How do i get complete ownership of tax deed sale i purchased in A

[Zoe Eddie]

I recently bought a tax deed and owner is still coming in and out of the property. How do i take complete possession of property..Do i have the right to change locks to property

[Denise Evans]

@Zoe Eddie, if you have a tax deed you have ownership. What you do not have is safety from somebody being able to redeem, and you do not have the ability to obtain title insurance, borrow money against the property (which requires title insurance) or give a warranty deed when you sell to someone else. For that, you will need a Quiet Title court order, which is issued after a Quiet Title lawsuit. Someone else's advice about an Order of Possession is not the correct answer in Alabama.

Before you can file a Quiet Title lawsuit, you will need a tax deed, and you must have been in exclusive possession of the property for at least three years. You can prove exclusive possession if you rented the property out or used it yourself, or if the owner acknowledged that you were in possession and not him/her. There are other ways, but they are rare. Without that, you will need an ejectment order that legally puts you in possession of the property, and then you will have to wait out the three years to burn off redemption rights.

You will also need to identify all lienholders as of the date of the auction, and send certified mail return receipt notices to them. The notice will advise of the tax sale and provide your contact information. Lienholders will have one year from receipt of your letter to redeem.  You cannot quiet title until those lienholder redemption rights have expired.