In a divided district, a Georgia bankruptcy court held that the tax sale purchaser held a secured claim that the plan could modify under Code § 1322(b)(2) and pay over the term of the plan.
The court reasoned that under state law, legal title to the property remained with the debtor. As a result, the property itself and not just the debtor’s right of redemption were treated as property of the bankruptcy estate.
Even though the property had been sold in a prepetition tax sale under Georgia law, the debtor’s filing of a Chapter 13 proceeding during the redemption period allowed the tax sale redemption amount to be paid over the term of the plan.
In re Woodley, 579 B.R. 630 (Bankr. N.D. Ga., Dec. 18, 2017)