Property his been sitting (Idle) for over 2 years. What can I do

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Property his been sitting (Idle) for over 2 years. What can I do

Chris McNeal
Hanover Park, IL · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 6 votes

I have strange situation with an ex neighbor property and was wondering if I can get some insight on what to do. The property has been sitting for over two years, and it's has no for sale sign, and it's not on the MLS. My wife and neighbor believe that the couple just took the equity out of the home and left to Mexico. I called the county records dept and they stated that they don't have the deeds to the home, until they get the deeds to the home, they can't do anything with the property. I called the bank (bank of America) and they stated that they are unable to tell me what the status of the property is (if it's in foreclosure or not) due to the privacy of their customers. But she did tell me that I have two options, find the owner and see if they want to sale (I'm pretty sure I will not be able to find the owner after 2 years) or contact the county to see if the property is schedule for a foreclosure auction, but I don't think the county is going to do anything because they don't have the deeds?. I'm trying to purchase my first property and I wanted to see if I can take advantage of the situation (maybe a wholesale or purchasing the property for cheap) His anyone seen something similar and what did you do?

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  • Bill Gulley
    Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    13y

    Hi, the county won't have "deeds" the county Recorder's office will have the deed filed in the books and pages of land records, it will be there. Go to the Assessor's office and locate the property on thier maps and obtain the legal description for the property, then go to the Recorder's office and search that legal description. You will find documents filed and you need to look for a warranty deed or others deeds and look for the "grantee" they will be the owner. You may need assistance in the office but they should help you the first time.
    Then you can go back to the Assessor's office and see if the taxes are current, they may not give you the name in the Assessor's office but they should be able to give you the address of the party paying the taxes.

    While in the property records, keep an eye out for a "Durable Power of Attorney" the owner may have appointed someone to care for or dispose of the property, contact that person if there is such a document.

    You might just knock on doors around the house and ask neighbors if they know how to contact the owner, you might get leads there.

    With the names of the owners you can search for family, this can be time consuming. Good luck... :)

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  • Simon Campbell
    Miami, FL · Member since 2012 · 612 posts · 189 votes
    13y

    I am not sure what you mean when you said "they stated that they don't have the deeds to the home". The county will have a record of all liens on the property and if the lender has recorded a Notice of Default (indicating foreclosure). They have to have something recorded on the property. Look into this and you will at least know the status of the property.

    Then go to the property tax office and see who is paying the taxes. This is another indicator of ownership. If the original owners are down as paying them and they are up to date, then you will also have an active mailing address to contact the owner.

    If the BOA is shown as paying the taxes, then it is possible that the property is still in the redemption period. The bank cannot sell it until this time expires. At this point, you can still contact the original owners and buy their right of redemption.

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  • Account Closed
    -, PA · Member since 2013 · 114 posts · 19 votes
    13y

    Simon you can do a skip trace on the owners. There are plenty of companies out there if you Google skip trace. One company is Find The Ownwr . Com.
    Good luck,
    Joe

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  • Chris McNeal
    OP
    Hanover Park, IL · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 6 votes
    13y

    Thank you for your replies.
    @ Bill and Simon. The Assessor's office is right down the street from my house, so I will visit them soon. This is just what the country recrods dept told me, maybe the lady didn't know what she was talking about. I think one of the other neighbors had a relationship with the owner, so I will ask them. I have the name of the owner and maybe a facebook search would get me in contact as well. It's look like I have to do alot of leg work to see the status of this property. Thank you for the response.

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  • Ned CareyPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    13y

    Often is situations like this the owners are hard to find but if you do find them it can be a very good deal. However since you presumably know there is a Bank of America loan on the property there may not be much of a deal here becuase they are a pain to deal with.

    If the taxes are not being paid perhaps you can buy the tax lien and foreclose on that.

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  • Ibrahim Hughes
    Real Estate Consultant · Bloomfield, NJ · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Ned Carey:
    Often is situations like this the owners are hard to find but if you do find them it can be a very good deal. However since you presumably know there is a Bank of America loan on the property there may not be much of a deal here becuase they are a pain to deal with.

    If the taxes are not being paid perhaps you can buy the tax lien and foreclose on that.

    Hey Ned - have you worked with BOA lately? Seem much easier to deal with since they do everything through the Equator system now.

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  • Ned CareyPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    13y

    Ibrahim S no not for short sales specifically but I find Bank of America hard to deal with in general even as a customer.

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  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Investor · Stockton, CA · Member since 2014 · 10 posts · 0 votes
    12y
    Chris did you ever manager to locate the homeowners? If so how did you proceed? I came across a property in the identical situation and am in the process of negotiating with the bank. Thanks
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  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Investor · Stockton, CA · Member since 2014 · 10 posts · 0 votes
    12y
    Chris did you ever manager to locate the homeowners? If so how did you proceed? I came across a property in the identical situation and am in the process of negotiating with the bank. Thanks
    0Reply
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