Illegal parcel split?

[Robert Fisher]

I am interested in purchasing a bank-owned property in Northern Michigan, however there seems to be one major problem. The GIS information for the parcel says that it was "illegally split" last year. Basically it appears that somehow they managed to split a larger parcel into three smaller parcels, leaving one of them without road access. I believe this is why it's called an illegal split.

I called the listing agent and he was very pessimistic about the property and didn't even want to discuss how to proceed with remedying the situation. At this point I don't have a buyer's agent, because I'd like to get some idea of what I'm in for before signing with an agent.

I've called the local Equalization office for some assistance, but so far no one has returned our calls. I've also left messages at the owning bank, but again, no one has returned my calls.

Can anyone help me understand how to proceed to fix the lot split issue? Does it actually need to be fixed prior to purchasing the property?

Thank you very much!