_DELINQUENT_TAX_LIENS_SALE_2026_POSTED.docx

INVITATION TO SUBMIT

City of Bridgeport Department of Public Purchases Bridgeport, Ct

SEALED SUBMISSIONS will be received by the Purchasing Department on the following until 2:00 pm on Thursday July 23, 2026

Lisa Farlow, Buyer

TCB002237 – DELINQUENT MUNICIPAL TAX LIENS SALE_______________________________

The City of Bridgeport, Connecticut (the "City") is requesting written sealed submissions from interested parties (the "Purchaser/s") for the purchase of part of the City's delinquent municipal tax liens ("Delinquent Tax Liens") primarily relating to Grand List 2024 and certain other miscellaneous tax liens pursuant to the provisions of the General Statutes of Connecticut §12-195(h) attached as Exhibit A (the "Act"), in accordance with the terms of this invitation.

Section 1: Submission and Deadline All submissions shall be delivered to the Department of Public Purchases and must be received no later than 2:00pm Thursday July 23, 2026 Purchasers must exercise their duty of due diligence to determine the amount of their aggregate submission for the Delinquent Tax Liens on the list (the "Report"), prior to that date.

One (1) original, three (3) copies and one (1) electronic via flash drive of the written sealed submission must be clearly identified and addressed to:

Department of Public Purchases City of Bridgeport 999 Broad Street 2nd Floor Bridgeport, CT 06604

In addition to the above submission directive, please forward an electronic copy in excel format to the following e-mail address jennifer.martinez@bridgeportct.gov no later than 24 hours after the bid opening date, but NOT before 2pm, Thursday July 23 2026

Written questions regarding any portion of this invitation may be submitted on www.bidsync.com and will be responded to in a timely manner.

Section 2: Scope

a. Additional Liens and Additional Interest Upon mutual consent bet The City intends to assign a portion of its Delinquent Tax Liens to a third party in accordance with the provisions contained herein and pursuant to Title 12-195h of the Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.).

The Purchaser agrees to incorporate the conditions required of them by the City in this invitation in any future sale or assignment of said Delinquent Tax Liens as authorized by the City. The provisions of this bid and all future agreements between the Purchaser and the City shall be binding upon both parties, their heirs, successors and assigns.

ween The City and awarded vendor, the City reserves the right to add any additional Delinquent Tax Liens to this lien assignment up until September 30, 2026. The City does not anticipate any material change to the original listing. All submitters shall agree that any and all statutory interest required to be charged by the City on all accounts listed on the Schedule shall accrue on all such accounts between the bid date and the Closing date and shall be included as part of the total amount required to be paid at Closing.

b. Withdrawal of Liens The City reserves the right to withdraw any Delinquent Tax Lien from the Report prior to the date of the award. Any lien so withdrawn by the City, in accordance with this section, shall be deleted from the Report and shall be excluded altogether from the sale of the Delinquent Tax Liens and the purchase price reduced by the proportion that such lien bears to all liens to be assigned.

Subsequent to award, further withdrawals by the City will be permitted during the interim between selection of the winning submission and compilation of the final schedule of Delinquent Tax Liens to be assigned (the "Schedule") only in the event of an agreement between the City and the Purchaser, as defined herein, that any lien on the Report is legally unenforceable under any state or federal law or in the event that all taxes due are paid by the delinquent taxpayer prior to closing date. Any item on the report may be withdrawn in the event a suit or claim in respect of that item is filed. In the event of any further withdrawal, the purchase price shall be reduced by the proportion that such lien bears to all liens to be assigned. The Purchaser agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City for any and all legal actions arising out of, resulting from, or related to, the assignment of liens.

Notice of the Schedule shall be confirmed by authorized signatures of both parties on the closing date, as contained in Section 4 herein, and shall be deemed final and binding. Said Schedule shall be incorporated into the form of the Assignment of Delinquent Tax Liens (the "Assignment"). No further withdrawal of Delinquent Tax Liens from the Schedule shall be permitted except in the event that any Delinquent Tax Lien on the Schedule was incorrectly recorded by the City, in which case appropriate adjustments will be made within a reasonable time of discovery.

The amount of the lien for those taxes which have been paid in full or in part prior to closing will be adjusted by the City, if necessary, and deducted from the final aggregate price and, if paid in full, the Delinquent Tax Lien will be released and removed from the Schedule. The Purchaser's submission may be adjusted only in the event of a full or partial payment on any lien listed in the Report.

c. Administration of Accounts The Purchaser will be required to collect all accounts at its cost.

