§11A-3-48. Unsold lands subject to sale without auction or additional advertising.

(a) If any of the lands which have been offered for sale at the public auction provided in §11A-3-45 of this code shall remain unsold following such auction, or were sold at a tax sale auction within the previous five years which were not redeemed and for which no deed was secured by the purchaser, or if the Auditor refuses to approve the sale pursuant to §11A-3-51 of this code, the Auditor may sell the lands without any further public auction or additional advertising of the land, in the following priority: (1) To a person vested with an ownership interest in an adjacent tract or parcel of land: Provided, That if more than one adjacent landowner desires to acquire the same tract or lot, then the Auditor shall sell such tract or lot to the highest bidder; (2) to the municipality in which the tract or lot is located; (3) the county commission of the county in which the tract or lot is located; (4) to the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation as part of its Land Bank Program set forth in §31-21-11 of this code; or (5) to any party willing to purchase such property.

(b) The price of such property shall be as agreed upon by the Auditor and purchaser: Provided, That the Auditor may engage a licensed attorney to provide a title examination on lands set forth in the preceding subsection and require that a purchaser reimburse the Auditor for any expenses related to the title examination as a condition for the sale: Provided, however, That instead of the Auditor, a purchaser may engage a licensed attorney to provide a title examination at his or her own cost.

(c) The Auditor may refuse to sell unsold lands to a potential buyer that is subject to any of the following:

(1) Has failed to make a payment owed at a prior previous auction held pursuant to §11A-3-45 of this code;

(2) At the time of registration is delinquent in the payment of real property tax, for which registrant is the most recent owner of record, to any county in this state;

(3) Has a history of noncompliance with code enforcement violations issued by a county or municipality pursuant to §7-1-3ff and §8-12-16 of this code;

(4) At the time of registration is subject to legal proceedings in any county or municipality that are related to code enforcement violations regarding real property owned by them; and

(5) Within the preceding five years prior to the purchase, has failed to comply with a valid raze or repair order (or any other similar order) issued by a county or municipality.