Who is responsible to check if a tax sale case is valid

[Jianzhou Zhao]

Can we assume all listed tax sale (tax lien, tax deed or hybrid) properties are valid cases?

For example, I found some properties are owned by non-profit companies exempted from property taxes, and a property has non-paid tax because the property address was changed (for example, the street or the city name is renamed) while for some reason its county still uses the previous address to collect tax... I can imagine there could be other cases I do not know based on my knowledge.

If I won tax sale for such cases, what would happen? Will such property owners still need to repay me? Will county refund my purchase cost?

[Ned Carey]

@Jianzhou Zhao NO you can  NOT assume a case or lien is valid.  However if the validity is not challenged, a foreclosure may be valid once completed. In MD the validity of a lien must be challenge during the foreclosure case or it is presumed valid.

Generally when a lien is voided you get your original money back but no interest or other costs like legal fees.  This will vary by state or local law. 

Sometimes the county will catch it and refund your money automatically. My attorney reviews things before taking any action to look for potentially invalid liens. When he finds a lien that should be void he contacts the tax sale office to get a refund. The sooner you catch this the better, as you are not collecting any interest on a void lien. Bankruptcy, taxes paid but not recorded, or in Maryland prior open tax sale cases will make a lien void.

Now another issue is whether the non profit status applies. We have taken churches in tax sale. Churches are exempt from property tax but they are not exempt for fines, violations or water bills. Also the churches we have taken were not in use so they may have lost their exemption anyway.