How to locate the rightful Heir?

Question

Hey all Bigger Pockets Fans,
I have an interesting situtation in which I'm seeking advice from anyone who may have encountered the same. I own a duplex in Colorado Springs CO. and in the same neighborhood is an older single family residence that has been abandoned(or so the decal placed on the front door by the city code enforcement says so. I found the last recorded owners through the county assessor's site only to find out they are deceased. This couple had owned the property for over 30 years. At the same time I found out that the tax lien has been purchase by another investor which has a 3year redemption period in CO.
    Meantime I sent out a couple of letters to some folks that I had reason to believe might be family and possibly the rightful heirs. Nothing positive came of that.
    My question of the day?.......Does anyone have thoughts on how to seek out the heirs to this building if any. Ultimately I would like to negotiate a deal with that person, cure any back taxes and have the property deeded to mself.
    Does any of this make sense?
Any feedback........ideas........thoughts would be greatly apreciated.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this.

On another note. Seeking to purchase in the Colorado Springs area, Duplexes, Triplexes and Fourplexes with a buy and hold strategy. Any investors out their looking to liquidate, lets talk.

John Underwood · Answer

Michael,

See if you can find an online obituary.

If you get lucky these typically have a wealth of information about family members.

Also search probate records to see if there are any records available.

See where the property tax bills are being sent to see if there is another address than the property itself.

John

Michaela G. · Answer

Don't know about Colorado, but it it's an open record state, you can order/buy the death certificate of the person, who died last among those 2. The informant listed is usually a relative, but not always, if none can be found. But that would be a good first step.

Rick H. · Answer

Welcome to the BP forum community.

There are obviously a lot of barriers to monetizing your opportunity.

Chief among them is that you are now working against the clock of the tax lien and the time to redeem. Are we talking weeks, months or years before that drop dead date?

Next issue is to determine WHO the heirs are. Presuming the last of the owners to die died intestate (no will) the preferred heirs to pursue would be offsprings as natural heirs under the laws of consanguinity for CO state.

If childless, you would follow the genealogical chart that you'll create up the family tree to their parents (or grandparents) and back down among living relatives.

A good place to start is the online social security death index and/or your state's vital records. Also, check your county for death certificate(s) and review to determine informant or next of kin.

Then you are in the search, located, skip trace mode.

Which takes you to the contact and convert step. How will you document the sale of their inheritance to you?

Your next step will likely be probating the estate of one or both deceased owners. This takes a little money, legal expertise and some time. Without probate, the only other way to pass title that is practical is to buy the tax lien.

Yes, there are a few moving parts and hurdles.

Jassem A. · Answer

Try beenverified website.  It lists possible relatives and associates and has addresses and phone numbers. From there you can look for relatives and associates in social media as well.

Bill S. · Answer

@Michael Simek you might check and see if probate has already been started for it by making a trip to the court house. Also get a title company to run an O&E on it as well. That can sometimes give you inside information about debt on the property which might be why the heirs abandoned it.

Michael Simek · Answer

Thank you all for your replies. Great information and advice. Just what I needed to get my batteries recharged on this little project.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Thx again

Mike

Tiger M. · Answer

We have seen this a couple times. We had our attorney appointed to become the executor for the probate, then completed the redemption through the probate court. Attorney didn't charge us anything as he was paid from the estate proceeds.

How to locate the rightful Heir?

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