(A) Upon receipt of an ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to section 5722.02 of the Revised Code, the county auditor shall deliver to the electing subdivision a list of all delinquent lands within an electing subdivision's boundaries that have been forfeited to the state pursuant to section 5723.01 of the Revised Code and thereafter shall notify the electing subdivision of any additions to or deletions from such list.

The electing subdivision shall select from such lists the forfeited lands that constitute nonproductive lands that the subdivision wishes to acquire, and shall notify the county auditor of its selection prior to the advertisement and sale of such lands. Notwithstanding the sales price provisions of division (A)(1) of section 5723.06 of the Revised Code, the selected nonproductive lands shall be advertised for sale and be sold to the highest bidder for an amount at least sufficient to pay the amount determined under division (A)(2) of section 5721.16 of the Revised Code. All nonproductive lands forfeited to the state and selected by an electing subdivision, when advertised for sale pursuant to the relevant procedures set forth in Chapter 5723. of the Revised Code, shall be advertised separately from the advertisement applicable to other forfeited lands. The advertisement relating to the selected nonproductive lands also shall include a statement that the lands have been selected by the electing subdivision as nonproductive lands that it wishes to acquire and that, if at the forfeiture sale no bid for the sum of the taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, interest, and costs due on the parcel as determined under division (A)(1)(a) of section 5723.06 of the Revised Code is received, the lands shall be sold to the electing subdivision.

(B) If any nonproductive land that has been forfeited to the state and selected by an electing subdivision is advertised and offered for sale by the auditor pursuant to Chapter 5723. of the Revised Code, but no minimum bid is received, the electing subdivision shall be deemed to have submitted the winning bid, and the land is deemed sold to the electing subdivision for no consideration other than the fee charged under division (C) of this section. If both a county and a township in that county have adopted a resolution pursuant to section 5722.02 of the Revised Code and both subdivisions select the same parcel or parcels of land, the electing subdivision deemed to have submitted the winning bid under this division shall be determined pursuant to division (D) of section 5722.03 of the Revised Code.

The auditor shall announce the bid at the sale and shall declare the selected nonproductive land to be sold to the electing subdivision. The auditor shall deliver to the electing subdivision a certificate of sale.

(C) On the returning of the certificate of sale to the auditor, the auditor shall execute and file for recording a deed conveying title to the selected nonproductive land and, once the deed has been recorded, deliver it to the electing subdivision. Thereupon, all previous title is extinguished, and the title in the electing subdivision is incontestable and free and clear from all liens and encumbrances, except taxes and special assessments that are not due at the time of the sale and any easements and covenants of record running with the land and created prior to the time at which the taxes or assessments, for the nonpayment of which the nonproductive land was forfeited, became due and payable.

When title to a parcel of land upon which a lien has been placed under section 715.261, 743.04, or 6119.06 of the Revised Code is transferred to a county land reutilization corporation under this section, the lien on the parcel shall be extinguished if the lien is for costs or charges that were incurred before the date of the transfer to the corporation and if the corporation did not incur the costs or charges, regardless of whether the lien was attached or the costs or charges were certified before the date of transfer. In such a case, the corporation and its successors in title shall take title to the property free and clear of any such lien and shall be immune from liability in any action to collect such costs or charges.

If a county land reutilization corporation takes title to property before any costs or charges have been certified or any lien has been placed with respect to the property under section 715.261, 743.04, or 6119.06 of the Revised Code, the corporation shall be deemed a bona fide purchaser for value without knowledge of such costs or lien, regardless of whether the corporation had actual or constructive knowledge of the costs or lien, and any such lien shall be void and unenforceable against the corporation and its successors in title.

At the time of the sale, the auditor shall collect and the electing subdivision shall pay the fee required by law for transferring and recording of deeds.

Upon delivery of a deed conveying any nonproductive land to an electing subdivision, the county auditor shall charge all costs incurred in any proceeding instituted under section 5721.14 or 5721.18 of the Revised Code or incurred as a result of the forfeiture and sale of the nonproductive land to the taxing districts, including the electing subdivision, in direct proportion to their interest in the taxes, assessments, charges, interest, and penalties on the nonproductive land due and payable at the time the land was sold at the forfeiture sale. The interest of each taxing district in the taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest on the nonproductive land shall bear the same proportion to the amount of those taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest that the amount of taxes levied by each district against the nonproductive land in the preceding tax year bears to the taxes levied by all such districts against the nonproductive land in the preceding tax year. If the electing subdivision is a county land reutilization corporation and the nonproductive land is sold or transferred to the corporation, the corporation shall be deemed to have the proportionate interest of the county designating or organizing such corporation in the taxes, assessments, charges, penalties, and interest on the nonproductive land in the county. In making a semiannual apportionment of funds, the auditor shall retain at the next apportionment the amount charged to each such taxing district, except that in the case of nonproductive land conveyed to a county land reutilization corporation the auditor shall invoice the corporation the amount charged to it.

(D) If no political subdivision has requested to purchase a parcel of land at a foreclosure sale, any lands otherwise forfeited to the state for want of a bid at the foreclosure sale may, upon the request of a county land reutilization corporation, be transferred directly to the corporation without appraisal or public bidding.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §1, eff. 9/8/2016.

Amended by â.o">130th General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 172, §1, eff. 9/4/2014.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Effective Date: 03-31-2003; 2008 SB353 04-07-2009

Related Legislative Provision: See 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §5.