abandon home owner died in 2009

[Mike Chubb]

   so this property is severly distressed property taxes not paid since 2010(went to the court house to find out exactly) i see that she is still on the title and cant find if there was a will however i searched on line and found that she does have 2 sons and a daughter my question is do i have to contact them to buy the land? or can i go about it another way since they obviously dont want to deal with it the house must be torn down its a shack and not at all livable but it is in a great area has anyone ever delt with this issue? wht did you do? what can be done? would it be beneficial to obatin this property for nothing to buld to suit for a rental?

[Victor Menasce]

Where is the property? 

Depending on the location, even if you purchase the property through a tax sale, the heirs may have a right of redemption. I would suggest you contact a local attorney who specializes in tax sales and probate. If the rightful owner was not served notice of the tax sale, the right of redemption after the tax sale can be quite long in some jurisdictions (21 years). So you need to do your legal homework. Talk to your title company as well. They will tell you if they will insure title. 

If you can't find the rightful owner, then you may be able to still buy the property and go through a legal process of quieting title. This process can take 6-12 months, at the end of which, you will be able to get title insurance.

And yes, once all that is done, you may have a property that is worth building on, if the values in the area are high enough. If you can build for, say, $110 per square foot, and sell for $220 per square foot or better, then you can make some money. But don't forget to account for all the soft costs (design, permits, engineering, holding costs, interest expense, insurance, RE Commissions, etc). 

You'll need to match the design of the new home to the market demand. Don't build too much, and not too little.