(Per F.S. 197.542) 

• All property being sold will be located in Highlands County, Florida.
• All bids must be in increments of $100 or more. Bids of less than $100 or increases of less than $100 will not be considered.
• Bidding starts at the amount required to pay the outstanding taxes, interest thereon, and all costs related to the sale of the property.
• If there are no bids higher than the base bid, the land shall be sold to the certificate holder, who shall pay to the Clerk the documentary stamp taxes and recording fees due.  A tax deed shall then be issued and recorded by the Clerk.
• Immediately after the sale of each parcel, the high bidder shall post with the Clerk a NON-REFUNDABLE cash deposit $200.  This deposit will be applied to the sale price at the time of full payment.
• All successful bidders must have their payments and all fees into the Clerk's office the following business day by 4:30 PM. Payments can be made in person at the Clerk's office by cashier's check, certified check, money order, or cash if the high bid is less than $10,000. If the successful bidder fails to return with full payment by that time, then the Clerk's office shall cancel all bids, retain the $200 deposit and apply it towards the re-advertisement and resale of the property. The defaulting bidder will be banned from participating at our tax deed sale for six months. The Clerk shall refuse to recognize the bid of any person who has previously bid and refused, to honor such bid. (F.S. 197.542)
• The property shall then be re-advertised and resold no later than 30 days after the date the sale was canceled. Only one advertisement is required.  The amount of the opening bid at resale shall be increased by the cost of advertising, additional clerk’s fees as provided for in F.S. 28.24(26), and interest as provided for in subsection (1).  The opening bid on resale is reduced by the forfeited deposit less the cost to publish and clerk fees paid from that forfeited deposit.
• Tax deed sales are advertised and sold based solely on the legal description as contained on the current tax roll and the tax deed shall be issued with said legal description to the successful bidder.
• All tax deed sales will be subject to any unpaid governmental judgments or liens.
• It is the sole responsibility of the potential buyer to thoroughly research the property prior to purchasing. The Clerk's Office sells the property pursuant to Florida Statute Chapter 197 and cannot guarantee a clear or marketable title.
• In accordance with section F.S. 192.0105(3), the property owner redeems the property up until the time the high bidder remits full payment to the Clerk.
• If tax certificates exist or if delinquent taxes accrued after the filing of the tax deed application, the amount required to redeem will be included in the opening bid. Therefore, the redemption amount and opening bid are subject to change without notice. Call the Highlands County Tax Collector at 863-402-6685 to determine the redemption amount.

Further information concerning tax deed sales can be found in Chapter 197 of the Florida Statutes.

The Clerk's Office reserves the right to revise these tax deed sale rules at any time as it deems appropriate.

 

For all questions, please contact the Tax Deeds Division at (863)  402- 6586 or email clkbustd@hcclerk.org.