The Florida Senate

The lands advertised for sale to the highest bidder as a result of an application filed under s. 197.502 shall be sold at public auction by the clerk of the circuit court, or his or her deputy, of the county where the lands are located on the date, at the time, and at the location as set forth in the published notice, which shall be during the regular hours the clerk’s office is open. At the time and place, the clerk shall read the notice of sale and shall offer the lands described in the notice for sale to the highest bidder for cash at public outcry. The amount required to redeem the tax certificate, plus the amounts paid by the holder to the clerk of the circuit court in charges for costs of sale, redemption of other tax certificates on the same lands, and all other costs to the applicant for tax deed, plus interest thereon at the rate of 1.5 percent per month for the period running from the month after the date of application for the deed through the month of sale and costs incurred for the service of notice provided for in s. 197.522(2), shall be considered the bid of the certificateholder for the property. However, if the land to be sold is assessed on the latest tax roll as homestead property, the bid of the certificateholder shall be increased to include an amount equal to one-half of the assessed value of the homestead property as required by s. 197.502. If there are no higher bids, the land shall be struck off and sold to the certificateholder, who shall forthwith pay to the clerk the documentary stamp tax and recording fees due, and a tax deed shall thereupon be issued and recorded by the clerk.

If there are other bids, the certificateholder shall have the right to bid as others present may bid, and the property shall be struck off and sold to the highest bidder. The high bidder shall post with the clerk a nonrefundable cash deposit of $200 at the time of the sale, to be applied to the sale price at the time of full payment. Notice of this deposit requirement shall be posted at the auction site, and the clerk may require that bidders show their willingness and ability to post the cost deposit. If full payment of the final bid and of documentary stamp tax and recording fees is not made within 24 hours, excluding weekends and legal holidays, the clerk shall cancel all bids, readvertise the sale as provided in this section, and pay all costs of the sale from the deposit. Any remaining funds must be applied toward the opening bid. The clerk may refuse to recognize the bid of any person who has previously bid and refused, for any reason, to honor such bid.

If the sale is canceled for any reason, the clerk shall immediately readvertise the sale to be held no later than 30 days after the date the sale was canceled. Only one advertisement is necessary. No further notice is required. The amount of the statutory (opening) bid shall be increased by the cost of advertising, additional clerk’s fees as provided for in s. 28.24(21), and interest as provided for in subsection (1). The clerk shall receive full payment prior to the issuance of the tax deed.