Skip to content
×
Try PRO Free Today!
BiggerPockets Pro offers you a comprehensive suite of tools and resources
Market and Deal Finder Tools
Deal Analysis Calculators
Property Management Software
Exclusive discounts to Home Depot, RentRedi, and more
$0
7 days free
$828/yr or $69/mo when billed monthly.
$390/yr or $32.5/mo when billed annually.
7 days free. Cancel anytime.
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here

Join Over 3 Million Real Estate Investors

Create a free BiggerPockets account to comment, participate, and connect with over 3 million real estate investors.
Use your real name
By signing up, you indicate that you agree to the BiggerPockets Terms & Conditions.
The community here is like my own little personal real estate army that I can depend upon to help me through ANY problems I come across.
Innovative Strategies
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

Updated about 9 years ago on . Most recent reply

User Stats

80
Posts
16
Votes
Glenn Mayo
  • Fort Worth, TX
16
Votes |
80
Posts

A REALLY sticky situation I could use some help with

Glenn Mayo
  • Fort Worth, TX
Posted

Ok. Here's what's going on:

My wife's grandmother had a house that was owned free and clear and, when she died in 2008, there was no will deeding the house to anyone else, so it kind of became a "family estate". Currently, my wife's aunt and cousin live in the house, but they have absolutely destroyed what was once a beautiful home, and they have allowed the taxes to run in arrears. Two years ago this month, my mother-in-law went in and paid the taxes to avoid tax foreclosure on the house. But since then, the family has not paid taxes, and they are now two years in arrears again. They are not yet in foreclosure as far as I know, and I don't know at what point they'd go into foreclosure, but surely they cannot continue to live in the house without paying taxes and have there be no consequences.

My wife and I have advised her mother not to pay the back taxes on the house again, because that would only enable the "ingrates" (as my wife calls them) to continue on as they are, and my mother-in-law is retired and on a fixed income, and she simply can't keep forking over a couple of thousand dollars every couple years to prevent the loss of her family home.

So. What I want to know is, is there ANY way in which we could catch the house before it went into tax foreclosure, pay off the back taxes, gain control of the deed and the house, and evict the current occupants so we can do a full gut rehab on the home and return it to its former glory? I know we could technically buy it out of tax foreclosure, but the problem is that, if it goes into foreclosure, it's fair game, and ANYONE can buy it, putting us in a bidding war with strangers over our family home. So, we're not really sure what to do.

Ok, Bigger Pockets; you guys collectively know everything there is to know about real estate. Help us figure a way to get this house, restore it, and put people in there who will appreciate it.

Most Popular Reply

User Stats

3,866
Posts
3,548
Votes
Rick H.#4 Marketing Your Property Contributor
  • Lender
  • Greater LA/Orange County area, CA
3,548
Votes |
3,866
Posts
Rick H.#4 Marketing Your Property Contributor
  • Lender
  • Greater LA/Orange County area, CA
Replied

@Wayne Brooks Perhaps I triple blocked your posts (accidentally each time, I'm sure). 

I agree with Wayne. I don't know much of anything about Texas real estate beyond that there's lots of it and probate PR's have statutory stay on defaulted mortgages from going to sale. 

Also, they've got anomalous laws concerning property taxes. Since I don't invest outside if CA, I can only guess. 

Absent some other plan, I think you'd need to acquire the interests of heirs and probate the estate. Absent a will, the heirs would be all living children of Grandmother or her issues (children's children, if immediate heirs predecessor her). 

You'd want to give them something of value (free rent for about a week) in exchange for their inheritance. 

Maybe while you're renting the house for termites you could...ok, maybe not. I had my creative real estate hat on too tight.

Loading replies...