§ 140.190 RSMo — Period of sale — manner of bids — prohibited sales — sale to nonresidents — restrictions, City of St. Joseph

1. On the day mentioned in the notice, the county collector shall commence the sale of such lands, and shall continue the same from day to day until each parcel assessed or belonging to each person assessed shall be sold as will pay the taxes, interest and charges thereon, or chargeable to such person in said county.

2. (1) The person or land bank agency offering at said sale to pay the required sum for a tract shall be considered the purchaser of such land; provided, no sale shall be made to any person or designated agent who:

(a) Is currently delinquent on any tax payments on any property, other than a delinquency on the property being offered for sale, and who does not sign an affidavit stating such at the time of sale. Failure to sign such affidavit as well as signing a false affidavit may invalidate such sale;

(b) Is a member of the governing body of a land bank agency;

(c) Is an employee of a land bank agency;

(d) Is an elected or appointed official of the governing body, or an employee of such official, of the political subdivision in which a land bank agency is located; or

(e) Is related within the second degree of consanguinity to a person described in paragraphs (b) to (d) of this subdivision.

(2) No bid shall be received from any person not a resident of the state of Missouri or a foreign corporation or entity all deemed nonresidents. A nonresident shall file with said collector an agreement in writing consenting to the jurisdiction of the circuit court of the county in which such sale shall be made, and also filing with such collector an appointment of some citizen of said county as agent of said nonresident, and consenting that service of process on such agent shall give such court jurisdiction to try and determine any suit growing out of or connected with such sale for taxes. After the delinquent auction sale, any certificate of purchase shall be issued to the agent. After meeting the requirements of section 140.405 , the property shall be conveyed to the agent on behalf of the nonresident, and the agent shall thereafter convey the property to the nonresident. A collector may preclude a prospective bidder from participating in a sale for failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section.

3. All such written consents to jurisdiction and selective appointments shall be preserved by the county collector and shall be binding upon any person or corporation claiming under the person consenting to jurisdiction and making the appointment herein referred to; provided further, that in the event of the death, disability or refusal to act of the person appointed as agent of said nonresident the county clerk shall become the appointee as agent of said nonresident.

4. No person residing in any home rule city with more than seventy-one thousand but fewer than seventy-nine thousand inhabitants shall be eligible to offer to purchase lands under this section unless such person has, no later than ten days before the sale date, demonstrated to the satisfaction of the official charged by law with conducting the sale that the person is not the owner of any parcel of real property that has two or more violations of the municipality's building or housing codes. A prospective bidder may make such a demonstration by presenting statements from the appropriate collection and code enforcement officials of the municipality. This subsection shall not apply to any taxing authority or land bank agency, and entities shall be eligible to bid at any sale conducted under this section without making such a demonstration.