lienhub.com/county/hernando FAQs NEW Frequently Asked Questions Hernando County Tax Certificate Sale Basics More About the Tax Certificate Sale More About Using lienhub.com/county/hernando More About Tax Certificates About Tax Deed Applications BASICS Top What is a tax certificate? A tax certificate is a first lien against real estate (not the owner) and becomes the basis upon which a tax deed application is filed. The tax certificate sale is NOT a sale of real property, nor does a tax certificate give the certificate holder a direct means to acquire a property. According to Florida Statute 197.432 the holder of a tax certificate may not directly, through an agent or otherwise, initiate contact with the owner of property upon which they hold the certificate to encourage or demand payment for two years. It is your sole responsibility to research any tax lien certificates that you intend to buy. You can see additional property and tax information for any particular certificate by clicking on the Advertised Number. When does the tax certificate sale take place? The sale opens in mid May and closes on or before June 1. In early to mid-May each year: Items for sale are advertised (in a local newspaper and on lienhub.com/county/hernando) Bidders can begin to register for the sale (submit W-9 forms, pay deposits, get bidder numbers) Bidders can begin to submit bids On, or before, June 1: Bid submission ends Sale results are generated For exact dates, please see the [Auction Schedule]. All activity related to registration, bidding, and certificate awards takes place on lienhub.com/county/hernando. How do I register for the sale? All bidders who wish to participate in the sale must perform the following steps on lienhub.com/county/hernando: Obtain a User ID and password for the web site by clicking the "Sign Up" link on the auction site home page and completing the required form Submit an IRS W-9 Form Submit information necessary to process redemption payments by ACH Set a Budget amount (the most you are willing to spend in the sale) Pay a deposit of at least 10% of your anticipated purchases. Deposits will only be accepted via ACH. Please note that you can only submit or modify your W-9, or make a security deposit while a sale is open. You will be assigned a bidder number after you successfully submit your W-9. Can I participate as a non-US bidder? The Tax Collector will only accept bids from US persons who are qualified to complete an IRS W-9 form and provide a valid US TIN. How do I submit my bids? You can submit your bids on the Bid page individually, as a group (using a saved list), or via a file upload. You must complete all the registration steps before you are allowed to submit bids. How do I pay for certificate purchases? Payment must be made by ACH using the Pay for Certificates button on the My Account page. The button is activated once the last batch in the sale closes and any final data updates are complete. The deadline to pay is listed on the [Auction Schedule]. If you fail to pay by the deadline, you may forfeit your security deposit and certificate purchases. MORE ABOUT THE TAX CERTIFICATE SALE Top What is the auction process? Certificates are sold in the order advertised. Bidding begins at 18 percent (the maximum rate) and bids down in increments of one quarter of one percent. Each certificate is sold individually to the bidder offering the lowest interest rate. In the case of a tie at the lowest rate, the winner will be selected using a random number generator in the auction software. Items that receive no bids are "struck" to the county and become county-held certificates. Bids are accepted at 0.00% (zero), but certificates awarded at this rate WILL NOT accrue interest. Bids at 0.00% will not be treated as Proxy bids in sales using Proxy Bidding. Is there a cost to participate? Registration on the web site is free. You only need to make payment for a refundable security deposit, and to pay the balance due for any certificate purchases. What is a batch? A batch is a subgroup of the list of auction items. The list is divided into batches to make the bidding process more efficient, and enable participants to manage their bids and budgets. Do I have to bid on all the items in a batch? NO. Each tax certificate in each batch is auctioned independently of every other tax certificate. What happens to my security deposit if I dont win any certificates? The Tax Collector will issue refunds approximately two weeks after the close of the sale. The refund will be made by ACH to the account you used to submit the deposit. You will receive an email confirmation when the refund is initiated. Will the Tax Collector send me a paper certificate or list of certificates after the sale? The Tax Collector does not issue paper certificates or lists of purchases after the sale. To review and download a list of your winning bids: Log in to lienhub.com/county/hernando Enter the relevant tax certificate sale Click on the Results tab Select "All Certificates" from the Certificate Lists menu Select "All Batches" from the Batches menu Select your buyer number from the Bidder menu Select "Winning Bids" from the Results menu Check "Hide Removed Certificates" After completing these steps you will see a list of your purchases. You can download the list in Excel, or comma-separated values format (CSV), by clicking the icons on the right-hand side of the page above the list of certificates. MORE ABOUT USING lienhub.com/county/hernando Top I forgot my password for lienhub.com/county/hernando. What should I do? Click Forgot your password on the home page. Answer a few questions and the system will send you a temporary password via email. I forgot my User ID for lienhub.com/county/hernando. What should I do? Contact Grant Street Group by phone at (866) 247-4370 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST on business days. What is Proxy Bidding? In a live auction, bidders lower their bids by quarter percent increments until they are the only bidder left or until the interest goes below their acceptable minimum level, at which point they would drop out. Proxy bidding is a form of competitive sale in which bidders enter the minimum interest rate that they are willing to accept for each certificate. The auction system acts as an electronic agent, submitting bids on behalf of each bidder until their minimum bid rate is met. Using the proxy system the electronic agent keeps lowering your bid by quarter percent increments until you are either the only bidder left, (in which case you get the certificate at a quarter percent lower than the previous bid) or until you reach the floor you have set. Note: Zero percent bids will not be treated as proxy bids. They will be awarded at zero. If you are the only bidder on a given certificate and your minimum rate is greater than zero percent, the electronic agent will submit a bid of 18 percent on your behalf. In the case of a tie at the winning bid rate, the