Financial institutions do not normally transfer ownership of foreclosed property until the property has been resold. An Order of Ratification identifying a foreclosure on a property is required to be recorded in the County Clerk of the Court’s Office by a financial institution. With certain exceptions, a copy of the Order of Ratification now must be sent to the assessment office within 60 days of the date of the Order unless a deed is filed within that time. The attached receipt (Attachment 1) is required to be sent to the financial institutions for every Ratification Order received.

We also ask those attorneys or others who submit the Ratification Order to complete the top half of the receipt form in order to provide the necessary information to properly identify the property. For those Orders sent with a cover letter that contains the necessary information to identify the property, then that letter may be processed and used to complete the receipt sent out by the assessment office.

The property ownership is not transferred to the financial institution as a result of receiving a Ratification Order. The owner-occupancy code should be changed from an H or D account to an N. The county tax office should be notified also for any Homeowners’ Tax Credit recapture. Obtain a copy of the receipt and identify receipt in AAVS (key remarks or scan receipt). Again, the attached receipt should be used for all Ratification Orders sent to the assessment office.

The copy of the Ratification Order should be used to cancel any existing Homestead Credit granted on the subject property beginning with the July 1, 2012 tax year. If an assessment office later discovers that a Ratification Order was not submitted to the Department within a required time period and the property received the benefit of a Homestead Credit after the date of the Ratification Order, please notify the county tax office that the taxes offset by the Credit remain due and collectable as property taxes and that the county should issue a tax bill and commence the collection process. (Attachment 2)

Attachment 1, 2​