448.15 Affidavit by tax-title holder.

1. After taking possession of the parcel, after the issuance and recording of a tax deed or an instrument purporting to be a tax deed issued by a county treasurer of this state, the then owner or holder of the title or purported title may file with the county recorder of the county in which the parcel is located an affidavit substantially in the following form:

State of Iowa, )

........................ County. ) ss.

I, ...................................., being first duly sworn, on oath depose and say that on ........................ (date) the county treasurer issued a tax deed to ............................ (grantee) for the following described parcel: ....................................................

that the tax deed was filed for record in the office of the county recorder of ........................ county, Iowa, on ........................ (date), and appears in the records of that office in ........................ county as document reference number ................; and that ................ claims title to an undivided ................ percent interest in the parcel by virtue of the tax deed, or purported tax title.

Any person claiming any right, title, or interest in or to the parcel adverse to the title or purported title by virtue of the tax deed referred to shall file a claim with the recorder of the county where the parcel is located, within one hundred twenty days after the filing of this affidavit, the claim to set forth the nature of the interest, also the time and manner in which the interest claimed was acquired. A person who files such a claim shall commence an action to enforce the claim within sixty days after the filing of the claim. If a claimant fails to file a claim within one hundred twenty days after the filing of this affidavit, or files a claim but fails to commence an action to enforce the claim within sixty days after the filing of the claim, the claim thereafter shall be forfeited and canceled without any further notice or action, and the claimant thereafter shall be forever barred and estopped from having or claiming any right, title, or interest in the parcel adverse to the tax title or purported tax title.

................................................................................

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ................ day of ........................ (month), ............ (year).

....................................................

Notary Public in and for

........................ County, Iowa.

2. An owner or holder of a title or purported title who has entered into a lease agreement conveying possessory rights in the parcel to a tenant in possession shall be deemed to be in possession for purposes of filing an affidavit under this section.

3. For purposes of this section, if a tax deed or instrument purporting to be a tax deed has been issued to convey an undivided interest in the parcel of less than one hundred percent, the owner or holder of the tax title or purported tax title shall be deemed to be in possession and entitled to file the affidavit in subsection 1. However, before filing the affidavit, the owner or holder of the tax title or purported tax title shall serve a copy of the affidavit on any other person in possession of the parcel by sending a copy of the affidavit by both regular and certified mail to the person at the address of the parcel or at the person’s last known address if different from the address of the parcel. Such service is deemed completed when the affidavit mailed by certified mail is postmarked for delivery. An affidavit of service shall be attached to, and filed with, the affidavit in subsection 1. The affidavit of service shall include the names and addresses of all persons served and the time of mailing.

[C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §448.15]

91 Acts, ch 191, §113; 95 Acts, ch 57, §23; 2000 Acts, ch 1058, §56; 2005 Acts, ch 34, §23, 26; 2007 Acts, ch 101, §1

Referred to in §447.7, 447.8, 448.3, 448.6, 448.16, 448.17