Tax Sale Turned Rental

[Ivie Beller]

I have been living in my grandmothers house since 2013. In 2016 she passed away and I’ve been paying the taxes. The county sold her house and said it was tax lien sale. Apparently I was supposed to pay a higher rate but no one ever reported her passing. Now I’m stuck with a Landlord who has never seen the property and doesn’t know condition and is asking even for a security deposit. This house was last renovated in 1974. Any advice for me??

[Denise Evans]

@Ivie Beller, if you are an heir of your grandmother's estate, you can redeem from the tax sale.  All is not over, even if the investor has a tax deed.  Or, if it is any county except Jefferson, you can claim it was a void tax sale and set it aside. You still have to pay taxes plus interest on the taxes, but you do not have to pay other charges that might make it more expensive to redeem.  Did your grandmother have a will that left the property to you? If she died without a will, did she have a surviving husband or any surviving children?  Mention my name in your response and give me a mini family history of people related to your grandmother at the time of her death, and I can provide better advice.