Advice needed with Quit Claim Deed wholesale purchase

[Catalin B.]

I found a property that is under contract...seller has 12k in county unpaid taxes...after factoring in the unpaid taxes, the numbers are solid.

-seller wants to sell with quit claim deed...warranty deed not possible since owner has unpaid back taxes?

-property was purchased in 2016 from HUD...on the County records, the Sales Amount of transaction shows $0...not sure why...who is typically holding the mortgage on a HUD purchase?

-I have a lawyer that is charging a reasonable flat fee for closing the deal...I wonder if a title search on my end ($250 maybe) will save me the flat fee that my lawyer will ask for, in case that the deal will be a no go due to some other findings.

Looking for advice and tips since this is my first transaction of this type.

[Lynnette E.]

You may want to discuss if a quit claim deed is a good pathway with a local title insurance company and your attorney.  It varies a lot by the locality/county and state.  In some areas you may not be able to sell the property if you hold the title by a quit claim deed, even if you were issued title insurance when you buy it.

In some areas you could pay the taxes through escrow as the property is closed and get a warranty deed.  THAT would be the safer pathway.