The City prefers to resolve delinquent tax collection matters through payment arrangements rather than foreclosure whenever possible. Accordingly, taxpayers shall be given an opportunity to enter into a payment arrangement before a foreclosure action is commenced. A foreclosure action should be initiated only if the taxpayer either (i) fails to enter into a payment arrangement after being afforded the opportunity to do so, or (ii) defaults on the payment arrangement by failing to make two installment payments.

The Purchaser shall provide the City with a report, monthly, which lists all accounts on the Schedule and the status of each as to collection ("Monthly Report"). Each submission shall include an example of the Monthly Report.

d. Right of First Refusal for Purchase of Future Tax Liens The Purchaser, its heirs, successors, and assigns, at their option, shall notify the City of their intent to exercise the right of first refusal for the purchase of any future tax liens on the next 2025 Grand List and subsequent Grand Lists of properties listed on the final Schedule only ("Future Tax Liens"), for consideration not less than the full amount of all taxes, interest, and fees due the City. The city will assess a 1% administrative processing fee for each subsequent assignment.

In FY2027 and all subsequent years, notice of intent to purchase said Future Tax Liens must be received by April 1st, with payment in full on said Future Tax Liens to be made within forty-five (45) days after the City files the Lien Continuation Certificate.

In the event a Future Tax Lien is not purchased in accordance with this section, the Purchaser agrees that such Future Tax Liens, when retained by the City, shall have priority over all Delinquent Tax Liens previously sold to the Purchaser and that the City shall retain the right to enforce any such Future Tax Liens in any manner provided by law. Any payment received by the Purchaser of Delinquent Tax Liens must be paid over to the City in satisfaction of any such Future Tax Liens retained by the City, until such Future Tax Liens are paid in full and released.

Liens that will be filed on the current 2024 Grand List are not considered Future Tax Liens for the purpose of this invitation and are inclusive in the amounts provided in the Report.

The terms of this invitation and all subsequent agreements between the Purchaser, its heirs, successors or assigns, and the City shall also apply to the sale of Future Tax Liens.

Section 3: Submission Requirements Each respondent shall submit a cover letter, addressed to the Purchasing Agent of the City of Bridgeport, signed by an authorized agent of the Purchaser, which provides an overview of the Purchaser's submission, as well as the name, title and phone number of the person to whom the City may direct questions concerning the submission. The letter should also include a statement by the Purchaser accepting all terms and conditions contained in this invitation. The submission shall include as a minimum:

The City shall provide the Purchaser with the name of the taxpayer, grand list number, property address and amount due and such information shall be provided in an excel spreadsheet furnished through E-Mail. Each submission shall include an aggregate amount for the liens listed on the Report relating to the 2024 Grand List and shall include the amount necessary to reimburse the City for administrative and legal costs as set forth in the Report. All submissions will be considered final. The City is soliciting submissions solely for the full amount of taxes, interest, and fees due the City at time of Closing.

The City is requiring a submission on at least one of the following two separate options from each submitter: The first submission (Submission 1) should be for the best price the submitter is willing to pay for all accounts listed with this invitation, stated in both total dollars and in percentage terms. The second submission (Submission 2) should provide a list all accounts for which the submitter is willing to pay a premium for all taxes, interest and lien fees, and the submission for such list stated in both total dollars and in percentage terms. Submitters may submit on at least one, and if desired, on both submission options. The City shall determine the winning submitter or submitters based upon a dollar and percentage value comparison for each category of submission made by each submitter. Should the City decide, based upon the value comparison, that the winning submitter choose Submission 2 option with fewer than 100% of the accounts listed, in lieu of a Submission 1 option, all remaining tax lien accounts not opted for by the winning Option 2 submitter shall be offered to whomever the City determines is the next highest responsive submitter based upon either submission option.

Each submission shall be accompanied by a certified check, acceptable to the City, in the amount of $50,000.00, payable to the “City of Bridgeport”. The check shall be returned to each submitter following the award of the submission to the successful submitter.

The submission must specify the amount being submitted for the outstanding liens in absolute dollars specifying the tax amount and the percentage that the submission represents relative to the total amounts being offered for assignment. If a premium is being submitting which causes the purchase price to exceed the total dollars offered for assignment, it should be detailed separately.

Each submission shall identify officers or agents of the Purchaser who will be responsible for concluding this transaction with the City and include information pertinent to an evaluation by the City that the Purchaser has the requisite experience, financial capacity, skills and qualifications to conclude its purchase of the Delinquent Tax Liens, including two years financial statements.

Each submission shall also address the scope of administrative support the Purchaser will have in place to facilitate the collection, execution, payment, accounting, allocation, distribution, release and recording of release assigned Delinquent Tax Liens and Future Tax Liens.

