Has anyone ever performed a quiet the title law suit in Alabama and won or lost? If so can you give a run down of your case and the outcome? Also as many people that have and are will to talk about it please reply, because the more cases we can talk about the more informed we all will be. Thanks
JD, CCIM , Real Estate Broker · Tuscaloosa, AL · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
EVERY Alabama Supreme Court decision ruling that a taxpayer can redeem because it has been less than three years since the tax deed, has been a void tax sale case. You have to read the entire decision to discover this. You can't read just the head notes or synopses. Judicial redemption was created to solve the problem of someone being ejected when they did not even know a tax sale had taken place. So, the statute let them counterclaim and redeem. When you understand the roots of the right, you understand that judicial redemption rights never come into existence if the investor takes possession fairly quickly after gaining the tax certificate.
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
7y
You are doing a quiet title to remove the cloud from a tax deed.
I have skipped this and still been able to sell with a General Warranty Deed in SC. What I do at the advice of an attorney is get a Quit Claim deed from the owners that lost the property. Pay them for their time, a couple hundred dollars. If their was an old mortgage, get a mortgage release. The banks have done this for me just for the asking and didn't charge anything. Once you have removed the doubt of a previous owner wanting to get their property back by saying the county didn't handle things to the letter of the law, then you can get title insurance protecting your 100% ownership then sell like any other property.
If you have a lot of old owners or bigger problems the the quit claim deeds from the people you can find will help speed up a Quiet Title Action.
JD, CCIM , Real Estate Broker · Tuscaloosa, AL · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Randall Townley, @John Underwood is correct, getting quitclaim deeds from as many former owners as possible will usually end up being cheaper than a quiet title lawsuit, and cut down on the number of potential troublemakers if you do have to file QT. Most lawyers default to the in rem QT, which requires newspaper advertisement and appointment of a guardian ad litem, which can add an extra $2,000 or so to your expenses. If you can identify, name, and get service on the former owner(s) then you can do the much easier and cheaper in personam QT, which you can often do yourself without an attorney. I would NEVER recommend you do an in rem QT without a lawyer. It is a lot easier to get a default judgment with the in personam QT. Also, if you have just one problem, such as a lien, you can do the much easier and faster suit to remove a cloud on title, which is a different lawsuit from the QT lawsuit.
But I guess what I was looking for, is someone who has done what everyone on this form seems to be saying and I hope they are right. Which is QT after 3 year of adverse position and a tax deed and that time can burn off while you only have a tax certificate. Example, purchase tax certificate for the state of Alabama in 2015 and take adverse position then, receive tax deed in 2018, then go and quiet the title. But all the Alabama Supreme Court rulings that I have read has ruled in favor of the previous land owner being able to redeem the property, unless you have a tax deed and have had adverse for 3 years after obtaining the tax deed. Can some one give me a ruling that I can read or where some has done this?
JD, CCIM , Real Estate Broker · Tuscaloosa, AL · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
EVERY Alabama Supreme Court decision ruling that a taxpayer can redeem because it has been less than three years since the tax deed, has been a void tax sale case. You have to read the entire decision to discover this. You can't read just the head notes or synopses. Judicial redemption was created to solve the problem of someone being ejected when they did not even know a tax sale had taken place. So, the statute let them counterclaim and redeem. When you understand the roots of the right, you understand that judicial redemption rights never come into existence if the investor takes possession fairly quickly after gaining the tax certificate.
Montgomery AL · Member since 2019 · 126 posts · 23 votes
6y
@Lamario Hopson did you ever get the link requested from your 11 mon post and are you in a similar situation as the OP? Would like to hear your outcome if possible. I am in line for a few tax deeds and certs and I’m building a knowledge bank of past experiences to clear ‘clouds’ before I move forward and also making connections in AL.
@Randall Townley how did your QT turn out if you pursued it... did you go the in personam route? Also would like know if you satisfied the requirement/actions to bypass the judicial redemption period based on taking possession? thanks in advance for the response!