Tax Certificate as strategy to control a property

[Shawn Hyde]

I have a situation that I have not run into before and I'm looking for some opinions.

I just purchased a 5 acre parcel, and during my due diligence I found a tiny slice of land-locked land along one edge of the property (40x100 land locked - in an area that requires 1 acre minimum to build).  The owner has no access whatsoever without forcing me or one the other adjacent property owners to provide an easement.  That possibility is precisely what I want to mitigate.

So, upon further research, I found a palatable amount of unpaid taxes -- and the county owned all of the certificates -- no one had bought them.  So, I bought the tax certificates as a first step.  The county doesn't have a good address for the owners and thus far I cannot find them.  I have not skip traced them yet, and I'm not sure I want to.  With some luck, they're in the wind and have abandoned this useless little parcel.

Questions:  If I own all the tax certificates that are sufficiently aged to force a sale, and I choose not to force a sale, is my only risk that the owner will come back into the picture?  Can the county force the sale without the tax certificate holder's consent (or at least notification)?  And as just a tax certificate holder, would I be notified of that sale or could it happen without my knowledge and I just get paid off?  (That would be a bummer).

So, the next thought is to force the sale.  My concern is that while it is unlikely anyone would bid against me on this parcel, it could happen.  And there's only one other person on earth I'd want to see owning this land -- and that's the other adjoining neighbor.  So, if someone shows up and bids, I might have to spend a bunch of money to buy this wasted slice of earth.

So... My thought is to either (a) hold on to the tax certificates that are old enough to force a sale, thereby giving me a lien and just pay the taxes going forward since it's just $50/yr.  or (b) force the sale of the property since I already own certificates that are old enough to get the property on the calendar.

The certificates are "low key".  The forced sale could stir a hornets nest that may have never been stirred.

What would you do?