If there is ever a shortage of chaos, simply call in a land surveyor.
There was a fellow in my county who was born to be eccentric.?ÿ That sort of describes his entire extended family.?ÿ Some have used that trait to become wealthy and others to be much less so.?ÿ In his case, he was a favored son and thus provided financial resources at an early age that allowed him to invest, re-invest, sell, buy, swap and generally play with real estate.?ÿ Everything from empty city lots to large agricultural tracts.?ÿ He was my client on probably 20 different occasions.?ÿ Several years ago he began to fail physically, partially as a result of the polio he contracted as a young lad.?ÿ His less than brilliant son was put in charge of handling financial matters for the ailing father.?ÿ Big mistake.?ÿ The son is only interested in spending more money than he has.?ÿ My former client passed away last year.
That leads up to the story of one special survey I handled for this fellow sometime in the 1990's.?ÿ Among his scattered holdings was a simple aliquot tract being the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of the section.?ÿ Lying directly to the north of that tract is a cemetery that opened in the 1870's.?ÿ The cemetery tract is not described as an aliquot part but by metes and bounds.?ÿ The perimeter is easy to identify with county roads along two sides and dense cedar tree rows along the other two sides.?ÿ The best guess is that the words and the intent of the 1870's description were two different things.?ÿ The tree rows/fences are approximately 35 feet into the (now) two adjoining tracts.?ÿ In the 1870's those (now) adjoining tracts did not exist and were simply portions of the larger aliquot part from which the cemetery was to be severed.
Enter the land surveyor.?ÿ The client's aliquot description, when located per the rules, included roughly 35 feet of cemetery land, including a number of graves.?ÿ The client was selling this land to an out-of-towner who was wanting to build a very nice home and create a sort of rural estate for his waning years.?ÿ The client was told of the dilemma.?ÿ No problem.?ÿ "Create a description that conforms to the cemetery fence/tree row for the part I am selling and I will deed the?ÿ other strip you describe to the cemetery association to clear up the problem.", he said.
Great idea.?ÿ But, it turns out he never got around to deeding the strip to the cemetery association and apparently never mentioned it to them.?ÿ The County has been assessing property taxes on "his" strip ever since.?ÿ Enter less than brilliant son.?ÿ He decides to not pay property taxes on this tract and a few others.?ÿ Currently, there is the official newspaper announcement of over 100 tracts around the County that are scheduled to be sold in a few months to attempt to recover the missing tax money.?ÿ This little strip is on that list.
So..........if you are interested in buying a burial plot of immense dimensions, let me know.
I would hope the cemetery association will bid and everyone else will have the decency to abstain.
That would be a good idea.?ÿ I have already spoken with one of the trustees about this at length.?ÿ The number one thing they need to do is to do nothing until the last minute ahead of the tax sale.?ÿ The not so brilliant son would probably pay the $125 in back taxes and then attempt to force the cemetery association to pay him a few thousand to get it directly.?ÿ They do not have the money to do that, so such an attempt would do nothing but throw it back into limbo for another five years or so until the next tax sale comes along.?ÿ They can probably bid a dollar or ten dollars at the sale because anyone in their right mind would not want a strip about 35' by 660' in the first place, especially when they discovered it is already "in use" by others............permanently.?ÿ This is out in the country and the "estate" is the only adjoiner.?ÿ Heck, I could buy it and then donate it.
Rural cemeteries are a pox on our industry around here.?ÿ Most are semi-neglected; some are remote and hardly visible.?ÿ Almost all are either poorly or incorrectly described.?ÿ Most of them were maintained through the later part of the 20th. century by loosely organized groups, but those folks are dropping like flies.
I remember one that was dedicated (conveyed) in 1899 to a church.?ÿ Of course the church ceased to exist after WWII.?ÿ The maintenance was performed by a local VFW.?ÿ Which, btw, no one could explain exactly why...except for the fact "they had always taken care of it".?ÿ
Maintenance consisted of one weekend a year of mowing, brush removal and fence mending.?ÿ This weekend was usually a little before Memorial Day.?ÿ County tax rolls still listed it as "exempt" with the name of the non-existent church.?ÿ The newest addition I could find on any headstone was in the late 1940's.?ÿ I also remember a small stone marker there that simply read, "BO - THE BEST DOG A MAN COULD HAVE".
Nestled in the SE corner of the SW/4, the deed simply read "12 and one-half rods square in the SW/4".?ÿ ?ÿWhile I had no way of determining the exact age the fence, the corner posts were large marble monoliths that appeared to me to be just about as old as the cemetery itself.?ÿ The trouble was that the fence encroached on the SE/4 by about a rod...along with a good dozen or so "occupants".
It was a mess neither current owner wanted to address.?ÿ The title company, the property owners and the VFW finally settled their business.?ÿ I did write a QCD description for the portion of the cemetery that hung over into the SE/4.?ÿ I guess that was my small contribution to perpetuate the eternal peace.
