Is it not up to the bank to buy it back, not the homeowner?
However 5 years is a long time before even seeing the problem.
Paul in PA
I know of a case in Sacramento, CA in which a flawed description from the 1950s (if memory serves) "created" a 10-foot strip that didn't exist. Years passed, but at some point the tax assessor discovered the bogus strip and made a tax parcel out of it. The owner -- who occupied the whole width of his parcel, including the strip, with fencing and other improvements -- didn't realize that it was part of his parcel and never paid the taxes. The strip changed hands a couple of times through tax sales, but because the strip seemed to have no economic value (this is in a very low-rent area), eventually the successor stopped paying taxes as well, and in a tax sale in the early 2000s the neighbor bought it. Now the homeowner is fighting with the neighbor, who wants to move his fence over, which would put the fence about 1.5 feet from the house and take most of the driveway. The current owner, the daughter of the original, has tried to invalidate the tax sale on the basis of the bad description (she has photos from the early 1960s showing the improvements occupying the strip), but has gotten nowhere. Several lawyers and several surveyors (including yours truly) have tried to help out, but to no avail. (I probably have $5k invested in the matter, but never billed her; she's of very limited means, and I wasn't able to improve her situation a bit.)
Oklahoma Statutes provide for a two-year "Right of Redemption" prior to the purchaser actually obtaining marketable fee from a "Sheriff's Deed" (tax sale). I'm assuming that's not the case here, or the time has transpired.
Jim
You've sparked a memory I had about reading some similar situation. Apparently the crux of litigation centered on an assessor's ability (or inability) to "create" real estate where none existed. I believe it was on appeal and sounded really complex.
That interests me, I'm gonna have to look for that article I read...
> Is it not up to the bank to buy it back, not the homeowner?
>
> However 5 years is a long time before even seeing the problem.
>
> Paul in PA
Good question. Especially given that even if the owner's escrow account at the bank was supposed to be used to pay the taxes, the bills still come to the owner. So the owner went 5 years without ever wondering why she wasn't getting a bill and/or paying taxes on that portion of her house? Odd.
It may vary from state to state, but in Oklahoma the escrow and distribution of ad valorem taxes are conducted by the lender as a courtesy. Ultimately the property owner is responsible for the account.
Similarly, years ago I was an hourly employee and my employer screwed up on my withholding. At the end of the year I owed big time and paid a penalty also. Although the employer is the 'custodian' of the funds, it is up to the employee to verify that the proper amount is being withheld.
I have a client that is being taxed for 75 acres that the Tax Office can not show him where it is on the tax map.
They can't find anything on the property period, except the fact that it is on the tax rolls.
I have looked into it and the acreage is exactly that of what property has been divided and transferred into 4 separate house tracts the client is paying taxes on.
The people at the tax office can not understand this and continue to send tax notices.
[sarcasm]Nobody can make any new land[/sarcasm]
Can A Tax Assessor Subdivide A Parcel ?
While a parcel in two municipalities may have a different tax parcel number in each municipality, it is still a single parcel via the deed. Parcels get subdivided by action of the Court. A Planning/Zoning Board is judicial and follows judicial procedures. The alternative action is a subdivision as a part of probating a will, which would be The Orphan's Court in PA.
While a Tax Sale is a judicial proceeding it can only sell what exists as a single entity. If the magic words of dividing the estate are not intended or used the sale of a part is moot.
I believe the above definitely applies in the case Jim Frame mentioned. That landowner still owns what was originally described.
Alternatively:
Depending on what the house is mortgaged for $150,000 could be a bargain price. Half the house would be free and clear of the mortgage and the value of what is owed on the mortgage should also be cut in half. Since it is the bank's actions that caused the value reduction not the half-homeowner the half-homeowner should prevail.
In addition since the neighbor has owned 1/2 the lot for a number of years the neighbor is estopped from being able to remove the former owner. I might say "Fine you own the land, pay the taxes, mow the grass, but stay out of my house"
Paul in PA
Can A Tax Assessor Subdivide A Parcel ?
> I believe the above definitely applies in the case Jim Frame mentioned. That landowner still owns what was originally described.
Unfortunately for my client, what was originally described wasn't what was intended. Whoever wrote the descriptions dividing the land wrote one starting from the south and the other starting from the north, and busted 10 feet. However, it was pretty clear that the subdivider didn't intend to keep the 10-foot strip; he sold the parcels with houses and improvements in place occupying all of the land, and had no other holdings in the area.
The assessor was at least inconsiderate if not negligent, but my client also blew it when the circa 2000 tax sale was announced. She received notice of it, but didn't understand where the parcel was located or why such a thing might affect her, so she ignored the notice. Her neighbor, with whom she was already feuding, knew a good thing when he saw it and bought the parcel, then started trying to occupy the strip. Threats were exchanged (my client's son is a very large guy), and things have remained in an uneasy stalemate for the last decade or so.