system awards the certificate to one of the tied bidders through a random selection process using a random number generator. In no case will a bidder be awarded a certificate at a rate lower than their specified minimum acceptable rate. Certificates that receive no bids after all batches are closed will be struck to the County at 18 percent. Does my budget amount limit the number of bids I can submit? No. You can submit an unlimited number of bids regardless of your budget amount. However, you will not be awarded an item if the award would cause the value of your purchases to exceed your budget amount. Is my budget amount automatically 10x my deposit amount? No. The maximum allowable budget you can set is 10x your deposit amount, but you have to enter what you want your budget to be. You can modify your budget any time before the end of the sale, as long as you have at least 10% of that amount submitted as your deposit. Where can I find sale results? You can see results by logging in to lienhub.com/county/hernando, entering the auction, and clicking on the Results tab in the upper right-hand part of the page. Clicking on the winning bid for any certificate will display a list of all submitted bids in a new window. What equipment or software do I need to be able to participate? In order to use lienhub.com/county/hernando, you need an Internet connection and modern web browser with JavaScript and Cookies enabled. Many people choose one of the following freely-available browsers: Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Internet Explorer If I have a question about how to use the web site, who do I contact? Representatives of Grant Street Group are available by email at [email protected], or by phone at (866) 247-4370, between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. EST on business days when sale activity is in progress. MORE ABOUT TAX CERTIFICATES Top How do I receive my investment income? When a certificate has been redeemed to the Hernando County Tax Collector, the certificate holder is entitled to the face value plus whatever interest the certificate has earned. Certificates are redeemed when the owner, title company or mortgage company pays the outstanding taxes, or when the holder of a certificate on the same parcel (from a different tax year) redeems it as part of a tax deed Application. Redemption proceeds are remitted weekly to certificate holders by the Tax Collector. The certificate holder is never paid directly unless it is from a Bankruptcy Trustee. If that happens, you must notify the Hernando County Tax Collector when you are paid in full and request that the certificate be canceled. Can I pay the taxes and own the property? NO. You have not purchased property. A tax certificate is an investment. This investment does not convey any property rights or ownership to the certificate holder. A certificate holder is an investor, and the purpose of purchasing certificates is to earn interest on your investment, not to acquire property. Can an interest rate be changed after the sale? The following may affect the interest rate: No interest is earned on certificates issued and then redeemed in the month of May. For all certificates, except those bid at 0% or issued and redeemed in May, the minimum interest you will get at the time of redemption will be 5%, even if the interest earned to date is less. If a certificate gets canceled or reduced, the interest earned will be 8% per year, simple interest, or the rate of interest bid at the tax certificate sale, whichever is less, on the canceled or reduced amount. Bankruptcy rulings Why would a certificate be canceled or reduced? A certificate could be canceled or reduced for various reasons such as to correct errors, omissions, or double assessments, or when ordered by a court. Are tax certificates transferable? Certificates can be transferred by completing an endorsement form and paying the applicable fees through the Tax Collectors office. When are county-held certificates available for purchase? County-held tax certificates, other than those with homestead real estate under $250.00, may be purchased after the close of the tax sale. These are sold through the Tax Collectors office. For contact information and additional details, please visit the [Tax Collectors web site]. What is the life of a tax certificate? The Statute of Limitation on a tax certificate is seven years from the date of issuance. If a tax deed has not been applied for and no other administrative or legal proceeding exists, the tax certificate is null and void. ABOUT TAX DEED APPLICATIONS Top What is the tax deed process? The holder of a tax certificate may at any time after two years have elapsed from April 1st of year of issuance of the tax certificate and before the expiration of seven years from the date of issuance, file a tax deed application with the tax collector. The certificate holder must pay the tax collector all amounts required for redemption or purchase of all other outstanding tax certificates, any omitted taxes, current and delinquent taxes, plus interest and fees. The tax collector will certify to the Clerk of the Circuit Court a list of all persons required by law to be notified prior to the sale of the property and a certification of monies involved in the application. The tax deed applicant will then be notified of the additional funds needed for advertising and other costs. After all necessary advertising and noticing, the Clerks Office will schedule a tax deed sale date. The tax deed applicant receives 18% per annum interest on the application, beginning the month after application through the month of redemption or tax deed sale date. If the property is purchased by a person other than the certificate holder, the certificate holder will be reimbursed all of the sums paid, including the above referenced 18% interest. For complete rules please see Florida Statute 197.502. Can a homestead property be sold by tax deed? Yes, but the opening bid on property assessed on the latest tax roll as homestead property shall include, in addition to the amount of money paid to the tax collector by the certificate holder at the time of application, the amount required to redeem the applicants tax certificate, and an amount equal to one-half of the assessed value of the homestead property as listed on the current years tax roll. Who conducts the tax deed sale? The Clerk of the Circuit Court. The tax deed is issued to the highest bidder. The opening bid must include all the costs paid by the tax deed applicant plus all other costs for conducting the sale. The title-holder of record has the right to redeem the property by paying the Tax Collector all previously described costs at any time before full payment for a tax deed is made to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Sally L. Daniel Hernando County Tax Collector 20 N. Main St. Room 112 Brooksville, FL 34601 Go to: Select Auction View: Welcome, Auction Schedule, FAQ