Buying land question

[Alex Gitman]

Hi all,

I found an owner of the property next to mine, I want to buy it and he is interested. This person is a son of a lady who died who is listed in the county tax website. How can I go about doing this. I dont know if she left a will or not (i will find out when i speak with him) but in preparation of talking to the son, I wanted to ask if there is anything else I should ask. I know there are back taxes on the property. 

Can you give me some suggestions on buying his land?

Thank you in advance for any feedback!

[Leonard L.]

If this is a great deal or important to you, I would get him to agree on gross price, you will subtract back taxes and any monetary liens discovered later from this price.  Then ASAP tie him up with a written contract that says, essentially, he is the only heir (if this is true) and has the power to agree to sell it to you.  No close until title insurance is issued, which means the title company deals with making sure he has legal right to sell, whether that means a final probate order or whatever.  Key is he does not have the right to change mind or sell to others, but you don't have to close until title is clear.  Put a clause in contract that if for any reason he does not have the right to sell the property, he agrees to transfer his INTEREST in the property (say it turns out he only owns 1/3 with two other siblings) for the pro-rata share of the agreed price.

Basically, if it is important, talk to a lawyer so that your contract actually works, no matter what comes.