Abandoned Property

[Angie B.]

We drove by a house (driving for dollars) that appears to be abandoned, and it is in a decent neighborhood where we were looking at other properties. I looked up the owner, and after searching online, traced the LLC name and address back to Vesta Properties. http://vestaholdings.com/vesta/index.asp It appears they purchased the tax lien, but they were also listed as the property owner (I'm not sure if that is what automatically happens when you purchase a tax lien?).

Anyway, we were interested in contacting the owner to see if they want to sell, but now knowing this is a major company that invests in tax liens, what do you think? Do they typically want to sell the properties? I don't know enough about tax liens to know what the next move is.

[Patrice McCloud]

Hi @Angie B.

Based on the fact that the company that owns the tax lien certificate is the owner of the property indicates that the property itself reverted to them at a tax deed sale.  This means that the original owners of the property did not "redeem" (pay off back taxes) the property within a set period of time. (Please note: This process depends on your particular state.)  In Florida, the process is that the certificate owner exercised its rights to sell the lien to the highest bidder. No one placed a bid on the property, so they became the owners of the property.  (The deed is issued in the company's name.)

From my research (no hands-on experience yet), the companies that buy tax lien certificates do not want the properties, just the money invested plus the interest (It can be very lucrative!).  With that said, you may have a great chance of getting that property if you inquire. 

Best wishes!