Birmingham, AL · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 0 votes
I followed the steps to pick the properties from the tax delinquent listings of Jefferson County in Birmingham, Al. I was careful to pick only the ones not "owner occupied". I clicked "Transfer" on the main website and an application popped up for me to print and send to the state.
After researching, I now know that a tax DEED is diff. from a tax LEIN. I would like to purchase the land and property, so I think I need the tax DEED. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) I now have a couple questions:
What is the next few steps? and what, based off of your personal experiences, should I expect next?
Also I noticed when getting the quotes that some of the back taxes/"interest" owed were less than $1k. Is this normal? and Will the price that I will be getting in the mail be much higher than that?
Please be advised that I am new at this, so it would be safe to assume this is ground zero for me.
Click on the left where it says "tax delinquent property for sale". And just because it says not owner occupied doesn't mean it is true. A house I found had a very well settled hobo & his dogs PLUS piles of garbage. It would be a good idea to do a drive by and be sure of it's status.
Also the quote that you get from the Jefferson county site is not an accurate one. I called the state and asked them about that quote and was told that it would be totally different from the one I will get from the state. I have not got any quotes yet (just letters saying the property is no longer available). Once I get one I will compare the quotes.
I'm a rookie too so im not 100% sure: if the state has had it up for sale for over 3 years you will receive the tax deed. With that you can take possession and go to probate court to quiet the title and "own" it but the previous owner would still have another 3 years after that date to redeem. I'm sure someone knowledgeable will chime in.
When you send the properties to the State, you might have to wait until the property has been turned down by previous inquiries. For example: lets say one person is in front of you. After the state send them the property, they have X amount of time to make a bid. Once that time is up, they send it to the next person on the list. So some properties might come back right away and others might have to go through this waiting stage. After 3 years from the date of the tax sale, you will receive the tax deed as Anastasia Jordan stated. After receiving the tax deed, I would wait until I receive the title before taking possession. The quiet title would have to go through an attorney and not the probate court so there is cost and a waiti for that to take place.