Chap. 306.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 665 of the code of Virginia, as
amended and re-enagted by an act approved March 5, IS94, in relation to delin-
quent lands purchased in the name of the auditor, and as amended and. re-en-
acted by anact approved January 29, 1896, entitled an act to amend and re-enact
section 666 of the code of Virginia, as amended and re-enacted by an act ap-
proved March, 5, 1894, in relation to delinquent lands purchased in the name
of the auditor.

Approved February 11, 1898.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section
six hundred and sixty-six of the code of Virginia, as amended and _re-
enacted by an act approved March fifth, eighteen hundred and _ ninetv-
four, in relation to delinquent lands purchased in the name of the audi-
tor, and as amended and re-enacted by an act approved January
twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, entitled an act to amend
and re-enact section six hundred and sixty-six of the code of Virginia,
as amended and re-enacted by an act approved March fifth, eichteen
hundred and ninety-four, in relation to delinquent lands purchased in
the name of the auditor, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as
follows:

§ 666. When and how lands purchased in the name of the auditor, and
unredeemed to be sold.—When real estate so purchased in the name of
the auditor is not redeemed by the previous owner, his heirs or assigns,
or some person having the right to charge the same with a debt, within
two years from the date of such purchase, any person desiring to pur-
chase it shall file an application with the clerk of the county or corpo-
ration court wherein-~such_jreal estate is situated, for,the purchase of
such real estate for the amount for which the sale to the commonwealth
Was made, together with such additional sums as would have accrued
from taxes and levies and interest if such real estate had not been so
purchased by the commonwealth, with interest on the amount for which
said sale was made at the rate of six per centum per annum from the
day of sale and on the additional sums from the fifteenth day of Decem-
ber in the year in which the same would have accrued, in which appli-
cation shall be set out the name of the person in whose name the real
estate stood at the date of the sale thereof to the commonwealth, and
the person in whose name such real estate stands at the date of said appli-
cation on the commissioner’s books of such county or corporation in the
event that it has been transferred contrary to the provisions of section
four hundred and sixty-nine of the code, or if any of the said persons
be dead, then the name of his personal representative, and the nanies
of the trustees, mortgagees and beneliciarics as shown by the record
in any deed of trust or mortgage on said real estate or their personal
representative: provided, the names of any persons may be omittted
Which do not appear of record in the clerk's oflice of the county or cor-
poration in which the land is situated, and if it be situated in the city
of Nichmond which do not appear of record in clerk's office of the
chancery court of said city: and provided further, that the names of
any trustee, mortgagee or beneficiary in any decd of trust. or morteage
which has been recorded more than ten vears prior to date of application,
may be likewise omitted. And the clerk shall, upon the order of the
applicant, his attorney or agent, make out as many copies of said appli-
cation as there are persons named therein, with one additional copy or
more if necessary, and unless otherwise directed by the applicant, his
attorney or avent, deliver them to the sheriff or sergeant of the county
or corporation In which the land is situated, but may, upon direction of
the applicant, his agent or attorney, deliver them. to any other party.
And the same may be served on the parties therein named, in the same
manner and by the same partics that a summons to commence a suit
may be served, and a similar return made thereon by the officer or party
serving the same. Said return shall be made within sixty davs after
the issuing of the copy of the application. And if the same be returned
not executed on any party therein named, other copies may be made
out and served as hereinbefore provided. On affidavit that ‘one of the
parties 1s a non-resident of the state, or that diligence has been used
by or on behalf of the appheant to ascertain in what county or corpora-
tion he is without effect, or that a copy of the application has been
twice delivered to the ofhicer of the county or corporation in which he
resides, or 1s more than ten days before the return day, and has been
returned without being executed, an order of publication may be entered
cainst such party by the clerk.

