Sec. 6.1. (a) The county executive may do the following:

(1) By resolution, identify properties concerning which the county executive desires to offer to the public the certificates of sale acquired by the county executive under section 6 of this chapter.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), in conformity with IC 5-3-1-4, publish:

(A) notice of the date, time, and place for a public sale; and

(B) a listing of parcels on which certificates will be offered by parcel number and minimum bid amount;

once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, with the final advertisement being not less than thirty (30) days before the sale date. The expenses of the publication shall be paid out of the county general fund.

(3) Sell each certificate of sale covered by the resolution for a price that:

(A) is less than the minimum sale price prescribed by section 5 of this chapter; and

(B) includes any costs to the county directly attributable to the sale of the certificate of sale.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), notice of the list of properties prepared under subsection (a) and the date, time, and place for the public sale of the certificates of sale shall be published in accordance with IC 5-3-1. The notice must:

(1) include a description of the property by parcel number and common address;

(2) specify that the county executive will accept bids for the certificates of sale for the price referred to in subsection (a)(3);

(3) specify the minimum bid for each parcel;

(4) include a statement that a person redeeming each tract or item of real property after the sale of the certificate must pay:

(A) the amount of the minimum bid under section 5 of this chapter for which the tract or item of real property was last offered for sale;

(B) ten percent (10%) of the amount for which the certificate is sold;

(C) the attorney's fees and costs of giving notice under IC 6-1.1-25-4.5;

(D) the costs of a title search or of examining and updating the abstract of title for the tract or item of real property;

(E) all taxes and special assessments on the tract or item of real property paid by the purchaser after the sale of the certificate plus interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum on the amount of taxes and special assessments paid by the purchaser on the redeemed property; and

(F) all costs of sale, advertising costs, and other expenses of the county directly attributable to the sale of certificates of sale; and

(5) include a statement that, if the certificate is sold for an amount more than the minimum bid under section 5 of this chapter for which the tract or item of real property was last offered for sale and the property is not redeemed, the owner of record of the tract or item of real property who is divested of ownership at the time the tax deed is issued may have a right to the tax sale surplus.

(c) For properties identified under subsection (a) for which the certificates of sale are not sold when initially offered for sale under this section, the county executive may omit from the notice the descriptions of the tracts or items of real property under subsection (b)(1) and the associated minimum bids under subsection (b)(3) if:

(1) the county executive includes in the notice a statement that descriptions of those tracts or items of real property are available on the Internet web site of the county government or the county government's contractor and the information may be obtained in an alternative form from the county executive upon request; and

(2) the descriptions of those tracts or items of real property for which a certificate of sale is eligible for sale under this section are made available on the Internet web site of the county government or the county government's contractor and may be obtained from the county executive in an alternative form upon request in accordance with section 3.4 of this chapter.

As added by P.L.170-2003, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.169-2006, SEC.24; P.L.89-2007, SEC.6; P.L.73-2010, SEC.2; P.L.56-2012, SEC.6; P.L.203-2013, SEC.8; P.L.251-2015, SEC.10; P.L.187-2016, SEC.4; P.L.171-2018, SEC.6.