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    fordw60s

    fordw60s

    Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Sep 14, 2011
    21
    3
    Lufkin, TX
    Kraut said:
    Dude, you know you just gotta ask the old 118! His family used to own all of Slidell, remember! He might still be the owner for all we know! How was your first day back?

    What about alternate sources? Does any utility service cross or abut the land at any point? Anything that would require obtaining of permission or granting of right-of-way? Maybe the fire district, mosquito control, forestry, US Gegological Survey, wetlands agency/advocacy groups? Trying outside the box a little.
    Click to expand...

    The problem I have found with this is that what most people think is not what it is in the courthouse. I know one in st charles parish that a judge claims the land but actually it belongs to someone in California. It is more prominent in the south eastern parishes (Florida parishes)

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
     
    gbundersea

    gbundersea

    Just my 2¢
    Rating - 100%
    34   0   0
    Jun 4, 2007
    1,421
    38
    Walker, LA
    A word of warning about tax sale properties

    It's a little off topic, but since it came up more than once in this thread, I wanted to share some detailed information and cautionary advice about tax sale properties:

    According to the VERY experienced title attorney we use most often, and whom we trust completely, the courts in Louisiana are prone to awarding properties acquired through tax sales back to the original owners. Even if the buyer did EVERYTHING right and according to law, there is still a bias in the courts in favor of the person who didn’t pay the taxes. I saw it myself on a house not far from where I live. The buyer acquired it at tax sale, paid the taxes for FAR more than the 3 years required by law, filed all required notices, followed all legal requirements to the letter, and eventually took possession. After he’d done a major renovation to the house, the HEIRS of the (now deceased) former owner sued for possession, and won! (Not sure if any reimbursement to the new owner was made, etc.) The title attorney I mentioned told me that many title insurance companies won’t insure properties acquired via tax sale, for the reasons above.

    I asked another very trusted and experienced title attorney about this, and his reply reinforced what I'd already learned:

    Tax sale properties require title agents such as myself to get their Underwriters' approval. Many times the buyer can’t sell the property because the title isn’t insurable. Although a tax sale buyer goes through all the steps required by Louisiana Statutes, there still are constitutional concerns for attorneys. The Supreme Court has addressed much of the legislation and found most of it to pass constitutional muster, but they haven’t passed a sweeping thumbs up for every situation, which is the problem. Some tax sale owners find themselves stuck with property they can’t sell.

    The way tax sales are supposed to work in Louisiana is:

    1. Property goes to tax sale when taxes are delinquent.
    2. Buyer purchases the tax lien (NOT actual title to property) at tax sale. If nobody buys it, then it just sits with back taxes owed.
    3. Buyer immediately sends notification to owner in accordance with specific procedures defined in law.
    4. Buyer pays taxes for 3 years. Keep in mind that if it's a house, the homestead exemption will be lost after the tax sale, so the taxes for the subsequent years can be MUCH higher. (Note: The owner may redeem the property at any time during this period by paying the back taxes plus fees and interest. The holder of the tax lien (Buyer) generally gets all of their money back, plus an additional 5%, plus interest at 12%).
    5. If owner has not redeemed property after 3 years, Buyer can then move to acquire title.
    6. If Buyer wants to acquire property, they again must send notification to owner in accordance with specific procedures defined in law.
    7. Buyer has to file a motion for possession (not sure if that’s the correct legal term) and be awarded ownership (title) by the courts.
    In practice, I’ve been told that wise tax sale speculators will pay the taxes at least 5 years, and as many as 7. Even so, they still are subject to losing the property if the former owners (or even their heirs, apparently!) challenge them for it.
     
    hunter5567

    hunter5567

    Monolithic Mentor
    Rating - 100%
    133   0   0
    Oct 9, 2006
    2,683
    63
    Denham Springs, LA. near B.R.
    Will the former owners/heirs have to pay the back taxes + fees + interest if they challenge it and win?
    If so, I guess it could be a good way to make 12%+ on your money.



    gbundersea said:
    It's a little off topic, but since it came up more than once in this thread, I wanted to share some detailed information and cautionary advice about tax sale properties:

    According to the VERY experienced title attorney we use most often, and whom we trust completely, the courts in Louisiana are prone to awarding properties acquired through tax sales back to the original owners. Even if the buyer did EVERYTHING right and according to law, there is still a bias in the courts in favor of the person who didn’t pay the taxes. I saw it myself on a house not far from where I live. The buyer acquired it at tax sale, paid the taxes for FAR more than the 3 years required by law, filed all required notices, followed all legal requirements to the letter, and eventually took possession. After he’d done a major renovation to the house, the HEIRS of the (now deceased) former owner sued for possession, and won! (Not sure if any reimbursement to the new owner was made, etc.) The title attorney I mentioned told me that many title insurance companies won’t insure properties acquired via tax sale, for the reasons above.

