The Tax Certificate Sale will be conducted online as an Internet auction. The web address for the sale is www.BidMiamiDade.com. Bidders will be able to view the parcels and begin submitting bids once the advertised lists of delinquent taxes are published in the Miami Daily Business Review that is scheduled for May 1, 2008.
The Miami-Dade County Tax Certificate Sale begins on Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. EDT . Thereafter, the tax sale will begin each business day until all tax certificates have been offered for sale. Certificates will be sold individually and will be divided in batches of approximately 2,700 available for sale each hour. Batches will close each hour as scheduled on the auction platform.
Public access for computers to access the sale will be at the South Dade Government Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 10710 Southwest 211th Street, Miami, Florida. Bidders must call 305-375-1829 if they require the use of a computer.
Registration
All prospective buyers must be registered and be assigned a buyer number before they can enter any bids. Buyer numbers are assigned after a prospective buyer completes the online registration process and IRS Form W-9 at www.BidMiamiDade.com. Bidders who have been assigned a buyer number for a prior year’s sale will be assigned that same number provided all registration information including name and taxpayer identification number remain the same as in the County’s existing records; if not, a different buyer number may be assigned. Only one bidder number may be assigned to each taxpayer identification number.
Foreign Buyers must have an international taxpayer identification number (ITIN) in order to bid. IRS Form W-7 must be completed and filed with the Internal Revenue Service in order to obtain an ITIN.
Deposit Requirement
All bidders will be required to post a deposit prior to the sale that is equal to 10% of their intended purchases with a minimum deposit of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) required. Deposits must be submitted electronically via Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) through www.BidMiamiDade.com. Bidders will be limited to purchasing no more than 10 times any deposit received by the Tax Collector. Bidders will be allowed to increase their deposit at any time prior to a batch closing by submitting an additional deposit authorization. Each distinct bidder number will be required to post a separate deposit. It is suggested that prospective bidders check with their financial institutions prior to registering as not all accounts allow for the electronic transfer of funds through ACH.
Training
Training is available to all bidders in several formats prior to the sale. There is a self-demo and daily trial auctions on www.BidMiamiDade.com. A prospective bidder can send an e-mail to lienauction@grantstreet.com or call (800) 410-3445, extension 1, to schedule a guided phone demonstration. Prospective bidders needing access to computers may call the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector at (305) 375-1829 to schedule use of a computer for training and registration prior to the sale date.
Bidding Procedures
In order to facilitate the online sale process, Miami-Dade County will be grouping the tax sale into batches of approximately 2,700 certificates per batch. Each certificate in the batch will be sold individually and in sequential order as advertised. The batches will be set based on the publication of the advertised list of delinquent taxes. The batches will close as scheduled until all certificates are sold. After a batch is closed, no new or changed bids will be accepted on certificates contained within that batch. No certificates will be sold out of sequence.
Bidders will be able to begin entering their bids into the system for all certificates and all batches beginning the day that the advertised list of delinquent taxes is published in the newspaper, which is currently scheduled for May 1, 2008.
Florida law provides for a maximum interest rate of 18% and a minimum of 0% (no interest). Bids for each parcel shall be accepted in even and in fractional increments of one-quarter percentage (¼%) points only. If you wish to bid on a parcel, you must enter your minimum acceptable rate into the input cell on the web site and click the ‘Submit’ button PRIOR to the close of the batch that contains that parcel.
The tax certificate is a lien issued to the lowest bidder who will pay the delinquent tax including interest, cost of sale, advertising and tax collector’s commission of 5%. The entered bid is the minimum interest rate the bidder is willing to accept on the certificate and not necessarily the bid at which the certificate will be awarded. For example if an entered bid is 4.5% and the next lowest bid is 5%, the certificate would be awarded to the bidder with the entered bid of 4.5% but at the winning rate of 4.75%. The bid entered on any certificate can be changed, and/or submitted bids can be withdrawn at any point until the batch containing the certificate is closed. Only bids that are in “Submitted” status at the time of the batch closing will be counted. Bidders will not be able to see competing bids.
BID CAREFULLY. BIDDER CANCELLATIONS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED OR ACCEPTED. ALL SALES ARE FINAL.
Immediately following the closing of each batch, bidders will be able to review the unofficial results of the sale and see the winning bid and bidder on each certificate contained within that batch.
Award of Certificates
After the online sale is completed, the Tax Collector will review the results and balance the sale, confirming all payments have been received and removing any parcels that may have been erroneously included in the sale. Once the results have been verified by the Tax Collector, a final list of certificates will be available at the website. Each winning bidder will receive an email when the list is available, and will be able to log back into the web site, review and print a copy of their purchased certificates. Upon conclusion of the Tax Certificate Sale, the Tax Collector will provide each bidder an Official List Of Certificates awarded to them. The Official List will be signed by the Tax Collector and mailed to the bidders.
Bidders will be required to authorize payment in full electronically via ACH within forty-eight (48) hours after notification of the final results is sent. Failure to make payment as required by the Tax Collector will result in the canceling of certificates issued to the non-paying bidder and the offering of those certificates for sale at a subsequent re-auction sale.
Returned or Canceled Payments
Be advised that as the bidder you are solely responsible for the information entered into the website regarding bidder name, address, taxpayer identification number or account information. This information is not handled or changed by the Tax Collector during the time that the auction platform is open for payments or bids. Electronic or ACH payments are conditional payments until honored by the maker’s financial institution and must be available for immediate withdrawal. Miami-Dade County Administrative Order 4-86 and Section 68.065, Florida Statutes provides that payment shall be canceled and subject to a fee of five percent (5%) the amount of the returned or canceled payment. Returned or canceled payments may result in the revocation of bidding privileges during the sale and/or a cancellation of any certificates awarded.
Supplemental Sale
If necessary prior to closing the 2008 Tax Certificate Sale, all County held certificates available after the 2008 Tax Certificate Sale batches close will be offered for purchase either in-person directly from the tax collector or in one supplemental batch through the Tax Collector’s auction website at www.BidMiamiDade.com. Sale items will include those items advertised for the 2008 sale that were removed as paid and then subsequently had the payment canceled. If sold online the list of available certificates will be posted one week prior to the sale on the auction website. All certificates will be offered in one batch at an interest rate of 18%; if more than one purchaser wishes to buy a particular county-held certificate, the auction software will randomly assign the certificate when the batch closes at 10:00 a.m. EDT . Payment for certificates shall be via ACH (Automated Clearinghouse) and payment in full shall be due by 5:00 p.m. EDT the day of the sale. If sold in-person directly from the tax collector those items will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis starting on July 1, 2008 with payment due upon purchase.
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