Upon the county collector's application under Section 90, to be known as the Scavenger Sale Application, the Court shall enter judgment for the taxes, interest, penalties, and costs as are included in the advertisement and appear to be due thereon after allowing an opportunity to object and a hearing upon the objections as provided in Section 115, and order those mobile homes sold by the county collector at public sale to the highest bidder for cash, notwithstanding the bid may be less than the full amount of taxes, interest, penalties, and costs for which judgment has been entered.
(a) Conducting the sale; bidding. All mobile homes shall be offered for sale in consecutive order as they appear in the delinquent list. The minimum bid for any mobile home shall be $250 or one-half of the tax if the total liability is less than $500. The successful bidder shall immediately pay the amount of minimum bid to the County Collector in cash, by certified or cashier's check, by money order, or, if the successful bidder is a governmental unit, by a check issued by that governmental unit. If the bid exceeds the minimum bid, the successful bidder shall pay the balance of the bid to the county collector in cash, by certified or cashier's check, by money order, or, if the successful bidder is a governmental unit, by a check issued by that governmental unit by the close of the next business day. If the minimum bid is not paid at the time of sale or if the balance is not paid by the close of the next business day, then the sale is void and the minimum bid, if paid, is forfeited to the county general fund. In that event, the mobile home shall be reoffered for sale within 30 days of the last offering of mobile homes in regular order. The collector shall make available to the public a list of all mobile homes to be included in any reoffering due to the voiding of the original sale. The collector is not required to serve or publish any other notice of the reoffering of those mobile homes. In the event that any of the mobile homes are not sold upon reoffering, or are sold for less than the amount of the original voided sale, the original bidder who failed to pay the bid amount shall remain liable for the unpaid balance of the bid in an action under Section 175. Liability shall not be reduced where the bidder upon reoffering also fails to pay the bid amount, and in that event both bidders shall remain liable for the unpaid balance of their respective bids. A sale of mobile homes under this Section shall not be final until confirmed by the court. (b) Confirmation of sales. The county collector shall file his or her report of sale in the court within 30 days after the date of sale of each mobile home. No notice of the county collector's application to confirm the sales shall be required except as prescribed by rule of the court. Upon confirmation, except in cases where the sale becomes void under Section 430, or in cases where the order of confirmation is vacated by the court, a sale under this Section shall extinguish the in rem lien of the taxes, for which judgment has been entered and a redemption shall not revive the lien. Confirmation of the sale shall in no event affect the owner's personal liability to pay the taxes, interest, and penalties as provided in this Act or prevent institution of a proceeding under Section 355 to collect any amount that may remain due after the sale. (c) Issuance of tax sale certificates. Upon confirmation of the sale, the county clerk and the county collector shall issue to the purchaser a certificate of purchase in the form prescribed by Section 185 as near as may be. A certificate of purchase shall not be issued to any person who is ineligible to bid at the sale or to receive a certificate of purchase under Section 205. (d) Scavenger Tax Judgment, Sale and Redemption Record; sale of parcels not sold. The county collector shall prepare a Scavenger Tax Judgment, Sale and Redemption Record. The county clerk shall write or stamp on the scavenger tax judgment, sale, forfeiture and redemption record opposite the description of any mobile home offered for sale and not sold, or not confirmed for any reason, the words "offered but not sold". The mobile homes that are offered for sale under this Section and not sold or not confirmed shall be offered for sale annually thereafter in the manner provided in this Section until sold. At any time between annual sales the county collector may advertise for sale any mobile homes subject to sale under judgments for sale previously entered under this Section and not executed for any reason. The advertisement and sale shall be regulated by the provisions of this Act as far as applicable. (e) Proceeding to tax certificate of title. The owner of the certificate of purchase shall give notice as required by Sections 365 through 390, and may extend the period of redemption as provided by Section 330. At any time within 5 months prior to expiration of the period of redemption from a sale under this Act, the owner of a certificate of purchase may file a petition and may obtain a tax certificate of title under Sections 390 through 410. All proceedings for the issuance of a tax certificate of title and all tax certificates of title for mobile homes sold under this Section shall be subject to Sections 390 through 410. This Section shall be liberally construed so that the certificates of title