I would search the records back for this property, and the adjoiners, then perform a forward search to determine who may own the property.?ÿ Compile this information in a PDF or sketch, showing how the property changed hands over the years.?ÿ That's where I would start.?ÿ After evaluating the chain of title, and evaluating the geometry of the parcels, you should be able to get a better handle of what is going on.
@dougie?ÿ
I have purchased several such parcels.?ÿ Waiting for some more to come up soon.
I have purchased several such parcels
Who was the seller?
@dougie?ÿ
The County holds the auction with the Sheriff acting as the auctioneer.?ÿ You pay your full bid amount that day plus an administrative fee of something like $55 then receive your deed a month or two later.?ÿ Bought two properties at the most recent sale.?ÿ The biggest issue most buyers do not realize is that the party losing the property has 12 months to come forward and pay all debts owed, plus what you are owed, in order to reclaim the property.?ÿ Thus, you do not want to do anything with the property until that legal issue expires.
I have also ended up with properties that have gone through the foreclosure process for lack of paying the mortgage.?ÿ That is tougher to get cheap as the lender always makes a bid at the auction for the total amount owed as of that date and there is still a 60 or 90 day waiting period that needs to expire that clears out the ability of the losing owner to reclaim the property by paying all amounts owed.
A good friend and former employee acquired a very nice house recently at a foreclosure auction.?ÿ The foolish owner had gotten down to only owing about 10 percent of the original loan when she stopped paying on the mortgage.?ÿ The lender's bid was still far below the true value of the property.?ÿ No one else showed up to bid.?ÿ The challenge for the average citizen to pull this off is that you must be able to pay the full amount on the day of the auction.
Once the debts are cleared by the landowner there is a percentage to be paid to the winning bidder at the sheriff's auction. I know some that work these auctions, not hoping to get the property, but the interest on their money.?ÿ
One issue that can arise is that, for tracts within a City, the City may continue to assess charges to the property.?ÿ For example, if the City mows the tract so as to keep it in line with the mowing requirements of all tracts.?ÿ The mowing fees will appear on the next tax bill.?ÿ You, as the sort of owner, can normally have the tract mowed for far less than what the City charges.?ÿ You should also extend your liability insurance coverage to include any such tracts.
I don't know much about the PLSS, but are there abutter calls that would make this separate parcel disappear?
@joe-b I've done a Chain of Title from the time the Government Lots were patented to the present day. I have the deeds from time of Patent to the present day. There are some questionable transfers just after the Patent. The Patentee died and her Common Law Husband was skipped in the chain of title. The family's Attorney picked up on that and had the Common Law husband sign some kind of release of his claims to the property. The kids promptly moved him off the property and into a rest home. The Chain of Title is hard to follow because the boys the same name as the father and so on down the line. It apparently was hard to keep a wife. Different wife's names suddenly appear on the Land Transfer Documents out of nowhere. Different stepchildren also suddenly appear. Old ranchers didn't bother to settle the estate properly. The child that inherited his/her Lot just appears on the next deed. Plus, suddenly there are stepchildren that show up. The present owners are known, and I don't think there's much chance of someone challenging their ownership. The "wedge" was simply created by a surveying blunder. Problem is, there is no existing deed for the "Wedge" or owner on record. That's what I want to establish. It was the Seller's intent to sell all of their holdings down to the section line. I don't feel they have any right to the "Wedge".
The latest heirs that inherited the Government Lots are very traceable and it would be very hard or impossible to contest their ownership.
I think that this a problem that will not be solved by any survey magic. Of course your client can always file to quiet title in himself. Winning will depend on whether any other potential claimants are interested enough in challenging the claim. What would you guess is the value of these 14 acres??ÿ
@williwaw The Tax Map drafter was more competent than the Surveyor. He did the job properly.
@holy-cow I think those stories of someone getting a super buy on a nice house at a Tax Sale are BS.?ÿ
If no longer any heirs of the estate it might belong to the State via escheat.?ÿ Not sure if all States have escheat laws.
