BUYING A OCCUPIED PROPERTY AT A TAX DEED SALE ... WHAT NEXT ?

[Cathy M.]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a property for sale in a forthcoming Florida tax deed auction ( Manatee county ). I have bought several houses in Florida before at tax deed sales but they have all been unoccupied and I have taken possession that day after the sale and either requested a quiet title or waited 3 years for the title to become mine as no challenges to title were made.

The question I have is that the house I am looking to bid on at the tax deed auction is still occupied by the owners. 

The owners have been contesting a foreclosure for several years and this is still in effect.

If I am the highest bidder at the tax deed auction do I get immediate possession ?

Will the tax deed sale wipe out the mortgage ?

What strategies could I use if the owners refuse to move out ?

Note : I have considered using cash for keys in the first instance and failing that a quiet title search followed by an ejectment. 

Does anyone have any experience of carrying out an ejectment of the owners in Sarasota, Florida as to approximate costs and timescales if a ejectment is followed through.

Also do you have a good attorney that you can recommend to do this.

Many Thanks

Cathy

[Laura Richards]

I think you may be using the wrong tool for the job. You will already have title so you don't need to "quiet" it unless you need to sell it with marketable title soon. An eviction is also not the correct tool because you have no lease or even assumed tenancy based upon performance (month to month payments). Instead you may need an ejectment which is similar to eviction just usually more expensive. You may also be able to use a form of writ similar to that used in foreclosures when the Sheriff serves a notice to vacate.