BIZ - Polk County's Business Accelerator

Mike Colwell of BIZ visited the firm last week.  Mike talked about his organization and its many offerings for growth businesses in Des Moines and the surrounding community.  

For more information be sure to visit their site.

If you want to see more from Mike you may also want to check out a podcast between Mike and Rush Nigut of the Brick Gentry Law Firm.

Iowa Tax Sale Certificates Expire After Three Years

In Iowa, tax sale certificates to parcels of real estate with delinquent taxes are sold by the county treasurer at the regular annual tax sale in June of each year. See Iowa Code Section 446.7. A certificate holder may not initiate procedures to foreclose on the certificate until one year and nine months after the tax sale. See Iowa Code Section 447.9. Foreclosure procedures require a certificate holder to serve 90-day redemption notices on all persons with interest in the parcel, and to commence the 90-day redemption period by filing an affidavit of service with the county treasurer. See Iowa Code Sections 447.9 and 447.12. If the parcel is not redeemed by the end of the 90-day redemption period, the certificate holder is entitled to receive a tax sale deed from the county treasurer. See Iowa Code Section 448.1.

Iowa Code Section 446.37 requires that a tax sale certificate will automatically expire if the holder does not file the affidavit of service of the 90-day redemption notice with the county treasurer before the third anniversary of the tax sale. Purchasers of tax sale certificates at the June 2005 tax sale should be aware of this important statutory requirement and allow themselves ample time to commence and complete foreclosure procedures before their certificates expire in June 2008.

Recording of 120-day Affidavit is necessary to establish Marketable Title under Iowa Tax Sale Deed

The Title Standards of the Iowa State Bar Association require that a person who has acquired title to a parcel by a tax sale deed must complete procedures under Sections 448.15 and 448.16 of the Code of Iowa before the tax deed title may be considered marketable. Section 448.15 authorizes the tax deed holder to file a 120-day affidavit with the county recorder, stating that any person with a claim adverse to the tax deed title must file the claim with the county recorder within 120 days after the filing of the affidavit. Section 448.16 states that any claims not filed within the 120-day filing period are barred thereafter.

Generally, an Iowa title-examining attorney will not render an opinion that tax deed title is marketable until after the expiration of the 120-day claim period following the recording of the 120-day affidavit. Therefore, whenever a tax sale deed is obtained, the deed holder should give strong consideration to the preparation and recording of a 120-day affidavit.