R850-80-610. Public Sale Auctions

Public sale auctions shall be conducted as follows:

1. Sealed bids shall be accepted until the day prior to the auction by the agency, or on the day of the auction by the officer conducting the auction.

2. A sealed bid shall contain funds in an amount equal to at least 10% of the total bid amount offered to purchase the subject property and may be required to consist of certified funds. Bids and bid deposits shall be a specified dollar amount. The agency reserves the right to reject any bid however submitted.

3. Purchasers who have defaulted on certificates of sale may be required to make larger down-payments or submit sealed bids in the form of certified funds even if such a requirement is not contained in the notice of sale.

4. The persons submitting the three highest bids shall be allowed to enter into oral bidding, which shall begin at the amount of the highest sealed bid, subject to those terms and conditions of R850-80-610(5). Those persons who submit a sealed bid that is within 20% of the third highest sealed bid shall also be allowed to participate in oral bidding, subject to those terms and conditions of R850-80-610(5).

5. In the event the minimum selling price of a property is disclosed prior to the auction, persons who bid less than the disclosed minimum selling price shall be disqualified and shall not be eligible for oral bidding, even if such bids would otherwise meet those requirements in R850-80-610(4) or (6).

6. Only current grazing permittees, materials permittees and special use lessees on the subject property who submit sealed bids shall automatically qualify to enter into oral bidding, subject to those terms and conditions of R850-80-610(5).

7. All bids, whether sealed or oral, constitute a valid offer to purchase. An attempt to withdraw a sealed bid after the first sealed bid has been read, or an attempt to withdraw or amend an oral bid may result in the forfeiture of the bid deposit and any other remedy afforded the agency at law or equity.

8. If, after the first round of oral bidding, no bid is submitted which equals or exceeds the agency's minimum selling price, then the sale shall not be made except as provided below.

(a) At the discretion of the officer conducting the sale, qualified bidders may enter into additional rounds of oral bidding, starting at the high bid reached in the previous round.

(b) To facilitate the sale of the parcel, the officer conducting the sale may divulge the minimum selling price.

9. At the conclusion of the auction, the agency shall collect from the successful bidder:

(a) a down payment in the amount required by the sale notice;

(b) interest on the unpaid balance from the date of sale to the first day of the following month; and

(c) reimbursement of costs incurred in preparing the parcel for sale, which may include costs incurred for advertising, appraisal, cultural resource investigations, environmental assessments, and a sale processing charge.

10. The first payment shall be due one year from the first day of the month following the sale; subsequent payments shall be due on the first day of the same month each year thereafter until the balance is paid in full.

11. Amounts paid in excess of the current obligations shall be applied to principal. The unpaid balance, plus interest to date, may be paid in full at any time without penalty.

12. If the successful bidder defaults on the down payment or otherwise fails to meet the requirements of R850-80-610(9), the property may, upon approval by the director, be offered for sale to the person whose bid was second highest at the auction provided that the terms of the sale shall meet or exceed the minimum acceptable selling price established for the subject property. The second highest bidder shall have 30 days from the date of the agency's offer to submit the amounts required under R850-80-610(9).

13. The interest rate which shall be charged against any unpaid balance at the conclusion of the auction shall be the prime rate, as determined by the agency on the date the public sale is approved by the director, plus 2 1/2% (Prime Rate + 2 1/2%). Interest shall be calculated on a 365-day basis. Every year thereafter, the interest rate which shall be charged against the unpaid balance shall be the prime rate, as determined by the agency on the date of billing, plus 2 1/2% (Prime Rate + 2 1/2%).

14. Third parties owning authorized improvements on the parcel at the time of the sale shall be allowed 90 days from the date of the sale to remove the improvements. This provision is not applicable when such improvements are permitted under a valid existing right of record when such right survives the sale of the parcel.