~The order of public ation shall contain a copy of the application and
require the partics therein named to appear within four months after due
publication thereof, and do what is necessary to protect their interest.
It shall be published onee a week for four successive weeks in such news-
paper as the clerk may direct, and shall be posted by the clerk at the
front door of the courthouse of the county or corporation wherein the
court is held on _the first day of the next county,or, corporation court
after it is entered. If no person who has a right to redeem at the time
of the service of the copies, or of the completion of the order of publi-
cation as aforesaid, appear within four months after such copies have
been served as aforesaid, or within four months after the completion of
the order of publication, when there is a publication, and redeem said
real estate by paying to the clerk of the county or corporation court all
of the taxes, penalties and costs therewith connected, as well as all fees
and costs attending the proceeding under this section, including a penalty
of five dollars which shall be paid to the applicant, then the person who
made the application shall have a right to purchase the real estate
within five days from the expiration of the four months as aforesaid, by
paying to the clerk all taxes, penalties, fees and costs. And the said

urchaser shall then, in order to complete his purchase, at his expense,
1ave a report made to the county or corporation court of the county or
corporation in which said real estate is situated by the surveyor of such
county or the engineer of such city, or where there 1s no such surveyor
or city engineer, by some competent surveyor to be appointed by such
court for that purpose, specifying the metes and bounds of the said real
estate, the names of the owners of the adjoining tracts, or lots, and
giving such further description of said real estate as will identify the
same, but in the discretion of the court there need not be an additional
survey if a sufficient description of said land can be obtained from the
records, and the county or corporation court, unless it has some objection
to such report, shall order the same to be recorded.

After such report shall have been recorded, the purchaser shall obtain
from the clerk of the county or corporation court of the county or cor-
poration in which said real estate is situated, a deed conveying the same,
in which shall be set forth all the circumstances appearing in the clerk’s
office in relation to the sale, and reference shall be made in said deed to
said report. In no case shall the commonwealth be liable for any costs
incurred under any of the provisions of thisact. For making off a copy
of an application under this section the clerk shall be entitled to a fee
of twenty-five cents; for every order of publication and posting, one
dollar; for every deed executed one dollar, and for every copy of an
application served under this section by a sheriff or other officer he shall
receive thirty cents. All of the foregoing fees may be required by the
clerk or other officer to be paid in advance except the fee for a deed
which may be paid upon delivery of the deed.

If the clerk refuse to execute such deed the court may compel him to
do so upon the petition of the purchaser.

Every such deed shall be with covenants of special warranty. If no
such deed be made under this chapter within one year after the date of
the application for the purchase of the said real estate by the party en-
titled to the deed, the person entitled to redeem the same as hereinbefore
mentioned, his heirs or assigns may, after such year and before such
deed is made, redeem the said real estate by paying to the purchaser the
amount paid therefor by him including the cost, with such taxes and
levies as he may have paid thereon since such purchase, with interest at
ten per centum per annum upon such payments from the date they were
respectively made. The provisions of section six hundred and sixty-
one of the code of-Virginia shall apply to deeds made,under authority
of this section, and the provisions of section six hundred and fifty-two
shall apply to real estate sold under authority of this section. In all
cases Where applications have been heretofore made to purchase real es-
tate under section six hundred and sixty-six, asamended and re-enacted
by the act approved January twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-
six, and in which the applications have not been perfected and the pur-
chase made complete by the execution of a deed by the clerk as herein
provided, the clerk of the said court to which such application was
made shall at once make copies of such application, and deliver them to
the sheriff or sergeant or to such other party as the application may
direct, to be served in the same manner and upon the same persons as
herein directed, and thereupon the same proceedings shall be had, and
the same time shall be given persons entitled to redeem such real es-
tate, and in the same manner as is hereinbefore provided, except it shall
not be necessary to make another survey of the tract or lot where one
has been previously made under the provisions of said section six hun-
dred and sixty-six, as amended by the said act of January twenty-ninth,
elghteen hundred and ninety-six; but in all cases where the applications
have been so made and not so me wrfected prior to the passage of this act,

persons having the right to redeem shall be allowed by the said clerk to
redeem the said real estate in the manner herein provided, within four
months after such last mentioned copies of application have been served
upon all persons as required by this section or order of publication as to
them completed; and in no ease shall it be lawful for the said clerk to
make a deed to the said real estate until the expiration of said four
months: provided, that no application shall be made under this act to
purchase any real estate if at the time of such application suit 1s pend-
ing in the courts of the county or corporation wherein such real estate
is situated for the sale of the same, either to satisfy debts due creditors
or for partition among the parties interested, until after the land has
been sold in said suit and the court has failed to cause the taxes to be
paid out of the purchase money: provided also, that nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed as in any way affecting the duties of the com-
missioner of the revenue as prescribed by section four hundred and
sixty-nine. If one application has been made and copies thereof issued,
no second application shall be considered for the same piece of land
until the rights of the first applicant under his application has expired.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage.