The Sheriff Property Preapproval is the Property Description Pre-Approval Form of the Summit County Fiscal Office in Akron, Ohio. It is one of the forms the Fiscal Office publishes next to its Summit County property tax and conveyance paperwork, and it applies when a foreclosure action ends in a Sheriff's deed. You can fill out the form online on FillingPDF and download or print the completed PDF; the form and its checklist are published by the Fiscal Office at the official link on this page.
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What is Sheriff Property Preapproval – Summit County, OH?
The Sheriff Property Preapproval, titled Property Description Pre-Approval Form on the PDF, is the Summit County Fiscal Office form that gets the legal description for a Sheriff's deed approved in a foreclosure action.
The Fiscal Office's forms page states the rule behind it: in a foreclosure action, the legal descriptions used in Sheriff's deeds must be pre-approved by the Summit County Fiscal Office Property Transfer Department before the final judgment is filed with the Summit County Clerk of Courts. The legal description submitted for approval should be the one from the current deed of record. The same page links the Amendments to Rule 11 & 12 Foreclosures.
The form is short. Under the Fiscal Office heading it carries a line for the owner name when it differs from the name entered above it, a line for the Number of Lots, and a Summit County Use Only box that belongs to the office. It also prints a disclaimer: the Fiscal Office makes no warranties, expressed or implied, about the accuracy or completeness of the information. The form is revision Rev 1/2011.
It does not carry the legal description itself. The description goes on a separate sheet of paper that accompanies the form. The Fiscal Office publishes a different document, Conveyance Standards, for the standards used to approve plats and legal descriptions in real property conveyances.
Who needs to file Sheriff Property Preapproval – Summit County, OH?
The main group is anyone preparing a Sheriff's deed in a foreclosure action in Summit County, Ohio, whose legal description must be pre-approved by the Summit County Fiscal Office Property Transfer Department before the final judgment is filed with the Summit County Clerk of Courts.
The Fiscal Office's checklist for Sheriff's deed legal description pre-approval lists this completed form as the first item, so it is needed whenever that pre-approval is requested. The form and the agency page do not say who must sign it or whether an attorney or other representative may complete it for a party, and they print no exclusions.
The form does not serve other Fiscal Office purposes. Property tax complaints, homestead exemptions, deed transfers and the verification documents for Sheriff sales each have their own forms on the Fiscal Office forms page.
When to file Sheriff Property Preapproval – Summit County, OH
Complete the form before the final judgment is filed with the Summit County Clerk of Courts. The Fiscal Office states that the legal description for a Sheriff's deed must be pre-approved by its Property Transfer Department before that filing, so the form is part of the foreclosure sequence rather than something filed on a calendar date.
The form prints no separate due date, validity period or renewal rule. Because the Clerk of Courts package contains the Final Judicial Report, this form and the approved legal description, the pre-approval has to be finished first.
Documents you need
- Final Judicial Report: submitted with this form and the approved legal description to the Summit County Clerk of Courts.
- Property legal description on a separate sheet of paper, taken from the current deed of record, for approval by the Fiscal Office.
- Parcel number(s), routing number(s) and address(s) that each legal description describes; they must appear with the description.
- For vacant land: the street name, which the checklist requires to identify the land.
- Approved legal description: submitted to the Clerk of Courts with the Final Judicial Report and this form after the Fiscal Office approves it.
How to fill out Sheriff Property Preapproval – Summit County, OH
Review the pre-approval checklist
The Fiscal Office checklist for Sheriff's deed legal description pre-approval lists the completed form and the legal description on a separate sheet. Have both ready before you start.
Complete the identifying entries at the top
Fill in the entries printed above the owner line, as the form asks, so the property and parties are identified.
Enter a different owner name
On the line Owner name (if different from above), enter the owner's name only if it differs from the name already entered above. Otherwise leave it empty.
Enter the Number of Lots
On the Number of Lots line, write how many lots the legal description covers.
Leave the office-use box alone
Do not mark the Summit County Use Only box; the Fiscal Office completes it.
Prepare the legal description sheet
On a separate sheet, write the legal description from the current deed of record, with the parcel number(s), routing number(s) and address(s) it describes. Identify vacant land by street name.
Review and download the completed PDF
Check every entry against your legal description sheet. Download or print the completed PDF from FillingPDF, or use the form's Print Form button, and assemble the package described under How to submit.
How to submit Sheriff Property Preapproval – Summit County, OH
The form names one destination for the finished package: the Summit County Clerk of Courts.
- Clerk of Courts: you submit the Final Judicial Report, this Property Description Approval Form and the approved legal description to the Summit County Clerk of Courts. This happens after the Fiscal Office has approved the legal description.
- Fiscal Office pre-approval: the Property Transfer Department of the Summit County Fiscal Office approves the legal description first. The form is printed under the Fiscal Office heading, 175 S. Main Street, Akron OH 44308. It gives no portal, mailing instruction or appointment rule for the pre-approval request, so ask the Fiscal Office how it receives requests.
- Separate sheet: the legal description travels on its own sheet of paper with the completed form.
FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the agency's channels above.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Writing the legal description on the form instead of on a separate sheet of paper, as the Fiscal Office checklist requires.
- Leaving parcel number(s), routing number(s) or address(s) off a legal description; each description must include the ones it describes.
- Submitting vacant land without identifying it by street name.
- Using a legal description that is not the one from the current deed of record.
- Filing the final judgment with the Clerk of Courts before the Property Transfer Department has pre-approved the description.
- Sending the Clerk of Courts the form without the Final Judicial Report or the approved legal description.
- Marking the Summit County Use Only box; it is reserved for the office.
- Entering the owner name on the owner line when it is the same as the name above; the line is only for an owner who differs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Sheriff Property Preapproval form?
It is the Summit County Fiscal Office's Property Description Pre-Approval Form. It is used in a foreclosure action to get the legal description for a Sheriff's deed approved by the Fiscal Office before the final judgment is filed with the Clerk of Courts.
Is this a Summit County property tax form?
It is published on the Summit County Fiscal Office forms page, which also lists the county's property tax forms, but it does not report or pay tax. Its purpose is approval of the legal description used in a Sheriff's deed after a foreclosure.
What do I submit to the Summit County Clerk of Courts?
The form says you submit three items to the Summit County Clerk of Courts: the Final Judicial Report, this Property Description Approval Form and the approved legal description.
What must the legal description include?
It goes on a separate sheet of paper and must include the parcel number(s), routing number(s) and address(s) it describes. The Fiscal Office adds that vacant land must be identified by the street name.
Which legal description should I submit for approval?
Submit the legal description from the current deed of record. The Fiscal Office's Property Transfer Department approves it before the final judgment is filed with the Summit County Clerk of Courts.
Can I fill out this form online?
Yes. You can fill out the PDF online on FillingPDF and download or print it. FillingPDF is an independent service and does not file the form or request approval from the Fiscal Office; you follow the agency's channels.
Does the Fiscal Office guarantee the information on the form?
No. The form's disclaimer says the Summit County Fiscal Office makes no warranties, expressed or implied, about the accuracy or completeness of the information.
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