CO Code § 39-11-108 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 39 - Taxation|Article 11 - Sale of Tax Liens|§ 39-11-108. Manner of Conducting Public Auction - Definitions

  On the day designated in the notice of sale, the treasurer shall commence the public auction of the tax liens on those lands and town lots on which the taxes, interest, and fees have not been paid and shall continue the same from day to day, Saturdays and Sundays excepted, until the tax liens on each parcel are sold. Where two or more lots or tracts of land are valued and assessed as one parcel, the treasurer shall sell a single tax lien on such land or tract. The public auction shall be held at the treasurer's office or at another location in the county designated by the treasurer, and all lands and town lots offered at the public auction on the same date of sale shall be offered for public auction at the same location; except that the public auction may be conducted by means of the internet or other electronic medium.    A public auction conducted by means of the internet or other electronic medium to sell lands and town lots under this article shall allow members of the public to submit bids by computer and permit the treasurer to accept bids for as long as the treasurer deems necessary. The county and its employees acting in their official capacity in preparing, conducting, and executing a sale of lands and town lots under this article are not liable for the failure of a device that prevents a person from participating in a sale under this article. As used in this subsection (2), “device” includes, but is not limited to, computer hardware, a computer network, a computer software application, and an internet website.    If there is no bid for any tax lien offered, the offering of such tax lien shall remain open until all the tax liens are offered for sale and the sale is ended or until the treasurer is satisfied that no more sales can be effected, whereupon it is the treasurer's duty to strike off to the county, city, town, or city and county the tax liens on those lands and town lots remaining unsold, for the amount of such taxes, delinquent interest, and fees thereon. When the treasurer strikes off a tax lien on any tract of land or town lot, the treasurer shall issue to the county, city, town, or city and county a certificate of purchase. No taxes levied against any lands for which a county has purchased a tax lien under the provisions of this section shall be payable until the same have been derived by the county from the sale of a tax lien on such lands or from the redemption of such lands.     History. Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 725, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 137-11-8. L. 85: Entire section amended, p. 1235, § 4, effective July 1. L. 92: Entire section amended, p. 2230, § 18, effective April 9. L. 2005: Entire section amended, p. 1236, § 5, effective June 3. History. Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 725, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 137-11-8. L. 85: Entire section amended, p. 1235, § 4, effective July 1. L. 92: Entire section amended, p. 2230, § 18, effective April 9. L. 2005: Entire section amended, p. 1236, § 5, effective June 3.    ANNOTATION   Analysis     I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION.    II. SALE IN ENTIRETYOR PARCELS.    III. PURCHASE BY COUNTY.     I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION.   Law reviews. For comment, “The Effect of Certified Realty Corp. v. Smith on Mortgage Foreclosure in Colorado”, see 52 U. Colo. L. Rev. 301 (1981).   Annotator's note. The following annotations include a case decided under this section as it existed prior to its 1964 repeal and reenactment.   Purpose of section. The purpose of this section is to give a reasonable opportunity to all desiring to bid, and to make sure that there are no bidders present before striking any property off to the county. Bennett v. Shotwell, 118 Colo. 206 , 194 P.2d 335 (1948).   Section requires strict compliance. This section authorizing the sale of property for taxes must be strictly complied with or the proceedings will be void. Charlton v. Toomey, 7 Colo. App. 304, 43 P. 454 (1896), rev'd on other grounds, 24 Colo. 278 , 50 P. 1042 (1897).   Void tax deed cannot be supported by evidence aliunde. A tax deed, void on its face because of its showing a fatal irregularity in the conduct of the sale, cannot be supported or validated by evidence aliunde that the sale was conducted in conformity with this section. Page v. Gillett, 47 Colo. 289 , 107 P. 290 (1910).   Proof of damages is unnecessary where statute governing sale is violated. Once it is shown that a positive mandate or statute has been ignored in connection with a tax sale, the grantor under a tax deed flowing therefrom will not be heard to say that his adversary must go further and prove the damages he has suffered as a result of the violation of the statute. Newcomb v. Henderson, 22 Colo. App. 167, 122 P. 1125 (1912).   Formal rereading of notice of sale at reoffering not required. The requirement of this section is only that the treasurer shall reoffer the property the next day. It does not require the formal rereading of the notice of sale or legal description of the property. Bennett v. Shotwell, 118 Colo. 206 , 194 P.2d 335 (1948).   Failure to show first offering date not invalidation of deed. A tax deed is not invalid because of its failure to disclose the day upon which the land involved was first offered for sale for delinquent taxes. Ford v. Genereux, 104 Colo. 17 , 87 P.2d 749 (1939).   Applied in City & County of Denver v. Keeler, 48 Colo. 54 , 108 P. 998 (1910); Sherman v. Greeley Bldg. & Loan Ass'n, 66 Colo. 288 , 181 P. 975 (1919).   II. SALE IN ENTIRETY OR PARCELS.    Object of separate valuation, assessment, and sale is to create a lien upon each tract for its own assessment and levy. It is manifest that this is not done if the sale is en masse for a gross sum. Page v. Gillett, 47 Colo. 289 , 107 P. 290 (1910).   The only land which the treasurer may sell jointly is such as the assessor can jointly value and assess, namely, adjoining parcels, returned by the same person. Page v. Gillett, 47 Colo. 289 , 107 P. 290 (1910); Gilbreath v. Doe, 24 Colo. App. 205, 132 P. 1146 (1913).   Sale in parcels of body of land assessed as a whole is violation of this section and one contesting the sale is not required to prove that he has sustained damage by this violation of the statute. Newcomb v. Henderson, 22 Colo. App. 167, 122 P. 1125 (1912).   Sale en masse for taxes of noncontiguous lands for a gross sum is void; and a tax deed which, upon its face, shows that the sale was made in this manner is void. Page v. Gillett, 47 Colo. 289 , 107 P. 290 (1910).   A tax deed is not objectionable because it conveys several noncontiguous tracts of land. Barnett v. Jaynes, 26 Colo. 279 , 57 P. 703 (1899).   III. PURCHASE BY COUNTY.   County becomes purchaser only in default of outside bid. Before land may be legally bid in by the county, it must, after being first offered, be continually offered from day to day until the sale is concluded, and the county can only become a purchaser of the entire tract in default of an outside bid, after the same has been offered each day. Empire Ranch & Cattle Co. v. Howell, 23 Colo. App. 265, 129 P. 245 (1913).   Certificate of purchase must be dated as of sale date. The certificate of purchase issued to the county for land struck off to it at the tax sale must be dated as of the day of the sale. Dalander v. Karr, 21 Colo. App. 170, 121 P. 136 (1912).   Tax deed cannot issue while certificate of purchase outstanding. A tax deed cannot issue on property so long as an outstanding tax certificate of purchase is still held by the county and a deed issued in such circumstances will be held invalid. Cowen v. Driscoll Constr. Co., 97 Colo. 74 , 47 P.2d 390 (1935).   Taxes are not paid by striking off the land to the county. Hecox v. Teller County, 198 F. 634 (8th Cir. 1912), appeal dismissed, 234 U.S. 766, 34 S. Ct. 675, 58 L. Ed. 1582 (1914).   Unnecessary for county to pay taxes until property sold. It is not necessary for the county, after the purchase of a tax sale certificate, to pay any taxes that may have become due subsequent to the issuance of said tax sale certificate, until the county has sold the property which it has acquired by virtue of the treasurer's deed. Rock v. Fastenau, 122 Colo. 41 , 219 P.2d 781 (1950).