Each submission shall include a description of the level of maintenance that will be provided to those properties to which the purchaser takes title.

The Purchaser will be required to include with the Assignment appropriate representation to the effect that there is no legal disability or litigation pending or threatened against the Purchaser which would adversely affect its performance of any duties or obligations incurred pursuant to this transaction.

The City reserves the right to require such additional representations and warranties of the selected Purchaser as it reasonably deems necessary.

The City retains the right to withdraw, extend, re-offer or amend this invitation at any time or to reject any or all submissions and to withdraw from the sale any Delinquent Tax Liens, all at its sole and absolute discretion. The City will not be liable for any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this invitation.

Non-Discrimination: No person shall be denied or subjected to discrimination on account of any services, or activities made possible by or resulting from the agreement on the grounds of sex, race, color, creed, national origin, age (except minimum age and retirement provision), marital status or the presence of this agreement and shall be grounds for cancellation, termination or suspension in whole or in part of the agreement by the City contracts. The proposer shall at all times in the submission and contract process comply with applicable City, State and Federal anti-discrimination laws, rules, regulations and requirements thereof.

Section 4: Evaluation and Award The City may award the contract to the Respondent whose submission is deemed to be in the best financial interests of the City.

As a guaranty of good faith, the Purchaser shall, at the time of award, tender a certified or cashier’s check drawn upon a solvent bank or trust company payable to the order of the "City of Bridgeport", in the amount of $150,000.00, to be retained as a non-refundable partial payment for the Delinquent Tax Liens on the final Schedule.

The parties will execute and deliver the Assignment and all other closing documents required by the City on the Closing Date in return for the aggregate submission for the Delinquent Tax Liens, as adjusted in accordance with Section 2 hereof and as adjusted by the payment of any liens prior to closing (the "Purchase Price"). The submitters agree that all statutory interest shall be charged to all accounts on the Schedule between the invitation opening date and the closing date and shall accrue and shall be included in the total adjusted amount to be paid at closing, pursuant to Section 2.

The Purchase Price will be paid in Federal Wire Transfer to the City's account as directed or by certified, immediately negotiable, check made payable to the "Tax Collector - City of Bridgeport", on the Closing Date.

It is anticipated that a final award will be made no later than July 31, 2026, and respondents must agree to hold firm until both date of award and final Closing date.

It is expected that the Assignment of Delinquent Tax Liens and payment in full of the Purchase Price in accordance with this Section will be no earlier than September 1, 2026 and no later than September 30, 2026

Section 5: Terms and Conditions The Purchaser shall be responsible for the due diligence of evaluating any risk that may be associated with any Delinquent Tax Lien or any property listed on the Report. The City makes no representations or warranties as to the condition of property, title of any property or as to the collectability of any Delinquent Tax Lien on the Report. All property is sold "as is", subject to any and all liens, Choate liens, inchoate liens and any legal interest as recorded on the City land records.

The Purchaser may retain any firm, partnership, corporation or other entity ("Collectors") to collect any and all of Delinquent Tax Liens and Future Tax Liens assigned by the City. Such Collector shall provide the City with any and all information required by the Purchaser under this invitation.

The Purchaser agrees to comply with all relevant state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to collection practices and procedures, including, but not limited to, provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes governing tax collection and the statutory rate of interest. Purchaser agrees to comply with the terms set within Section Two (Scope of Services) herein.

Section 6: Provisions Applicable to Successful Submitter

a. Payment of Purchase Price. The terms and conditions relating to the manner of payment of the purchase price shall be determined by the Seller. Notwithstanding any such payment mechanism elected by the Seller, the Purchaser shall be required to fund the entire purchase price at closing by federal wire transfer into an account or accounts designated by the Seller. The Closing payment date shall be chosen by the City for this lien assignment agreement (Closing Date) and such Closing Date for this lien sale shall be within the month of September 2026. Following the Closing Date, all interest and penalties shall be for the account of the Purchaser collected on account of the purchase of the tax liens.

b. Abandoned Properties. Purchaser will agree to maintain any and all abandoned properties which Purchaser or its affiliate acquires through the exercise of foreclosure of any particular tax lien. Such maintenance shall be in accordance with reasonable property management techniques and the Purchaser shall be required to designate a property manager with an address in the State of Connecticut to manage such properties.

c. Servicing. Purchaser shall be required to demonstrate that it has the ability and experience to provide comprehensive collection and administration of the tax liens. Such ability and experience shall include: (a) satisfactory accounting procedures; (b) demonstrated experience in other municipalities involving comprehensive responsibility for collection and administration of tax liens secured by real estate; and (c) such other experience as the Seller deems appropriate.

