Tag: tax deed

Georgia tax deeds: What if the delinquent taxpayer is deceased?

Posted by Jeff on

When a property owner dies, often taxes go unpaid, and the property gets transferred at a tax sale. This typically happens when a property owner dies without close family or when the decedent’s family thinks it’s too much hassle taking over the property (maybe the property is in bad shape or there is little equity).

As every good tax deed purchaser knows, 366 days after the tax sale, notices to terminate the right to redeem can be sent out. But who do you send these to when the main person entitled to redeem, the homeowner, is dead.

O.C.G.A § 48-4-45 answers this question and instructs that “heirs of any deceased owner of any land entitled to notice pursuant to this Code section shall be served by the sheriff or notified as provided in this article.” Ok. So if the former owner is deceased, you are required to serve his or her heirs. Seems simple enough, but how do you determine who the heirs are?

In our office, we start by getting the death certificate of the deceased individual. This tells us where the decencent was living and (normally) provides information regarding at least one family member. We then contact family members to determine the heirs. As you can imagine, family members aren’t thrilled to talk to an attorney’s office who’s trying to “take property away from” a loved one recently passed. However, after explaining the situation, we usually get the family members to help us.

We also check the probate courts to see if the dead person has an estate and had a will. If so, we get the probate paperwork. If the person died intestate (without a will), then we follow Georgia statutory intestate rules to determine the heirs, and try to get “affidavits of descent” from family members. These affidavits help establish who the decedent was married to, the identity of the children, and so forth.

This can be a lot of work. In one case, we had an elderly decedent who died without a will, wasn’t married, and had had nine children. Several of those children had passed, meaning several of the grandchildren were heirs. We ended up having to locate and serve approximately 19 heirs spread all over the country.

If you need to send out notices of foreclosure of right to redeem in Georgia, and are facing a similar situation, we’ll be happy to discuss your situation and answer any questions. Please call us at 404-382-9994.

Tax Deed Titles in Georgia

Posted by Jeff on

If you’ve purchased a tax deed in Georgia, how do you obtain a clear tax deed title, i.e., marketable title? That’s a question we get frequently. First and foremost, following a tax sale, you need to bar the right of redemption of the owner who didn’t pay taxes and any party who holds an interest in the property. We have covered this topic in other blogs on this website. But what about after you’ve barred the right to redeem? Are you able to put up a for sale sign and sell the property?

Generally, the answer is no if there’s a non-judicial tax sale on the property within the past 20 years. In other words, most title insurance companies won’t title insure such properties. So what do you do? There are generally three ways to obtain full title or what is known as “marketable title.”

The first way is to adversely possess the property for more than four years. Adversely possessing means taking full possession of the property in a manner that is (i) hostile (against the right of the true owner and without permission); (ii) actual (exercising control over the property); (iii) exclusive; (iv) open and notorious (using the property as the real owner would, without hiding occupancy); and (v) continuous.

The second way is to get a quitclaim deed from the owner who didn’t pay taxes and any party with an interest in the property.

The third way is to file a quiet title action in the Superior Court where the property is located. In such a lawsuit, the owner who didn’t pay taxes and any party with an interest in the property are named and allowed to object. A special master is appointed and ultimately the cour will issue an order clearing title. The order is recorded on the public record and the process is complete.

Please call us with any questions regarding tax deeds or the above methods of obtaining marketable title.

Service by Publication in a Quiet Title or Tax Deed Barment

Posted by Jeff on

In both a tax deed barment and the subsequent quiet title, a critical part of the procedure is serving all parties with an interest in the subject property. This includes lien holders, heirs, and anyone else with a claim against the property.

Often in these situations, especially when the property is distressed or abandoned, parties connected with the property may be hard to find. The best example is the delinquent taxpayer. That party has not paid taxes for one or more years, and, many times, has abandoned possession. If the delinquent taxpayer is gone and hasn’t left a forwarding address, that party may be anywhere.

What must be done in these situations? A reasonable and diligent search must be conducted to find and serve each party that has an interest. In a barment, this requires personal service for parties residing in the county of the tax sale or certified mail for parties residing outside the county. In a quiet title, personal service is required.

What if personal service or certified mail is unsuccessful? For example, you get back the certified letter stating it is undeliverable. In those situations, you’re entitled to serve by publication. This usually means advertising notice of the barment or lawsuit in the official county newspaper for four consecutive weeks.

Sound simple . . . usually it is  straightforward, but there are times when things don’t work out as expected. In a recent case, Dukes v. Munoz et al., A18A0572 (decided June 15, 2018), a tax deed holder, unable to serve the delinquent taxpayer, hired an investigator. The investigator came back saying the delinquent taxpayer could not be found after reasonable search. Relying on the investigator’s testimony, the tax deed holder barred the taxpayer’s right of redemption and filed a successful quiet title action.

Happy tax deed holder and end of story . . . not so much. Turns out that the delinquent taxpayer was a Georgia state legislator, who found out about the barment and quiet title. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that because a Google search would have provided the address for the delinquent taxpayer, the tax deed holder had not exercised proper diligence in locating the delinquent taxpayer. Therefore, service by publication was improper and the barment and quiet title were voided; the tax deed holder was forced to incur the expense of the barment and quiet title.

The takeaway is that it’s not sufficient to use the last known address of party if that address appears invalid. The best approach, in our opinion, is to spend a little extra money to make sure parties with an interest are served and given a proper opportunity to object.

Redeem a (Non-Judicial) Tax Deed

Posted by Jeff on

In Georgia, when property taxes are unpaid, a county is entitled to auction the property to the highest bidder to recover the unpaid property taxes. There are two types of auctions: non-judicial and judicial. This post only covers redeeming a property following a non-judicial tax sale, which includes most tax sales in Georgia.

Following a non-judicial tax sale, the taxpayer or any person who holds right, title, interest in, or a lien on the property may redeem the property within 12 months from the date of sale by paying the redemption amount. OCGA § 48-4-40. Redeeming means paying the tax deed purchaser to get the property back. The property may be redeemed at any time after the initial 12 months until the tax sale buyer forecloses (or terminates) the right to do so by giving proper notice.

To redeem a property following a tax sale, the redeeming party must pay the amount paid for the property at the tax sale, plus any taxes paid on the property by the purchaser after the sale for taxes, plus any special assessments on the property, plus a premium of 20 percent of the amount for the first year, plus 10 percent for each year after that. OCGA § 48-4-2.

After 12 months from the date of the tax sale, the purchaser can forever bar redemption of the property by giving notice to the delinquent taxpayer, the occupant, if any, and upon all persons having recorded any right, title, interest in, or lien on the property. OCGA § 48-4-5.

Suppose the property is not redeemed within the initial 12 month period or within the time allowed under the notice of the right of foreclosure. In that case, redemption is no longer allowed. OCGA § 48-4-47.

Whether you’re buying a tax deed or seeking to redeem a tax deed, please call us at 404-382-9994 to discuss your options.