This section defines key terms used in the article, including who counts as an adjoining owner, interested party, tax certificate holder, owner occupied property, taxes, tax payoff, municipal code lien, municipal code lien payoff, minimum bid price, and redemption amount.
As used in this article, the following words and phrases have the following meanings: (1) ADJOINING OWNERS. Property owners of owner-occupied property that share a common property line or boundary with the property. (2) INTERESTED PARTY. a. Includes the following parties: 1. The person who last appears as owner of the real property in the county office of the judge of probate’s property records. 2. The current mortgagee of record of the property or assignee of record of the mortgagee. 3. The current holder of a beneficial interest in a deed of trust recorded against the real property. 4. A tax certificate holder. 5. A tax sale purchaser that holds a deed of purchase in accordance with Section 40-10-29. 6. Any party having an interest in the real property, or in any part thereof, legal or equitable, in severalty or as a tenant in common, whose identity and addresses are reasonably ascertainable from the records of the Class 2 municipality or from records maintained in the county office of the judge of probate or as revealed by a full title search, consisting of 50 years or more. 7. Adjoining owners. b. The term does not include: (i) the holder of the benefit of an easement that burdens the real property; (ii) the holder of the benefit or burden of a real covenant that burdens the real property; or (iii) the holder of the benefit of a utility easement that burdens the real property, unless the holders are adjoining owners. (3) MINIMUM BID PRICE. The price that equals the redemption amount. (4) MUNICIPAL CODE LIEN. Any lien levied against real property by a Class 2 municipality resulting from the nonpayment of any fine, penalty, abatement cost, or enforcement cost incurred by the Class 2 municipality in enforcing state or local housing and building codes. The term includes only those liens that arise from a failure to comply with a Class 2 municipality’s ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant to the authority granted in Article 2 of Chapter 40 or a failure to comply with Sections 11-47-117, 11-47-118, 11-47-130, 11-47-131, 11-47-140, Chapter 53, Chapter 53B, or Article 1 of Chapter 67. (5) MUNICIPAL CODE LIEN PAYOFF. The principal amount of a municipal code lien, interest accrued at the rate of seven and one-half percent per annum from the date the municipal code lien was filed in the office of the judge of probate, any fees or costs incurred in the collection of such a lien under this article including, without limitations, the cost of title examinations and the publication of notices, and any other penalties allowable under either state law or an ordinance or resolution enacted by the Class 2 municipality. (6) OWNER OCCUPIED. Real property that is lawfully occupied as a principal residence and is either: (i) exempt from ad valorem taxation under Sections 40-9-19, 40-9-19.1, 40-9-20, and 40-9-21; or (ii) lawfully occupied by the family of a deceased individual who is eligible for an exemption under these sections but has not yet been granted the exemption. (7) REDEMPTION AMOUNT. The sum of: (i) the full amount of the municipal code lien payoff for each municipal code lien on which the Class 2 municipality is seeking to foreclose under this article; and (ii) any tax payoff that may be applicable to the property on which the Class 2 municipality is seeking to foreclose under this article. (8) TAX CERTIFICATE HOLDER. Any of the following: a. A tax sale purchaser that holds a certificate of purchase in accordance with Section 40-10-19. b. The state, if it has accepted and recorded a certificate of purchase obtained at a tax sale in accordance with Section 40-10-20. c. Any party to which a certificate of purchase obtained at a tax sale has been assigned in accordance with Section 40-10-21. d. The purchaser or assignee of a tax lien certificate as described in Section 40-10-187. (9) TAXES. Those taxes assessed against real property by the State of Alabama, the county in which the real property is situated, or the Class 2 municipality which are delinquent, as defined in Section 40-11-4 or 11-51-2, as of the date a proceeding under this article is commenced or at any time before final resolution of the proceeding. The term also includes any taxes assessed against real property which are unpaid from any previous year and any amounts required for redemption under Section 40-10-82, 40-10-120, or 11-51-23. As provided in Section 11-51-6, a lien for taxes shall be superior to all other liens, including municipal code liens. (10) TAX PAYOFF. Any and all amounts necessary to satisfy any claims for delinquent taxes assessed against the real property on which the Class 2 municipality is seeking to foreclose under this article. Those amounts shall include: a. If the taxes associated with the property are delinquent as defined in Section 40-11-4 or 11-51-2, but the property has not yet been sold for taxes, the full amount of delinquent taxes, costs, fees, and charges due to the county tax collector in accordance with Section 40-5-8; b. If the property has been sold for taxes to the state, those amounts required for redemption and described in Sections 40-10-83, 40-10-120, 40-10-121, and 40-10-122, except that when a Class 2 municipality is the prevailing bidder, the tax payoff amount shall be the lesser of these amounts or the amount as determined by Section 40-10-132(b)(2); c. If the property has been sold for taxes to a party other than the state, those amounts required for redemption and described in Sections 40-10-83, 40-10-120, 40-10-121, and 40-10-122; and d. If a tax lien has been sold by a county in accordance with Section 40-10-182, the amount required for redemption in accordance with Section 40-10-193.