d. Modification of Invitation. The City reserves the right to modify any or all provisions of this invitation.

e. Priority of Future Tax Liens. Purchaser and its successors and assigns will agree to subordinate the priority of its tax liens to future city real property tax liens in the event that Purchaser is in violation of its obligations under the Agreement of Purchase and Sale or in the event that the term of such Agreement is not extended beyond the initial term plus all renewal options available to the Purchaser.

f. Prohibitions on Assignment. With respect to the tax liens which the Purchaser purchases pursuant to this invitation, the Purchaser will agree that such tax liens will be held for its own account and will not sell, transfer, assign or convey such tax liens to any other person or entity and will agree not to sell or securitize such tax liens unless prior consent to such a sale or transfer is obtained from the Seller; provided, however, notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser shall be entitled to conditionally pledge a security interest in such tax liens in order to finance the Purchaser's acquisition of such tax liens provided that such pledge is to an affiliate of Purchaser. Furthermore, nothing herein shall prohibit the Purchaser from designating an affiliate to take title to properties acquired through foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Section 7: Contract:

Any successful submission shall be subject to the signing and certified filing of a definitive Delinquent Lien Assignment Agreement within five days of the Closing date satisfactory in all respects to the successful submitter and the City incorporating the provisions of this invitation, such other provisions as the City may reasonably require and the following specific representations and undertaking of the Purchaser, its heirs, successors, and assigns:

a. Be duly organized and in good standing under the laws of the State of Connecticut, or, if organized in another state, then qualified to do business in the State of Connecticut.

b. Authorize the Secretary of State to accept service on its behalf.

c. Represent that the transactions of assignment or resale, if any, shall be in compliance with all appropriate state and federal securities laws, or that such transactions shall be exempt from such securities laws.

d. Agree upon execution of the Delinquent Lien Assignment Agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the City, its employees, agents and officials, including any of the foregoing sued as individuals, from any lawsuit, counterclaim, or administrative proceeding seeking money damages, refund or discharge of taxes, equitable or other relief of any kind, arising from or in connection with (i) the exercise of powers and the authority granted by this invitation over the Delinquent Tax Liens, (ii) any collection efforts by the Purchaser, (iii) the institution of foreclosure of any of the Delinquent Tax Liens, (iv) any violation or purported violation of any state or federal securities or blue sky law, statute, rule or regulation or, (v) any other acts of Purchaser (including its agent and assigns) to collect amounts secured by the Delinquent Tax Liens or any other transaction contemplated by this bid. Indemnification shall include payment of any judgment, legal fees, and costs.

e. In the event that the Purchaser commences a foreclosure action to enforce any delinquent Tax Lien, it shall give notice to the City in the same manner as required to any interest in any other foreclosure action in order to afford the City adequate opportunity to take any necessary or appropriate action to preserve its interest therein. The Purchaser further agrees to indemnify the City for the loss of any interest the City would otherwise have in its unassigned Future Tax Liens, but for the foreclosure action. In no event shall the Purchaser name the City as a defendant in such action to foreclose any subsequent tax liens. However, the Purchaser will agree to name the Water Pollution Control Authority as an additional plaintiff and will foreclose Water Pollution Control Authority Liens. The purchaser shall allow the City Attorney’s Office to file an appearance in addition and allow the City Attorney’s Office to move for a deficiency judgment on behalf of any unpaid Water Pollution Control Authority Lien which is unsatisfied.

f. Keep on file with the Tax Collector and Town Clerk a corporate, partnership, or LLC resolution of the Purchaser which sets forth the current address of the Purchaser for payment purposes. Such resolution shall (if a corporate resolution) be accompanied by a Secretary’s certificate and seal, or (if a partnership or LLC) certification containing the notarized signatures of all partners or members of an LLC.

Section 8: Tax exemption The City Federal Tax Exemption number is 06-6001865. The City is exempt from State Sales Tax under State General Statutes Chapter 219, Section 12-412 Subsection A. No exemption certificates are required and none will be issued.

Section 9: Lien Information

The listing of liened properties for the Sale is available from:

Office of the Tax Collector City of Bridgeport 45 Lyon Terrace Room 123 Bridgeport, CT 06604

To the best knowledge of the City, any properties which fall into the following categories have been eliminated from the list.

The City does not warrant that every parcel so conditioned has been removed, but has performed to the best of our information and belief. A sample page is attached to the cover letter for format purposes.