question by a rookie

[hobs]

This is probably a silly question to all of you experienced tax sale purchasers but here it is anyways: What do I need to submit when you place a bid? Do you just submit your offer and hope it wins and if it does you submit a 10% deposit made payable to the ministry the day you win or does that have to be included with your tender? I have heard so many different tales that I am glad I found this site

[Rob]

What do you need?

Your bid, the  deposit certified cheque all mailed in(brought in by hand) before the deadline.

If you haven't done so contact the office handling the sale and purchase the information package on the property.  If you are serious about spending thosands for a property do the research on the property before hand.

[mushroom]

Hobs:  All that is required to submit a tender is: "Form 7" Municipal Act 2001 Tender To Purchase,  Minimum 20% of your tender amount in the form of a certified cheque/ Bank Draft or money order. The form 7 is easily obtained from the municipal web site.
Rob

[hobs]

Thanks Mushroom and Rob for the reply but I have an additional question - If my bid is not the winning bid, what happens to my 20% deposit?

[Frank]

All losing bid deposits get sent to a special account that is in my name of course.

Just kidding.  The Municipalities will hold onto the bid deposits of the top two bidders and return everyone elses (sometimes right there after the bids are open, and sometimes they will mail them the next week).  If the top bidder fails to close (ie. come up with the rest of the bid money) within two weeks, then the second bidder gets an opportunity to close, and the top one will lose their deposit. 

By the way, if you are the third or fourth bidder, then I would ask the municipality to hold your bid deposit until they are sure that the top two are in fact complete and won't be rejected - if they are kicked out for some reason then you might well be the top complete bid.  Bids are often kicked out because their bid deposit is not 'at least' twent per-cent of their bid amount.   A recent court case saw a bid kicked out because it was .8 of a penny short of 20%, and I now own that property as I was second.   Check it out at

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040605/PENNY05/TPFocus/

Bottom line answer to your question:    the only time you can lose your deposit, is if you have the opportunity to close and own the property and you fail to do so for some reason - by the way I have seen this happen, it is unfortunate but the bid deposit is forfeit to the municipality in that event.