DuPage County Treasurer

DATE: The 2008 annual real estate tax sale will begin on Monday, November 23, 2009. It will continue until all delinquent parcels are sold.

PLACE: 421 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, in the auditorium of the JTK County Administration Building.

TIME: Registered taxbuyer check-in begins at 8:00 a.m.
The tax sale will start promptly at 9:00 a.m. each day and will run until approximately 3:30 p.m.
Using an automated tax sale system, we anticipate the sale running for 1 1/2 days.

REGISTRATION: Registration forms will be available October 1, 2009. The County Collector must receive completed registration forms at least ten (10) business days prior to the start of the tax sale. Registration forms must be received by our office no later than Thursday, November 5, 2009. Please complete the official registration form and submit it along with a deposit of $500.00. Checks should be made payable to the DU PAGE COUNTY COLLECTOR. Your $500 deposit will be applied toward your purchases. Other forms of registration will not be accepted. Your registration form will be receipted and returned to you with a three-letter buyer code. Each bidder listed on your registration form will use this three-letter code to bid. If you have codes on file with this office, please notify us when you register if you intend to use the same code(s). Existing codes preclude any changes to the Certificate Name on your registration form. If you participate, please verify with our staff on Monday, November 23, that your three-letter code represents the exact name you wish printed on your sale certificates. Please call 630-407-5900 if you have questions.

If a registered bidder cannot participate in the tax sale, our office must be notified no later than 5 business days prior to the sale, of the name of the substitute person who will participate in the registered bidder's place. Substitutions will not be allowed on the day of the tax sale. If a registered bidder/buyer does not attend the sale, the $500 deposit is forfeited.

PUBLICATION: If a parcel remains unpaid as of October 20, 2009, it will be published in local newspapers the week of November 2, 2009.

TAX SALE LIST: The tax sale list, available for purchase to registered taxbuyers, is for the sole purpose of the delinquent property tax sale. Use of this information for any other purpose is strictly prohibited. The County Treasurer reserves the right to deny sale of the list to any taxbuyer. The list will include the permanent parcel number, the assessee name, the delinquent tax amount and the state equalized value. It will be available on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. The cost of the list is $250. The tax sale list will be sent electronically to the email address the buyer has provided on their registration form. If a printed list is preferred, it will be available through our office. Arrangements to receive a printed list should be made with our office by Monday, November 16, 2009, by calling 630-407-5900. Checks to purchase the list should be made payable to the DU PAGE COUNTY TREASURER. The printouts are for the entire county and are not available by township.

BIDDING PROCEDURE: This is a LIEN ONLY SALE. The parcels are offered in numeric order by township. Taxbuyers bid on the interest rate. Bidding begins at 18% and the tax lien is awarded to the lowest bidder. This year we will have an automated tax sale and bidding will be done by using a laptop computer, which will be supplied. An explanation of how to bid at the sale using the laptop computer will be presented promptly at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the sale, therefore, it is important to arrive on time that day.

COUNTY AS TAXBUYER: Whenever a parcel is offered for sale and there are no other bidders, the County of DuPage, as Trustee for all taxing bodies, will bid 18% and become the owner of the certificate. This eliminates forfeitures. After the sale, these certificates can be purchased from the DuPage County Clerk.

DEPOSITS/PAYMENTS: Only cash or cashier’s checks made payable to the DUPAGE COUNTY COLLECTOR are accepted. Personal checks, business checks or other forms of payment will not be accepted.

Taxbuyers pay the tax amount due, interest and a per parcel fee of $104.00. The statutory fees cover:

$10.00          for Costs
                       4.00          for Sales Certificate
                                   20.00          for Tax Sale Indemnity Fund
                                      10.00          for Tax Sale Automation Fund
                                       60.00          for Sale in Error Interest Fund
$104.00          Total

An audited list by parcel number of each taxbuyer's purchases will be available at the end of the sale on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. The total amount due must be paid by 4:00 p.m. that day. Failure to pay for purchases will result in those purchases being cancelled and the taxbuyers' ineligibility for future participation. Cancellation of any buyer's purchases could extend the tax sale; therefore, please contact our office for information regarding an additional day of tax sale.

REFUNDS: All checks received will be deposited by the Collector. If the deposits exceed the purchases, the refunds will be made the Wednesday after the tax sale has been completed and balanced.

SEATING: There will be no assigned seating at the sale. Taxbuyers are welcome to sit at any available laptop station.

EVIDENCE OF PURCHASE: Several weeks after the tax sale, a Sale Certificate will be issued by the DuPage County Clerk in the name of the registered taxbuyer for each parcel purchased. This Sale Certificate represents a lien against the property. Please contact that office at 630-407-5500 with any inquiries regarding your certificates.

We look forward to your participation at our annual tax sale. Please refer to Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 35, Act 200, Article 21, or the Illinois General Assembly web page at www.ilga.gov for tax sale information. Knowledge regarding procedures and statutory requirements is the taxbuyer’s responsibility.

If you have any questions, please contact our office at 630-407-5900 or visit our website at www.dupageco.org/treasurer

Gwen Henry
DuPage County Treasurer