§ 1196 — Determination of existence and amount of surplus

§ 1196. Determination of existence and amount of surplus. 1. (a)\nWithin forty-five days after the sale of tax-foreclosed property, the\nenforcing officer shall determine whether a surplus is attributable to\nsuch sale and if so, the amount thereof. Subject to the provisions of\nsubdivision two of this section, such determination shall be made by\nascertaining the sum of the total amount of taxes due plus interest,\npenalties and other charges as defined by section eleven hundred two of\nthis article, and subtracting such sum from whichever of the following\nis applicable:\n (i) where the sale was a public sale, the amount to be so subtracted\nshall be the amount paid for the property;\n (ii) where the sale was not a public sale, the amount to be so\nsubtracted shall be either (A) the full value of the property as shown\non the most recent tax roll, (B) if available, an appraisal prepared by\na licensed New York state appraiser that establishes the full value of\nthe property as of the date of the transfer of title, or (C) the full\nvalue of the property as of the date of the transfer of title as\ndetermined by such other valuation method as the enforcing officer\nreasonably determines will result in just compensation to the former\nowner and other parties whose interests were extinguished by the\nforeclosure.\n (b) For purposes of this subdivision, where the enforcing officer has\nbeen notified that the tax district intends to retain tax-foreclosed\nproperty for a public use, the property shall be deemed to have been\nsold on the date that the enforcing officer was so notified, and the\nenforcing officer shall determine the existence and amount of a surplus\nrelative to such property in the manner provided by subparagraph (ii) of\nparagraph (a) of this subdivision.\n 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,\nwhen a tax district has sold or conveyed tax-foreclosed property to a\nland bank, a housing development agency or another public entity, and\nsuch sale or conveyance was not the result of a public sale, or when a\ntax district has determined to retain tax-foreclosed property for a\npublic use, no surplus shall be payable if all of the following\nconditions are satisfied:\n (a) prior to such sale, conveyance or determination, the property had\nbeen offered for sale at two separate public auctions conducted at least\nthree months apart from one another,\n (b) both auctions had been conducted in full compliance with the\nprovisions of section two hundred thirty-one of the real property\nactions and proceedings law,\n (c) the minimum acceptable bid at each auction had been set at an\namount no greater than the sum of the taxes due plus interest, penalties\nand other charges, and\n (d) no qualifying bids were received for the property at either\nauction.\n 3. (a) If the enforcing officer determines that no surplus is\nattributable to the sale, such enforcing officer shall submit a report\nto the court describing the circumstances of the sale, stating that no\nsurplus was attributable to the sale and demonstrating how the enforcing\nofficer reached that conclusion.\n (b) If the enforcing officer determines that a surplus is attributable\nto the sale, such enforcing officer shall submit a report to the court\ndescribing the circumstances of the sale, stating that a surplus was\nattributable to the sale, and demonstrating how the amount of the\nsurplus was determined. Such surplus shall be paid to the court\ntherewith. Within ten days of submitting such report, the enforcing\nofficer shall notify the former property owner that a surplus was\nattributable to the sale of such property, that such surplus has been\npaid into court, and that the court will notify the interested parties\nof the procedure to be followed in order to make a claim for a share of\nthe surplus.\n (c) Where the enforcing officer's determination of surplus is based\nupon such enforcing officer's estimate of the property's value, the\nenforcing officer's report to the court shall set forth an explanation\nof how this estimate was made, including the evidence upon which it was\nbased.\n 4. Upon approval by the court of the enforcing officer's report, the\ntax district shall have no further responsibilities in relation to the\nparcel or any surplus attributable thereto, except to the extent the\ncourt directs otherwise pursuant to section eleven hundred ninety-seven\nof this title.\n