Lien Limbo

[Ricky Butler]

My wife located a property that we found out was owned by a local municipality. We went to the town and as it appears the town does in fact own this property at present. However, this property was sold to an investor back in 2012 at a town auction but couldn't close due to the above referenced lien issue. My question is; Is it possible to negotiate with that investor who's now in lien limbo, if we and/ or the town could somehow satisfy or resolve the lien issue?

[Eric H.]

@Ricky Butler Greetings!!

How do you know the lien holder couldn't close due to lien? Is it a tax lien state or tax deed state? Does the municipality offer over the counter sales of 'city' owned properties? If so, you should be able to purchase it directly from the city. It wouldn't hurt to contact lien holder/winning bidder to get some information from him/her. The more information you have on the property the better. I would have a title company perform a title search. That will reveal all liens held against property. This will cost you though so you have to decide if it's worth it because the title search may reveal that total liens against property negate potential equity in property, thus decreasing your profit margins. And if it doesn't make sense to acquire property, you're out of $200-$300.

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Eric H.