N.D.C.C. § 57-28-27 — Discretion of county commissioners in lease or sale of tax deed lands

The board of county commissioners may refuse to sell or lease any agricultural lands held
by the county under a tax deed if the board finds that any of the following would result:
1. The use would seriously impair the fertility of the property or adjoining property due to
wind or water erosion.
2. The property will become a part of an agricultural unit that will be too small or too large
to be operated in the best interests of the community and taxing districts and the use
may result in failure of the owner or lessee to pay taxes upon the property.
3. The use would result in lessening the value or marketability of adjacent property held
by the county.
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The board of county commissioners may classify agricultural lands held by the county according
to suitability for tillage, haying, or grazing purposes. Applicants for deeds or leases may file with
the county auditor a statement of the size of the farming unit for which the property is desired,
the uses intended for the property, and any other information relative to the planned operation of
the property which is required by the board of county commissioners.
57-28-28. County lien for costs of improvement to distressed property forfeited in tax
foreclosure.
1. If property sold by the county under this chapter is sold for less than the total amount
of the taxes due and the costs to improve salability of the property which were incurred
by the county in cleanup, repairs, demolition, or other action necessary because of
damage, neglect, or waste by the prior owner, those costs incurred by the county to
improve salability which were not recovered by the county from the sale constitute a
lien on any real property owned, or later acquired, in the county by that prior owner.
2. The county auditor shall extend and enter upon the tax list of real estate then in the
hands of the county treasurer, opposite the description of real estate designated by the
board of county commissioners which belongs to the prior owner, the year for which an
obligation to the county exists under this section and the amount of that obligation. The
entry must be made without regard to any prior payment of real estate taxes on those
properties and the treasurer may not thereafter issue any receipt in full for real estate
taxes on those properties without making collection at the same time of the obligation
under this section. A taxpayer holding a specific superior lien on those properties
ahead of a lien under this section is entitled to tax receipts without regard to
nonpayment of obligations under this section.