Any explanation for not taking ownership of this home?

Question

I'm considering a property that is coming up in an upcoming tax sale and I'm very confused on the history. The property is in Indiana.

The tax lien on the house was purchased in 2015 by Empire 7 Portfolio LLC. However, they never petitioned to transfer the deed. Could anyone explain why a company might do this?

I'm concerned that they might have found some other significant liens that made the property unprofitable or something of the sort. I'm unsure how to determine this exactly. I've called a few title companies and they don't seem to work with tax sale properties, so I'm not sure what my best bet is for tracking this info down.

Adrien C. · Answer

Question 1- how do you know Empire 7 Portfolio purchased the tax lien in 2015? There are a number of reasons someone may not petition the court for the deed. Maybe the company dissolved. Maybe they didn't do the notification process correctly and didn't want to spend the extra time/money to re-do it correctly if even possible. Maybe they got several properties thinking some would redeem but only wanted a few. Who knows. But why they didn't redeem shouldn't affect your decision.

As far as title, any title company can pull current title on a property. Don't confuse them saying it's a tax sale property because they will get confused. Just ask them to pull title work on an address. That will show you everything on title and what you're dealing with. But most of it shouldn't matter because tax sales clean up most stuff. I believe things like IRS liens have a right of redemption but everyone else should be cleaned off assuming you use an attorney who does the proper notification.

Hope this helps. Text if you have more specific questions.

Dustin Haviland · Answer

@Clayton Barnes I worked for Marion County's Tax Sale division for numerous years before entering into the title side of the world. I work for a title company in Indiana and I am happy to help you on this matter. Feel free to PM me or call the office.

Brie Schmidt · Answer

I don't know how to search in Indiana but @Sharad M. or @Ryan Mullin might

@Clayton Barnes

Clayton Barnes · Answer

Thanks for the responses that is very helpful. I'm new to the game, and it sounds like my confusion is spreading to the people I'm interacting with at the title companies.As for how I found out about the previous tax lien purchase I was verifying that the property would in fact be in an upcoming tax sale with the treasurer's and auditor's office. They both told me that the tax lien had been purchased in 2015 by Empire 7 Portfolio. I just thought it was strange that they'd make an investment and simply let it fade away through inaction like that. I tried a little bit to chase the company down, but Empire VII seems to be a popular name in real estate all over the country. So I didn't have much luck.

I probably should have given a little more background. The property is directly across the street from my home. There was a woman living there who was buying it on contract from Bill. For whatever reason she folded on that deal around 2011. She left and the property has since been abandoned and has become a huge eye sore.

The property is still in Bill's name, but he is impossible to find. I have tried many times to locate him. I know HAND and other bits of city government have tried to chase him down for fines for not mowing etc as well with no luck. The closest I have come is someone from the sheriff's office saying "He's been in some trouble!" So I'm wondering if he isn't a guest of the state or something. His name is super common, and I don't have any other identifying information for him except for the property. So I struck out there many times trying to get the guy to take care of his place etc.Now I'm looking into just buying it and either renting or flipping it. I'm trying to get my ducks in a row and determine the numbers needed to make it work and to ensure that I'm not about to step into a bigger mess than I realize.

Sharad M. · Answer

Thanks @Brie Schmidt for the mention.

So @Clayton Barnes who is on the deed now that is losing the property? If the same owners as back in 2015, it's possible they redeemed it and then are losing the property again.

@Adrien S. any thoughts?

Any explanation for not taking ownership of this home?

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