provided for in this Section convey merchantable title. (f) Redemptions from scavenger sales. Redemptions may be made from sales under this Section in the same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as redemptions from sales made under the county collector's annual application for judgment and order of sale, except that in lieu of penalty the person redeeming shall pay interest on that part of the amount for which the mobile home was sold equal to or less than the full amount of delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs, included in the judgment and order of sale as follows: (1) If redeemed within the first 2 months from the date of the sale, 3% per month upon the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due for each of the first 2 months, or fraction thereof. (2) If redeemed at any time between 2 and 6 months from the date of the sale, 12% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due. (3) If redeemed at any time between 6 and 12 months from the date of the sale, 24% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due. (4) If redeemed at any time between 12 and 18 months from the date of the sale, 36% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due. (5) If redeemed at any time between 18 and 24 months from the date of the sale, 48% of the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due. (6) If redeemed after 24 months from the date of sale, the 48% provided for the 24 months together with interest at 6% per annum thereafter on the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due. The person redeeming shall not be required to pay any interest on any part of the amount for which the mobile home was sold that exceeds the full amount of delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs included in the judgment and order of sale.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the amount required to be paid for redemption shall also include an amount equal to all delinquent taxes on the mobile home which taxes were delinquent at the time of sale. The delinquent taxes shall be apportioned by the county collector among the taxing districts in which the mobile home is situated in accordance with law. In the event that all moneys received from any sale held under this Section exceed an amount equal to all delinquent taxes on the mobile home sold, which taxes were delinquent at the time of sale, together with all publication and other costs associated with the sale, then, upon redemption, the county collector and the county clerk shall apply the excess amount to the cost of redemption.
(g) Bidding by county or other taxing districts. Any taxing district may bid at a scavenger sale. The county board of the county in which mobile homes offered for sale under this Section are located may bid as trustee for all taxing districts having an interest in the taxes for the nonpayment of which the mobile homes are offered. The county shall apply on the bid the unpaid taxes due upon the mobile home and no cash need be paid. The county or other taxing district acquiring a tax sale certificate shall take all steps necessary to acquire certificate of title to the mobile home and may manage and operate the mobile home so acquired. When a county, or other taxing district within the county, is a petitioner for a tax certificate of title, no filing fee shall be required on the petition. The county as a tax creditor and as trustee for other tax creditors, or other taxing district within the county shall not be required to allege and prove that all taxes that become due and payable after the sale to the county have been paid. The county shall not be required to pay the subsequently accruing taxes at any time. Upon the written request of the county board or its designee, the county collector shall not offer the mobile home for sale at any tax sale subsequent to the sale of the mobile home to the county under this Section. The lien of taxes that become due and payable after a sale to a county shall merge in the certificate title of the county, or other taxing district, on the issuance of a certificate of title. The County may sell the mobile homes so acquired, or the certificate of purchase thereto, and the proceeds of the sale shall be distributed to the taxing districts in proportion to their respective interests therein. The presiding officer of the county board, with the advice and consent of the county board, may appoint some officer or person to attend scavenger sales and bid on its behalf.
(h) Miscellaneous provisions. In the event that a mobile home sold at any such sale is not redeemed within the time permitted by law and a tax certificate of title is issued, all moneys that may be received from the sale of mobile homes in excess of the delinquent taxes, together with all publication and other costs associated with the sale, shall, upon petition of any interested party to the court that issued the tax certificate of title, be distributed by the county collector pursuant to order of the court among the persons having legal or equitable interests in the mobile home according to the fair value of their interests in the mobile home. Appeals may be taken from the orders and judgments entered under this Section as in other civil cases. The remedy herein provided is in addition to other remedies for the collection of delinquent taxes. P.A. 92-807, eff. 1-1-03.