The phone call that saved this deal went to the wrong person.

We needed to find the man whose old liens were sitting on our lots. I called the number I had for him. It was his wife’s.

That call got us a $1,500 quitclaim covering 40 lots. Then came a quiet title, and lots we could actually sell. We put $115,619.77 into the deal and sold the lots for $470,377.51. Start to cash out took about three years.

Finding and buying the lots

We bought 40 residential lots on Winner’s Circle and Saratoga Lane in Calera, Alabama (Map Book 34, Page 32) as tax deeds. We paid $1,500 a lot, so $60,000 for all 40.

On paper they were a good buy. The catch didn’t show up until we pulled title.

The problem: liens more than 10 years old

The title search showed why the lots went to tax sale. The developer had gone belly up partway through the project. He left construction liens and loans from several banks behind him, close to $2 million in old debt, much of it more than 10 years old.

A lot of investors see a lien that old and figure it’s dead. Sometimes it legally is. In Alabama, a judgment lien lasts 10 years unless the creditor renews it.

But a buyer’s title company doesn’t care what you figure. If it’s on the record and nobody released it, it’s a cloud. No title insurance means no retail buyer and no lender.

Finding the owner and getting the quitclaim

The fastest way to clear the title was to talk to the former owner. That meant finding him first. I called the number I had, and his wife picked up. It wasn’t who I meant to call, but it got me to him.

Once we were talking, we asked him to quitclaim whatever interest he still had in the 40 lots over to us. We paid him $1,500 to sign. That’s $1,500 for all 40 lots, not per lot.

A quitclaim doesn’t promise the title is clean. It just hands over whatever rights that person has. But when that person is the former owner, those rights are exactly what’s standing between you and a clean title.

Quiet title, sale, and three years to cash out

With his quitclaim recorded, we filed to quiet title. The former owner had already given up his interest, so the person most likely to fight it was now on our side of the table. Once the court entered the judgment, the lots were insurable, and we sold them.

• Tax deed purchase (40 lots at $1,500): $60,000.00

• Legal and closing: $55,000.00

• Taxes: $619.77

• Total invested: $115,619.77

• Sold (40 lots): $470,377.51

• Net profit: $354,757.74

That’s about a 307% return on what we put in, over roughly three years.

What it taught me: a tax deed isn’t the only way to clear title

A tax deed is a great tool, and in Alabama you can quiet title on it. But that’s not always the fastest road.

The tax deed road: you file to quiet title on your tax deed, and the former owner can counterclaim to redeem (Ala. Code § 40-10-83). That turns a paperwork case into a fight. We’ve been through that fight, all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court.

The owner road: find the owner and get them to sign their rights over to you. Their quitclaim takes the most likely challenger out of the case, and you now hold their position too. That case usually moves a lot faster.

• Pull title before you count your profit. Old liens don’t clear themselves.

• Find the owner early. Call every number you have. You never know who answers.

• Pay them for the quitclaim. It’s one of the best ways to fast-track clearing title. Ours was $1,500 for 40 lots, the cheapest line on the whole deal.

• Still file the quiet title. The quitclaim makes it faster and cleaner, but it doesn’t replace it if you want insurable title.

• Budget for time. Even done right, this one took about three years.

Every deal is different, so have a real estate attorney look at your title before you pick a road.