TAX CERTIFICATE STRUCTURE BEING DEMOLISHED. HOW TO HANDLE?

[Brittany Wilkerson]

Hi, everyone. Just looking for some advice. I purchased a tax certificate for a property that sold to the state of Alabama in 2019. Yesterday I received a notice from the county saying the property is a nuisance and will be demolished.  The notice gives me 15 days to file an appeal. I called the building official and he said that they've been in court for the past 2 years trying to get the property demolished and the last they heard was that the owner was in prison in TN. I don't care about the structure, but I would like to have the lot. Are they going to just place a lien on the lot and bill me for the demolition cost or should they bill the owner for the cost as I don't own it and only have the tax lien? 

[Denise Evans]

The city can foreclose their lien and sell the property at auction. That lien trumps your tax certificate, so the city foreclosure purchaser can get the property and not pay you anything. As far as I have been able to find out (Somebody PLEASE correct me if you know better) the demolition lien is good for 20 years. It racks up interest that whole time. The city does NOT have the ability to accept less than payment in full to release a lien. Their hands are tied because the statutes do not allow that. So, you can ignore the lien, but the eventual price tag will increase by 7.5% per year, meaning the lien will double every 13 years.