Effective 28 Aug 2018

141.540. Place of sale — form of advertisement — notice to be posted on land and sent to certain persons, procedure. — 1. In any county at a certain front door of whose courthouse sales of real estate are customarily made by the sheriff under execution, the sheriff shall advertise for sale and sell the respective parcels of real estate ordered sold by him or her pursuant to any judgment of foreclosure by any court pursuant to sections 141.210 to 141.810 and 141.980 to 141.1015 at any of such courthouses, but the sale of such parcels of real estate shall be held at the same front door as sales of real estate are customarily made by the sheriff under execution.

2. Such advertisements may include more than one parcel of real estate, and shall be in substantially the following form:

3. Such advertisement shall be published four times, once a week, upon the same day of each week during successive weeks prior to the date of such sale, in a daily newspaper of general circulation regularly published in the county, qualified according to law for the publication of public notices and advertisements.

4. In addition to the provisions herein for notice and advertisement of sale, the county collector shall enter upon the property subject to foreclosure of these tax liens and post a written informational notice in any conspicuous location thereon. This notice shall describe the property and advise that it is the subject of delinquent land tax collection proceedings before the circuit court brought pursuant to sections 141.210 to 141.810 and 141.980 to 141.1015 and that it may be sold for the payment of delinquent taxes at a sale to be held at ten* o'clock a.m., date and place, and shall also contain a file number and the address and phone number of the collector. If the collector chooses to post such notices as authorized by this subsection, such posting must be made not later than the fourteenth day prior to the date of the sale.

5. The collector shall, concurrently with the beginning of the publication of sale, cause to be prepared and sent by restricted, registered or certified mail with postage prepaid, a brief notice of the date, location, and time of sale of property in foreclosure of tax liens pursuant to sections 141.210 to 141.810 and 141.980 to 141.1015, to the persons named in the petition as being the last known persons in whose names tax bills affecting the respective parcels of real estate described in said petition were last billed or charged on the books of the collector, or the last known owner of record, if different, and to the addresses of said persons upon said records of the collector. The terms "restricted", "registered" or "certified mail" as used in this section mean mail which carries on the face thereof in a conspicuous place, where it will not be obliterated, the endorsement, "DELIVER TO ADDRESSEE ONLY", and which also requires a return receipt or a statement by the postal authorities that the addressee refused to receive and receipt for such mail. If the notice is returned to the collector by the postal authorities as undeliverable for reasons other than the refusal by the addressee to receive and receipt for the notice as shown by the return receipt, then the collector shall make a search of the records maintained by the county, including those kept by the recorder of deeds, to discern the name and address of any person who, from such records, appears as a successor to the person to whom the original notice was addressed, and to cause another notice to be mailed to such person. The collector shall prepare and file with the circuit clerk prior to confirmation hearings an affidavit reciting to the court any name, address and serial number of the tract of real estate affected of any such notices of sale that are undeliverable because of an addressee's refusal to receive and receipt for the same, or of any notice otherwise nondeliverable by mail, or in the event that any name or address does not appear on the records of the collector, then of that fact. The affidavit in addition to the recitals set forth above shall also state reason for the nondelivery of such notice.

6. The collector may, at his or her option, concurrently with the beginning of the publication of sale, cause to be prepared and sent by restricted, registered or certified mail with postage prepaid, a brief notice of the date, location, and time of sale of property in foreclosure of tax liens pursuant to sections 141.210 to 141.810, to the mortgagee or security holder, if known, of the respective parcels of real estate described in said petition, and to the addressee of such mortgagee or security holder according to the records of the collector. The terms "restricted", "registered" or "certified mail" as used in this section mean mail which carries on the face thereof in a conspicuous place, where it will not be obliterated, the endorsement, "DELIVER TO ADDRESSEE ONLY", and which also requires a return receipt or a statement by the postal authorities that the addressee refused to receive and receipt for such mail. If the notice is returned to the collector by the postal authorities as undeliverable for reasons other than the refusal by the addressee to receive and receipt for the notice as shown by the return receipt, then the collector shall make a search of the records maintained by the county, including those kept by the recorder of deeds, to discern the name and address of any security holder who, from such records, appears as a successor to the security holder to whom the original notice was addressed, and to cause another notice to be mailed to such security holder. The collector shall prepare and file with the circuit clerk prior to confirmation hearings an affidavit reciting to the court any name, address and serial number of the tract of real estate affected by any such notices of sale that are undeliverable because of an addressee's refusal to receive and receipt for the same, or of any notice otherwise nondeliverable by mail, and stating the reason for the nondelivery of such notice.

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(L. 1943 p. 1029 § 26, A.L. 1945 p. 1761, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1351, et al., A.L. 2000 H.B. 1238 merged with S.B. 894, A.L. 2012 H.B. 1659 & 1116, A.L. 2018 S.B. 975 & 1024 Revision)

*Section 141.550, subsection 2, provides time of sale to be between nine o'clock a.m. and five o'clock p.m.