Question about need for tax confirmation suit in certain situations

[Sylvia Castellanos]

I have had an issue come up in MIssissippi that has sort of thrown me for a loop, and I would like the feedback of people who are more familiar with the situation. When you buy tax deeds from county tax claim bureaus or land bank or the Secretary of State’s Office, these come with a quitclaim deed rather than a warranty deed. There are ways to address this for purposes of your buyer getting title insurance that are significantly less complicated than doing a quiet title action. For instance, in Pennsylvania you hold the property for a year and the problem goes away. So I have been surprised to find that Mississippi seems to be an exception to this. As best I can tell it compels the seller to go through what it calls a Tax Confirmation Suit, which is a specilized kind of quiet title action.

As a start I went online and found these estimates for a tax confirmation suit:

Average total duration:

• Uncontested: 6–9 months
• Contested: 9–18+ months, depending on disputes or appeals.

2. Cost Estimate

Total (uncontested): $3,200 – $6,500
Total (contested): $7,000 – $10,000+

Is the tax confirmation suit truly the only way to settle the issue? Do these estimates about the time and cost involved reflect what you have experienced? If anyone has personal experience with this subject, I would very much appreciate their sharing it with me.