@skeeter1996 I assume the drafter used records to draw it in, he didn??t survey it, implying that there wasn??t an error on the surveyor??s part, since I assume he created the records used by the drafter, so I guess I just don??t get it.?ÿ
@holy-cow I think those stories of someone getting a super buy on a nice house at a Tax Sale are BS.?ÿ
?ÿ
Anything is possible. There was a case here some years back. Some people built a nice house that turned out to be on State land. Somebody ended up buying it at a tax sale before it was discovered it was on state land and so then the State took it back from them and auctioned it off.?ÿ
For that to happen several things must all work out perfectly.?ÿ First,?ÿ the announcement of what properties are included in the listing for the Tax Sale are published in a newspaper numerous times.?ÿ The last auction I attended had nearly 100 in a county with a population of about 17000 people.?ÿ The more populous the county, the more potential properties at any one sale.?ÿ So, you must work to do enough investigation to come up with a short list of properties you would want to take a gamble on.?ÿ Second, the 12-month redemption rights of the prior owner is the killer.?ÿ Third, houses require upkeep and utility bills while you are waiting for the redemption period to expire.?ÿ Fourth, you have put out money but are getting no return income during that period.?ÿ If the property is purchased quite cheaply at the Tax Sale, the prior owner will want a premium to sign away his redemption rights to you.?ÿ Either that or he will be working with a buddy to get the house back from you.
Many of the parcels that get on the Tax Sale list are empty tracts in need of maintenance.?ÿ Another group are not the land but only the severed mineral interests on the land.?ÿ There are usually quite a number that have deteriorated to the extent that the buildings have been condemned and demolished.?ÿ One must be triple certain that all demolition costs have been posted already against the back taxes.?ÿ A fellow purchased a lot for $200 then got hit shortly thereafter by the City which had intentionally delayed posting the several thousand dollars of demolition expenses against the back taxes.?ÿ He will not pay any taxes on the tract and let it be sold again at the next Tax Sale.
One must do their homework diligently in order to bid safely.?ÿ Also, one must have the cash on hand to pay the full amount at the auction.?ÿ Title companies will not issue title policies until the redemption period has expired.?ÿ Therefore, jumping in immediately to begin a renovation project must be done at your own risk with your own money.?ÿ Forget about mortgaging the property any time soon.
Yes, it does happen.?ÿ No, it is not easy.
Many years ago I attended an auction conducted by FDIC of properties they had been stuck with when certain banks failed.?ÿ The properties for sale were spread over a very wide geographic area.?ÿ The auction was held nowhere near any of the properties.?ÿ I purchased three houses.?ÿ I actually lost a little money and time on two of them as they were in horrendous condition that could not be seen from outside and there was absolutely no opportunity to do an inspection prior to the auction.?ÿ Pig in a poke kind of deal.?ÿ However, I resold the third house a couple of months later for 19 times the amount I paid for it.?ÿ And, that's the truth, pffffffttttttt.
@jph?ÿ
In the PLSS the area will have to have been patented (granted) by the Federal Gov.
In rare cases by the state; that begins the chain of title.
Unless the patent wasn't "proven up" it continues to the assigns.
Someone has title to it or it's government land.
Survey errors create gaps of leftovers in the title and this sounds like one of them.
The adjoiner can try to go through a quiet title action but for a 300-500k parcel that would be an iffy proposition.
A tax auction might be a better way but it will require the land going up for sale first, doesn't sound like that's an option.?ÿ
As far as if it's been patented, a quick look up online will tell you.?ÿ
@williwaw The surveyor just used the GLO Plat's and a USGS 7-1/2 minute quad.. Used the Plat dimensions and scaled the dimensions not on the GLO Plat's, got a blowup of the quad to his Plat's scale so he could trace the river on his Plat. Government lot corner looks like it's the same position as the Meander?ÿ Corner, but it's not. The GLO draftsman got a little sloppy in his drafting. If the surveyor did any calculations at all he would have caught it because the bearing was off. The surveyor never did one calculation or did any field work. It was all done with a scale and drafting machine. County, and City Surveyors used to do them all the time. They called them Convince Plat's. I call them Paper Surveys. This Surveyor's background history was working in the City Engineer's Office. Same as Cow, I suspect.????
@skeeter1996 So he didn??t do an actual survey, but set a monument that was supposedly on the section line but wasn??t and filed a paper plat or some other description for the parcels he created, that didn??t account for the orphan parcel you??re talking about but the tax assessor??s drafter figured it out based on the surveyor??s records to correctly depict it on their maps? Sure be interesting to see some of these documents. I??ve only run across one orphan parcel in 20 years like this. Funny enough, it was sold at a tax sale and conveyed by clerks deed, used as collateral on a 100k loan and in the end I did a ROS showing it did not exist. Talk about a cluster puck.
?ÿ
@williwaw He never set one monument.He identified the Meander Corner brass cap as also same as the Government Lot corner.
The Tax Map (GIS) person used a little more sophisticated tools 30 years later.
Not guilty.
I have provided consulting services to several counties and I don't know how many cities through the years, but, I have never been an employee.?ÿ That would be like going to prison after 35+ years of self-employment.
