number of months up to and including the month of redemption. There is no compounding. The interest rate for tax lien sale certificates of purchase in 2008 will be determined in September 2008. |
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Prohibited
Buyers |
El Paso County officials or employees or their immediate family or agents may not participate in the purchase of liens. |
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General
Information |
It must be understood that the sale and purchase of the tax or special assessment lien at a tax lien sale does not, as it might under simple sales and purchase agreements, convey the right of possession, use, improvement, or access to the property. The buyer is issued a tax lien sale certificate of purchase on which he/she is entitled to interest. The lien may be redeemed by the property owner, any person having a legal or equitable claim or by the agent of either party at any time prior to the issuance of a Treasurer's tax deed. A Treasurer's tax deed cannot be issued prior to the third anniversary of the tax lien.
The certificate holder has the right to pay (endorse) subsequent year's taxes and lawful charges once they become officially delinquent. If a certificate holder chooses to endorse, the amount will be added to the existing tax lien. Endorsement information will be mailed to all eligible certificate holders in early July.
If the lien remains unredeemed (not cured) and becomes eligible for a tax deed, the certificate holder must make application to the Treasurer in order to initiate the process. The procedural requirements normally take nine to twelve months to accomplish. An extension of the time period may occur when there are complex problems related to the property. Deed applications may be made four calendar months prior to the third anniversary date of the certificate. When application is made, monies must be deposited to pay all related deed expenses. The deed application processing costs are recoverable if the property is redeemed; however, no redemption interest is earned on deed expenses. Prior to receiving a Treasurer's tax deed, all subsequent taxes, special assessment liens, and current taxes must be paid. El Paso County makes no guarantee for the condition or marketability of any property which is acquired through a Treasurer's tax deed.
WRONGFULLY SOLD LIEN - If a lien is wrongfully sold and the County must pay the certificate holder the redemption interest, the rate will be calculated as set forth in Section 39-12-111, Colorado Revised Statutes. |
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Publication
Information |
Publication information will be announced at a later date.
The link to the list of unpaid 2007 taxes for the 2008 tax sale will be available beginning October, 2008 on our web site:
The list will be updated periodically for accounts that are paid. |
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Contact
Information |
Inquiries may be directed to:
El Paso County Treasurer
P.O. Box 2007
Colorado Springs, CO 80901-2007 Telephone (719) 520-6666
E-mail: trsweb@elpasoco.com Web Site: http://trs.elpasoco.com |