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7140-7145 Preparation of the Recorded Notice: Administrative Requirements

7140. NOTICE TO THE STATE CONTROLLER
This section was deleted on January 1, 1999.

7141. RECORDATION OF THE NOTICE
The tax collector must have the Notice of Power to Sell Tax-Defaulted Property recorded with the county recorder. After recordation, the notice is retained by the tax collector (Rev. & Tax. Code §3691.5).

7142. RECORDING FEE
The notice must be recorded by the county recorder, without charge (Rev. & Tax. Code §3691.4).

7143. TRANSMITTAL TO THE CONTROLLER
This section was deleted on January 1, 1999.

7144. ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY SUBJECT TO SALE
All property subject to the tax collector's power of sale must be assessed as though subject to taxation. If a property was previously tax-deeded to the state and is now tax-defaulted and subject to the tax collector's power to sell, it should be assessed like other real property. The secured abstract should be updated to include all fiscal years of taxes that may have been on a separate document or listing per Revenue and Taxation Code section 568.

7145. MAILED NOTICE TO LAST ASSESSEE
After the first publication of the Notice of Impending Power to Sell Tax-Defaulted Property, a notice must be sent by registered mail (Rev. & Tax. Code §3365) or certified mail (Gov. Code §53062) to the last known address of the last assessee of each parcel. (It is recommended that a return receipt be requested.) This notice must be mailed not less than 21 nor more than 35 days before July 1.

The notice may be either a copy of the publication or a printed notice meeting the requirements of Revenue and Taxation Code sections 3365 and 3366. In the latter instance, Form SCO 7-03.1, 7-03.2 or 7-03.3 is recommended.

If notice is being given on a defaulted installment plan of redemption, form SCO 7-04 is recommended. See M-5234 for the amount required to redeem a property in full after it becomes subject to the power to sell.

To ascertain the last known address, the tax collector must examine the rolls, beginning with the year of delinquency up to and including that of the last equalized roll (Rev. & Tax. Code §3365). The "last equalized roll" is defined in Revenue and Taxation Code sections 2052-2055, inclusive.

The tax collector may also use the most recent telephone books for the area in which the tax-defaulted property is located and for the area of the last known assessee (Rev. & Tax. Code §3365).

Other sources may be checked and a copy of the notice mailed to any address found.

The failure of the tax collector to make a reasonable effort to ascertain the address of the last assessee as required does not affect the validity of a subsequent sale to satisfy the lien of unpaid taxes (Rev. & Tax. Code §3365).