Alabama Tax Deed Theoretical
If a taxpayer/former owner of a property that is a tax deed, still owned by the state of Alabama, quitclaims to me (before I or anyone else has bought this deed from the state) what, if anything, does that get me?
Would that give me possession? And, if so, would a future buyer of that tax deed (assuming it's not me), have to work with and/or eject me? Would the prior owner/taxpayer be no longer involved?
Would I, for all intents and purposes, be legally replacing the prior owner if he quitclaims to me?
@Arnold Finkelstein I just answered your question on Facebook
@Ebony King how about pasting the answer here?
@Bryan Hartlen I had already responded to him when he posted his question in a Facebook group. He posted in here shortly after...Do you need the answer, too?
@Ebony King yes please.
@Bryan Hartlen Here was my response:
Yes to all of that. You’ll be the new owner of the property. BUT, you need to go down to the county and pay the property taxes ASAP. Even if it’s sold to the state, the owner(which will be you after the quitclaim) can redeem at the county level up until the tax deed is printed. No sense in waiting it out until someone else possibly buys it. Get your quitclaim deed, pay the taxes, enjoy your new property!
Forgot to add...be sure to do a title search because if there are any liens on the property, you’ll be responsible for those. Whereas if you were to buy the tax deed, many of the liens wouldn’t survive the tax sale.
@Arnold Finkelstein, @Ebony King is correct. You step into the shoes of the former owner. You have all of his rights, including the right to redeem. You have all of this risks, including the risk that his lienholders might be able to foreclose on your property.
