Property company went bankrupt - left with no deed

[Brandon C.]

I've been reading the forums for a while, but never posted. My in-laws told me about a situation they are going through and this was the first place I thought to post to seek advice. I just heard about this this morning before work, so I don't have all the details but here's the situation. About 10-12 years ago, my in-laws bought a small plot of land in rural Tenn at some campground. They don't remember what they paid, but they think it was around $2500. They financed it over 2-3 years. Just as they paid it off, the property group went bankrupt. They paid the lot off, but the company never sent them a title. About 6-7 years ago, they decided they were going to try to sell the property since they rarely use it. When they called the office, that's when they found out about the previous company going bankrupt. The new company has no information on the lots and said they were unable to provide a deed. Tax on the property is like $6 a year - yes, 6 bucks! They have always paid that. About 3 years ago, they called again to try to get a deed or something. Again, the new company said they couldn't help and that it wasn't their problem. My in-laws said they weren't going to pay the $125 a year assessment fee if they couldn't provide evidence of ownership of the property. Fast forward to today. The property group sent a letter saying that if my in-laws didn't pay the assessment fees for the past 3 years wihtin the next 10 days that the property would be foreclosed on. If they didn't want to pay it, they could surrender the property to this company. My MIL said they could have the property, but the company told her that she needed to contact an attorney and get a quiet deed before they could do that. My MIL asked "How can you foreclose on property that you have no evidence that I own." Their response was that she had been paying taxes on it. Any suggestions on what my in-laws should do? They were going to get with a lawyer and get a quiet deed and be done with it. I told them to wait, because I don't want them to pay a bunch of attorney fees if they don't have to. This is the first time I've dealt with anything like this. Would appreciate any advice you have!