Clearing up an IRS and Franchise Tax Board Lien on a CA Property

[James Peters]

So this discussion is not about investing in tax liens, but I thought the community here might be able to help.  I have been spending the last 3 years cleaning up a mess that was made of my grandmother's estate and this is the latest development.

I have a property in Long Beach, California that was my grandmother's.  I am trying to tap some of the equity so I can turn the property into a rental that will produce some income for my father (he is currently living there, but in the process of moving him) who is not physically well.

The property has a mortgage with 195k still owed, the property taxes are up to date, and is valued in the high 500 to low 600k range.  

In the process of trying to tap some of the equity I discovered that there is a federal and state tax lien totaling about 70k.  Apparently this was filed in the middle of 2014.  My father states that he never saw anything.  He also did not file taxes for my bedridden grandmother the last 5 years of her life.  

I am currently in contact with the fed and the state and getting them the paperwork they need to see that I am the executor of the estate.

I am looking for any advice from anyone who has dealt with this?  This is the latest in a long line of things I have been cleaning up and looking forward to hearing from the BP community for any guidance or advice.

Thanks!

James