Scenario:
The developer of 52 lot subdivision in Mississippi lost his subdivision due to non-payment of taxes. The subdivision has retention basins at the northeast and southwest corners of the property that aren't being maintained. The residents want to know who is responsible for maintenance, but can't get a straight answer from anyone.
The southwest basin being adjacent to (20') the top bank of a non-navigable creek. Both retention basins are identified by the same parcel ID. According to the tax rolls, the State now owns both retention basins.
My questions are:
1) How did the State acquire the rights to these basins and not the City or County?
2) Could a non-navigable waterway (creek) have anything to do with this situation?
3) Does anyone know of any precedent that could explain this situation?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Kevin
> Scenario:
> The developer of 52 lot subdivision in Mississippi lost his subdivision due to non-payment of taxes. The subdivision has retention basins at the northeast and southwest corners of the property that aren't being maintained. The residents want to know who is responsible for maintenance, but can't get a straight answer from anyone.
>
> The southwest basin being adjacent to (20') the top bank of a non-navigable creek. Both retention basins are identified by the same parcel ID. According to the tax rolls, the State now owns both retention basins.
>
> My questions are:
> 1) How did the State acquire the rights to these basins and not the City or County?
> 2) Could a non-navigable waterway (creek) have anything to do with this situation?
> 3) Does anyone know of any precedent that could explain this situation?
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Kevin
In Mississippi, who actually takes possession of property "lost" due to a tax impound? If someone has taken possession of the property, particularly a public or government entity, there is a conveyance somewhere.
It could also be someone "at the mouse" for the tax folks simply not understanding what has happened.
All states have different laws and procedures. But generally when property is seized due to unpaid taxes there is a paper trail a mile long. I fall short of understanding Mississippi laws. Was there an outstanding mortgage on the property?
Lots of things could have happened.But if the State has actual title to the areas, there was a conveyance, most likely of record.
In my area failure to pay property Taxes, the local municipality would acquire the property through foreclosure.
Is it possible the State seized the corporate assets due to a corporate tax lien?
I agree, there should be a paper trail a mile wide, but there seems to be a major delay in recording and indexing for this particular county. I guess my main train of thought was that since the retention basin in the southwest was adjacent to a creek, that MAYBE there was an automatic reversion to the state due to some sort of environmental law that I am not aware of, like the Clear Water Act or some sort of wetland/swamp land ordinance.
Dan, this may be the case, but as I replied to Uncle Paden, there is a major delay in getting these documents in the books to be reviewed. Thanks for a new path to look down.
Kevin
Something else you might look at:
I had the (dis)pleasure of writing a metes and bounds description of ALL of the street R/W in a platted area that had been foreclosed. It had been foreclosed upon by an out-of-state bank, not the government as in your case.
Anyway, the bank was wanting to "quit claim" to the local City government on all the property that WAS NOT a sellable lot. There was a detention area and park that was kind of in limbo. It was suppose to be maintained by a POA, but no such entity had ever been created.
Kind of a weird deal. The City actually already had the public RW due to the plat, but the bank was wanting to wash their hands of any maintenance costs. Although I prepared the documents, I have no idea if the City ever actually accepted the park and pond. Something similar to this may be what's happening in your case.
Check the court records. Although the land title records may take time to update court decisions should be more current. This may include county, state courts and federal bankruptcy courts. Local attorneys, primarily the county prosecutor, may be aware of the courts involved.
Thanks for all of your input. You have given me avenues to consider that I wouldn't have normally. Many thanks.
Happy Easter to All!!! May your family gathering be safe and joyous occasions.
In Mississippi, property taxes have to be delinquent and go through the tax sale of the city or county for three years before a tax deed is issued. Even then, only a tax deed is issued, which is a quit claim deed at best. Any other liens or judgments against the property can still be valid, and someone trying to get clear title to the property will have to go before a judge to quiet the title. Probably what happened with this property is that no one bid or paid the late taxes at the sale. If a parcel does not sell after three times, the local government will issue a tax deed to the state, which in turn will list the property as surplus property and try to sell it. It is probably listed on a state web site somewhere. I have seen developers do this several times to keep from having to pay the cost of maintenance. They know if they just stop paying the taxes, they can walk away from it.
How Many Of The 52 Lots have Homes?
A Property Owners Association could be formed by a majority of homeowners. Generally the developer controlled the POA until enough homes were sold that they were in the majority.
It may be possible to do a limited POA and not take over all the proposed POA responsibilities. There should be some escrow money for maintenance but the state may have seized that to cover other debts. I would be fairly sure the state does not want to take on POA responsibilities.
Paul in PA
Non-payment of taxes could mean Federal, State (likely), or local. My guess is the state seized the property and could not sell the ponds because nobody would want that headache.