Tax certificates and liens

[Tamika Rue]

Hello all! It's been awhile, I've been laying low. I applied for a property a couple months ago and I just got the tax certificate today. This is the very first tax lien property I've ever purchased. I was going to try to sale it but my bf thinks I should keep it for longevity. I'm not sure if it's vacant or not. I'm going to go by there tomorrow. Any tips or advice on what I should do next?

[Denise Evans]

@Tamika Rue and @Yaminah Muhammad, it is not enough that the property is vacant, it must be abandoned. Abandoned means the owner has no intention of ever coming  back, ever doing anything with the property, ever letting a relative fix it up and live in it sometime in the future. If the property is merely vacant and neglected, you CANNOT just change the locks and start doing your thing. You have to get an ejectment order from the court. If you actually speak to the owner and they tell you they don't want the property, THEN you can change the locks and take over. 

If you do the wrong thing here, the owner can sue you and collect damages against you AND not have to pay you for your improvements.

To help understand why this is the rule, think about a landlord/tenant situation. Suppose the lease has ended and the tenant is no longer entitled to possession. Only the landlord is entitled to possession. The law is very clear about that, just like the law is clear that a tax certificate or tax deed owner is entitled to possession. But, if the tenant won't leave, you can't just go in and change the locks and put their stuff in storage or throw it out. You have to go to court and get an eviction order from the judge. You cannot engage in self-help possession. It is the same thing with tax sales. You cannot engage in self help possession unless the property is abandoned. Not does it APPEAR abandoned, but is it REALLY abandoned. Only the owner knows for sure, because it all depends on his or her intentions.

Please be very careful. Owners and their lawyers are getting very aggressive in suing tax sale investors who do self-help possession when property has not been abandoned.  Judges are ruling against investors.  The safest thing is to give your notice to vacate or surrender possession, wait out any time periods (six months for tax certificate, none for tax deed) and then file your ejectment lawsuit.