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Heck, I could buy it and then donate it.
It's not everybody who can say they owned a cemetery, even for a brief time.
The stories are endless but sometimes very interesting.?ÿ Prior to the establishment of the formal cemeteries dead people were getting plunked down a little bit of everywhere.?ÿ My county was opened for settlement in late 1865.?ÿ Most of the true cemeteries did not get started until at least 1870, so there was roughly five years of people dying with nowhere to go.?ÿ Many were attached to a church or adjacent to a school or some other public place.?ÿ Others simply popped up willynilly based on someone being willing to set aside a chunk of their homestead for the benefit of the neighborhood.?ÿ
I was thinking of one recently that seemed to make no sense whatsoever.?ÿ It is by far the largest cemetery serving a county seat town, but it is nearly five miles from the core of the town.?ÿ That was a long trip in horse and buggy days.?ÿ Part of the reason is the town is either river/creek bottom ground or solid limestone with a few inches of soil.?ÿ I know that far too well.
Some rural cemeteries I have seen in the steep regions of Missouri look as though it would be appropriate to have a chain from a tree to the casket to keep it in place. Trip, and you might stop about 30 graves later.
I know of one not far from here that began on a grassy knob midway between two towns.?ÿ A few years later a different spot was dedicated for the cemetery about five miles away and all but one of the long term residents was moved to the new site.?ÿ Poor guy must be terribly lonely.
?ÿlook as though it would be appropriate to have a chain from a tree to the casket to keep it in place. Trip, and you might stop about 30 graves later.
I haven't seen any of the cemeteries in that area, but am reminded of Mt Moriah cemetery in Deadwood SD.?ÿ There seems to be a terrace level for every row of graves.
Around here there arent any records for some of the older cemeteries. Some that did have deeds recorded were deeded to the trustees. Problem is, when they did that, a lot of them are in the reference books under the last name of whoever the first trustee listed on the deed was. Finding them back in the 1800??s is sometimes next to impossible.?ÿ
The church I grew up attending was built pre-civil war. A battle was fought there and the is still a bullet hole in the side of it. When the chirch has been resided, that hole gets a new plexiglass cover. The cemetery around it was started at the same time.?ÿ
How do they sell tax delinquent real estate up there where polar bears roam? Here you have to have bought 3 consecutive tax deeds (certificates) before you can foreclose on the parcel. A 3 year minimum investment. The certificate bidding starts at 18%. I'm going to register to bid on the 2020 sale early next year just out of curiosity. ?????ÿ
A metes and bounds description implies a Survey was done especially in the 19th century when anyone could be a surveyor. The grantor of the the aliquot could not sell what he no longer owned.
The County puts much effort into determining who appears to be responsible for not paying a certain number of years of taxes on a specific property.?ÿ This time there are over 150 tracts listed.?ÿ They publish in the official newspaper (3 times) a listing for each property, the general description, the owner of record and any known parties who may have a direct interest and the total amount of taxes owed plus penalties, etc. thus producing a number that the owner would need to pay in order to remove the property from the list.?ÿ The owner and certain related parties are forbidden to be bidders at the auction.?ÿ On the announced auction date everyone interested, plus looky loos, come to the courthouse at the announced starting time.?ÿ A lengthy speech is given as to all the where as's and so forth's involved in successfully bidding and paying for purchases.?ÿ If a bidder has an outstanding property tax bill on something they already own, they are not allowed to bid/win the bid.?ÿ Then they begin auctioning Case #1 and work their way numerically to whatever is the final number.?ÿ Any bid may be the winning bid.?ÿ There is no minimum set.?ÿ I purchased three city lots for $10, for example, a few years ago.?ÿ I have seen properties go for over $20,000, which far exceeded the back taxes owed, but was still far less than the true value of the property.?ÿ Following the auction, the back taxes are wiped clean.?ÿ But, you have to know what you are doing because certain unknowns may come into play.?ÿ One city that charges exorbitant fees to mow tracts that need mowed has been known to wait to officially announce these assessments until after a certain date/time relative to the auction.?ÿ This then creates a new lien against the property just purchased.?ÿ I know in one case they even slipped in the demolition fee for the old fire-damaged structures they had cleaned up.?ÿ In that particular case, the new buyer threw a fit but got stuck anyway.?ÿ So, he learned his lesson, never paid any taxes, and the same property was then put up for auction at the next tax sale a few years later.?ÿ Meanwhile the city did not get their demolition fees and ended up missing out on a few more years of mowing the property.?ÿ The other HUGE caveat is that the prior owner of the tract has up to one year to redeem the property if the grand total of all owed amounts is paid in full.?ÿ Therefore, unless the winning bidder can get the prior owner to sign off on a release (for some negotiated amount), it is best to do nothing until the redemption period has elapsed.?ÿ After the redemption period expires, it is possible to move forward with development and loans, if needed.
