Property Tax Sale: Montgomery, AL

[Davy Jones]

I'm in kind of a pickle & in beginning my research, I found this forum & thought someone here might have some useful answers. I have a house in Montgomery, Alabama that's in rough shape that I owe taxes on. It's not a lot of money, but it's an annoyance that I would just as soon be rid of. I have neither the time nor resources to mess with it too much. I'm tempted to just let it go at auction, but am not too keen on taking the hit on my credit if I can help it. I'm not a real estate investor & have no interest in getting into the business. Nothing against people who do, I just have other interests & expertise. I could pay the taxes & then pay it again next year & the year after, etc, or I could let the sale go through. Based on what I've read, after the auction, the property owner has 3 years to reclaim the property before the winning bidder can take possession. The owner has to make those arrangements with the winning bidder in those cases. I've thought about letting the auction go through & contacting the bidder to let them have it for the cost of the fees & taxes so they don't have to sit on it for 3 years. I won't gain any money, but I won't be out any either. There are no banks involved, so theoretically, in my non-expert opinion, this should be fairly straightforward to do. Any sage words before I contact a lawyer? Thanks in advance. Cheers

[Denise Evans]

The winning bidder can take possession as soon as they get their tax certificate, usually a few weeks after the auction.  Would you like me to refer you to someone who might buy the property from you on a quick sale before the auction?  If it goes to auction, a hedge fund might bid it up pretty high thinking they will earn redemption income on the taxes and the overbid. They would not be interested in talking to you about a quitclaim deed.