    I asked another very trusted and experienced title attorney about this, and his reply reinforced what I'd already learned:

    Tax sale properties require title agents such as myself to get their Underwriters' approval. Many times the buyer can’t sell the property because the title isn’t insurable. Although a tax sale buyer goes through all the steps required by Louisiana Statutes, there still are constitutional concerns for attorneys. The Supreme Court has addressed much of the legislation and found most of it to pass constitutional muster, but they haven’t passed a sweeping thumbs up for every situation, which is the problem. Some tax sale owners find themselves stuck with property they can’t sell.

    The way tax sales are supposed to work in Louisiana is:

    1. Property goes to tax sale when taxes are delinquent.
    2. Buyer purchases the tax lien (NOT actual title to property) at tax sale. If nobody buys it, then it just sits with back taxes owed.
    3. Buyer immediately sends notification to owner in accordance with specific procedures defined in law.
    4. Buyer pays taxes for 3 years. Keep in mind that if it's a house, the homestead exemption will be lost after the tax sale, so the taxes for the subsequent years can be MUCH higher. (Note: The owner may redeem the property at any time during this period by paying the back taxes plus fees and interest. The holder of the tax lien (Buyer) generally gets all of their money back, plus an additional 5%, plus interest at 12%).
    5. If owner has not redeemed property after 3 years, Buyer can then move to acquire title.
    6. If Buyer wants to acquire property, they again must send notification to owner in accordance with specific procedures defined in law.
    7. Buyer has to file a motion for possession (not sure if that’s the correct legal term) and be awarded ownership (title) by the courts.
    In practice, I’ve been told that wise tax sale speculators will pay the taxes at least 5 years, and as many as 7. Even so, they still are subject to losing the property if the former owners (or even their heirs, apparently!) challenge them for it.
    Click to expand...
     
    gbundersea

    gbundersea

    Just my 2¢
    Rating - 100%
    34   0   0
    Jun 4, 2007
    1,421
    38
    Walker, LA
    hunter5567 said:
    Will the former owners/heirs have to pay the back taxes + fees + interest if they challenge it and win?
    If so, I guess it could be a good way to make 12%+ on your money.
    Click to expand...
    I'm not sure about what happens if a challenge is made once the property has changed hands. Chances are that even if the former owners have to pay those items, the 12% wouldn't begin to cover the legal fees one would incur trying to keep the property. Plus the legal fees spent for for the initial acquisition, plus any improvements...

    Some people/companies buy up tax properties simply to make the 12%, and/or to demand a settlement when the owners try to redeem them. Supposedly it is possible to lose your money in certain circumstances (not sure exactly how) but normally you get it all back, plus a 5% bonus, plus the 12% interest. You just have to hope that you can afford to pay those taxes every year until the owners redeem it!

    I bought a few really cheap tax liens on properties years ago. Most of them redeemed fairly quickly, and the interest didn't cover my certified mail and other expenses. (The amounts of back taxes were very small.) We discovered that another property should never have gone to tax sale; it had been subdivided and the taxes were being paid. We have to file some paperwork to get a refund on that one. The remaining two or three properties turned out to have owners whose addresses I was able to find. During the years I had them, I'd learned about how shaky those titles are, plus the taxes kept going up, so I was no longer interested in trying to acquire them. I wrote the owners letters stating that they were at the point where they could lose ownership of their property, and gave them the contact information so they could go redeem them. Not a single one of them replied, nor did they redeem the properties! I stopped paying the taxes, so they are now sitting in limbo, waiting for someone else to buy the liens, or for redemption. Until that happens, I'm out several hundred dollars. I learned my lesson!
     
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