Once, over 20 years ago, I finally tracked down the owner of one of these tracts that I really wanted to own.?ÿ He had failed to notify the county of a change of address and never received any tax notices and related notices of an impending tax sale.?ÿ In fact, he had pretty much forgotten he even owned this single lot.?ÿ We arrived at a price.?ÿ I sent him his money and he sent me a valid warranty deed.?ÿ I then had the deed recorded and immediately paid the grand total of back taxes owed, thus pulling it off the auction list.?ÿ This happened either one or two days prior to the auction.?ÿ The day of the auction I witnessed the fellow who would have been the primary bidder against me for the tract literally explode when the auctioneer announced Case #77 had been removed from the auction list as all amounts owed had been paid in full.?ÿ When he found out what I had done he threatened me with bodily harm and all sorts of other things.?ÿ It was convenient that the Sheriff was standing right there, overheard everything and took him outside for a little re-education about threatening people.
Thanks HC you have pointed out something that I didn??t consider with respect to outstanding liens. I really am not looking to gain real estate, more interested in the possible ROR, than actual possession. For whatever reason wealthy people around here have a propensity to lag way behind the normal herd when taxes are due and end up on the sales list.?ÿ
@flga-2
The most difficult group of people to get money from are those who have the most of it.
In the late 70's and most of the 80's interest rates were ridiculously high.?ÿ But, many penalties and such for late property tax payments had not been changed.?ÿ Therefore, the delinquent tax lists were loaded up with investors who were highly leveraged, especially on any kind of rental properties.?ÿ They accepted the minor penalties rather than pay exorbitant interest rates to borrow the money to pay the taxes.?ÿ Borrowing yourself rich was the investors mantra.?ÿ A combination of 90 percent loans and soaring values really worked well for some.?ÿ They were the ones who jumped off the gravy train at it's peak.
In 1983 I was sitting with my banker for a closing.?ÿ He looked over the final information and was dismayed.?ÿ He pointed out that I was only borrowing about 75 percent of the purchase price on a small farm I was buying.?ÿ He offered to loan me more than 100 percent of the purchase price because I had made such a really good deal with the seller and was paying considerably less than the appraised value.?ÿ For once in my life I did the wise thing and turned down his offer.
BTW, the tax sale procedure and redemption possibilities probably vary all over the place.?ÿ Check into Florida statutes on that thoroughly before buying anything.?ÿ I happened to be close by one day when the sweet little old ladies who operated the abstract/title company told a fellow of the redemption policy and why they could not issue the normal title policy immediately.?ÿ He was screaming out them at the top of his lungs.?ÿ Finally, he stomped out of their office and passed me in the hallway.?ÿ I sort of followed him to make sure that when he got to his pickup he didn't grab a gun and head back into the building.?ÿ I knew his story.?ÿ He had already done hard time once for killing a man.
Concerning redemption periods.?ÿ I agreed to purchase a house and lot from a local bank who had foreclosed against the previous owner and gone through the Sheriff's sale process where they, of course, were the high bidder.?ÿ They normally bid the grand total of all amounts the borrower owes them, thus insuring that no one is going to buy it cheap then turn around and sell it back at a bargain to the guy they foreclosed on.?ÿ As I recall, lender foreclosures have only a 90 day redemption period.?ÿ So, we waited until that period ran its course, then the lender deeded the property to me for cash.?ÿ Normally, the lender will not finance the property they are selling to you.?ÿ There are exceptions, of course.?ÿ But, it works best to have a different lender for your new loan, if you use one to leverage your own money until you make the resale down the road.
Well that put me back on the fence. I think I??ll pass, too much detail which I just retired from. From experience I??ll stick with stocks, I know I can loose money on them. ?????ÿ
@flga-2
I use to have a client that (among other interests) would scour the delinquent property tax rolls each year and buy up scads of properties in a three county area.?ÿ The tracts were big and little but his only idiosyncrasy was that he avoided structures, said they 'dirtied' up the deal.?ÿ He kept me busy most of the time.
His M.O. was to snag the property by chasing down the owners and waving money at them before the actual auction date.?ÿ But he also had a real estate agent and a couple of attorneys that did nothing but chase the details year 'round.?ÿ I don't think he could've been as successful if he hadn't had staff and $$$.?ÿ
Actually it??s like chasing rainbows in some respects. It??s one of those ??if you are going to do it, DO IT?, not something to ??dabble? in.?ÿ
btw: It??s about time for another ??Cash Boys? episode. Just make something up, we all know you were a (ahem) good little feller and wouldn??t dare do anything contrary to the law. Try to include an explosion of some sort. ?????ÿ
@bill93 that is a very steep cemetery. in my neck of the woods too.
@paden-cash Must have been a hell of a dog to get a place among the humans!