Bidding on the tax sale - Baltimore City

[Steph Potter]

Hi all. I am really trying to figure out how to put in a bid on the Baltimore City tax sale (coming up in May). They provide a format for calculating the bid but no real directions with it. I've got a sample of the bid, but want to be sure I'm understanding what I've put together - don't want to get caught with a bill due that's bigger than what I planned.  The house has outstanding taxes (the $7K) with a face value of $100.6K. The way this reads, if I bid $50K and win, the amount I would owe is $8,952. But I'm thinking that I would owe $58,952. Not trying to be thick, just making sure there are no curves here. Thanks for not calling me dumb.

Here's what I'm looking at:

Taxes:		7000
High Bid Premium:
Cash Value:	$100,600.00
40% Cash value ($100,600 x .40)	$40,240.00
Bid:	$50,000.00
Less 40% Cash Value:	$40,240.00
Total:	$9,760.00
20% Premium ($9,760 x .20):		$1,952.00
Total Payment:		8952