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(a) Whenever any real property is acquired by a land bank and is encumbered by a lien or claim for real property taxes owed to one or more of the land bank members or to municipal corporations, counties, or consolidated governments that have an intergovernmental contract with the land bank, the land bank may, by resolution of the board, discharge and extinguish any and all such liens or claims. The decision by the board to extinguish such liens or claims is subject to the voting requirements contained in subsection (i) of Code Section 48-4-104. Unless provided otherwise in an applicable intergovernmental contract, whenever any real property is acquired by a land bank and is encumbered by a lien or claim for real property taxes owed to a school district, the land bank shall notify the school district of its intent to extinguish all such liens and claims in writing. If the school district fails to object in written form to the proposed extinguishment within 30 days of receipt of such notice to the land bank, the land bank shall have the power, by resolution of the board, to discharge and extinguish any and all such liens or claims. To the extent necessary and appropriate, the land bank shall file in appropriate public records evidence of the extinguishment and dissolution of such liens or claims.
(b) To the extent that a land bank receives payments of any kind attributable to liens or claims for real property taxes owed to a municipal corporation, county, consolidated government, or school district on property acquired by the land bank, the land bank shall remit the full amount of the payments to the tax commissioner or tax collector for distribution to the appropriate taxing entity.
(c) (1) A tax commissioner or tax collector may assign, transfer, or sell to a land bank any ad valorem tax executions issued against a single property or ad valorem tax executions issued against multiple tracts of property in the geographical jurisdiction of the land bank in one or more transactions and upon such terms and conditions as are mutually acceptable to the tax commissioner and the land bank. Notwithstanding the notice requirements in subsection (c) of Code Section 48-3-19, when the land bank is the holder of a tax execution, the land bank shall provide notice of the transfer of the tax execution to the land bank in the following manner:
(A) Immediately upon acquisition of one or more tax executions, the land bank shall send notice of the tax execution transfer by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all interested parties whose identity and address are reasonably ascertainable. Copies of the notice of the tax execution transfer shall also be sent by first class mail to the property address to the attention of the occupants of the property, if any. In addition, notice shall be posted on the property; and
(B) Within 30 days of the tax execution transfer, the land bank shall cause a notice of the tax execution transfer to be published on two separate dates in the official organ of the county in which the property is located.
(2) The notice contained in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall specify:
(A) The name of the land bank and the contact information for the individual responsible for collecting the delinquent taxes;
(B) The property address;
(C) A description of the property;
(D) The tax identification number of the property;
(E) The applicable period of tax delinquency; and
(F) The principal amount of the delinquent taxes together with interest and penalties.
(3) The land bank may submit the execution to the levying officer 12 months after the date of transfer or 24 months after the tax giving rise to the execution was originally due, whichever is earlier.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, at a nonjudicial tax sale conducted pursuant to Article 1 of this chapter where the tax commissioner or tax collector or the land bank is the holder of the tax execution giving rise to the sale, a land bank may tender a bid in an amount equal to the total amount of all tax liens which were the basis of the execution and any accrued interest, penalties, and costs. In the event of such tender by the land bank, such bid comprises the land bank’s commitment to pay not more than all costs of the sale and its assumption of liability for all taxes, accrued interest thereon, and penalties, and, if there is no other bid, the tax commissioner or tax collector shall accept the land bank’s bid and make a deed of the property to the land bank.
(2) If there are third parties who bid on a given parcel and the land bank tenders the highest bid on that parcel, the land bank shall pay the tax commissioner or tax collector the full amount of the bid tendered by the land bank in order to obtain the parcel.
(e) (1) A land bank may tender a bid at any sale ordered by the court pursuant to Article 5 of this chapter in an amount equal to the total amount of all tax liens which were the basis of the judgment and any accrued interest, penalties, and costs. In the event of such tender by the land bank, such bid shall comprise the land bank’s commitment to pay not more than all costs of the sale and its assumption of liability for all taxes, accrued interest thereon, and penalties. If there is no other bid and the property is not redeemed by the owner in accordance with subsection (c) of Code Section 48-4-81, the tax commissioner or tax collector shall accept the land bank’s bid and make a deed of the property to the land bank.
(2) If there are third parties who bid on a given parcel and the land bank tenders the highest bid on that parcel, the land bank shall pay the tax commissioner or tax collector the full amount of the bid tendered by the land bank in order to obtain the parcel.
(3) Subject to the statutory 60 day redemption period required pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 48-4-81, the land bank, as purchaser at such sale, shall take and thereafter have an absolute title to the property sold, free and discharged of all tax and municipal claims, liens, mortgages, charges, and estates of whatsoever kind except for those interests referenced in subsection (b) of Code Section 48-4-79. In the event of purchase by a land bank, the conveying instrument described in subsection (g) of Code Section 48-4-81 shall note the conveyance to the land bank pursuant to this article.
(4) The deed to the land bank shall be executed and delivered to the land bank within 90 days of the sale pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 48-4-81.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a land bank that is a transferee and holder of tax executions may file petitions of foreclosure pursuant to Article 5 of this chapter on real property located within a jurisdiction that has authorized the ad valorem tax foreclosure process contained in Article 5 of this chapter. In a petition of foreclosure pursuant to Article 5 of this chapter, a land bank is authorized to combine in a single petition multiple tracts of real property, and the court may order in a single final judgment that all or part of the real properties identified in the petition be sold to the land bank free and clear of all liens and encumbrances so long as the petition and accompanying affidavits provide:
(A) Identification of each tract of real property;
(B) The identities of all parties having an interest in each respective tract of property;
(C) The amount of the tax lien due and owing; and
(D) The nature of the notice of the proposed sale provided to such interested parties. History. Code 1981, § 48-4-112, enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 1055, § 2/SB 284.