Arizona tax deed marketability

[Jeff Baker]

Hi everyone, I am purchasing my first tax deed in Arizona. It's a low value, empty lot, an an area that I'm familiar with and I think value will increase in a year or two. I understand that title companies are cautious about insuring tax deeds. Is there a magic number of years that need to pass before a title company will feel it's in the clear? I have heard from 2 years to 20 years as the magic number but I have yet to speak with anyone who has actually held an Arizona tax deed in order to successfully clear the clouded title. My contact at a title company seems knowledgable, but couldn't come up with a number besides "the longer you wait, the better chance an underwriter will approve it". I briefly talked with a real estate attorney with 50 years experience about quiet title as an alternative and he seemed totally clueless about tax deeds in general.

I would love to hear from someone who actually has purchased a tax deed from an Arizona County and successfully sold it with an insurable title and warranty deed. How did you do it?

The foreclosure process on this lot was performed by the county Treasurers office because no one bought any of the tax liens for over 10 years and the county took possession back in 2017 via Treasurer's deed. 

Thanks in advance for your insights.

-Jeff