All Forum Posts by: Christine Garnier

UPDATE: Someone from the County contacted me and let me know that (R/S) stands for "Re-Assignment". The property was in tax sale, someone bought the certificate years ago and after 3 years, the County issued a "Reassignment". Good to know.   

 Oh yeah, it was done before I purchased the lien. I am still trying to find out what the (R/S) abbreviation means though! 

 Not always. Sometimes, life happens. Different scenarios possible. The property itself is clear. 

Hi Everyone,

I purchased a tax lien on a property and found out today that the name on the tax assessor's website is the name of a person who bought a tax certificate in 2020. This person failed to pay the taxes for 2023, so I bought the tax lien.   Their first and last name appear on the tax assessor followed by the abbreviation "R/S". Does anyone knows what it means? 

I am trying to find out if they could redeem, in case they have not filed a quiet title.

Thank you.

Thank you Stephen, I appreciate your feedback.

I own a commercial land lot in Birmingham AL and I signed it over to a broker so he can list it and sell it. After signing the contract, the broker ignored all correspondences and a month and a half later, I see that he did not list the lot and did not work on the marketing like he said he would. He ignored all phone calls or emails from me.

So I contacted the head office to expose the situation, and a few minutes later, I received an email from this broker saying that he is releasing the land lot back to me. However, he did not include a listing cancellation form or a release. so I replied to his email, copying the head office to it, asking if he is going to send me an official listing cancellation and no one has replied to my message. 

I am unsure of what to do, is an email from the broker mentioning that he is releasing the lot back to me, enough?   Thank you for your help and suggestions. 

@Tom Gimer Thank you for your detailed explanation, I appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. I see that "Slander of Title" is often used as a defense against an adverse possessor and this is where it is interesting because adverse possessors, provided that they have done everything right, can win against a record owner with such claim. I want to personally thank you Tom for sharing your expertise. Even if the final decision is left into the hands of a Judge, it is very uplifting to hear about lawyers point of view on the subject. Because of the conversation, I now have a better idea on how to proceed. 

@Tom Gimer  Thank you for your feedback. In some states, when record owners file a quiet title to remove clouds from the title,  they first have to send a quitclaim deed to the adverse possessor for signature. Other states specifically mention that, in order to remove an adverse possession claim, one must obtain a signed quitclaim deed from the adverse possessor. So you are 100% correct that a quitclaim can be used to transfer the interests, thank you for your expertise, I truly appreciate it.  The question now is: can it trigger "Slander of Title", I read that it could but like @Peter Walther mentions, it seems that it will have to meet certain criteria. If an adverse possessor transfers his interests via a quitclaim deed or assignment to a third party for a fee and the record owner wants to sue, who does he sue and for what?  

Rich, thank you so much for sharing this additional information. I looked into "Slander of Title" claims, and I realize that it is also used when an adverse possessor files a quiet title. A "Lis Pendens" is actually enough to trigger a "Slander of Title" claim and record owners use it to defend their property in a contested quiet title lawsuit. You are correct that a quitclaim deed would also trigger a "Slander of Title".

I spent a few hours yesterday looking into it and I came across the very same information than you, that an assignment is probably the best tool to use in transferring interests. I am now connecting the dots with "Tacking". This is so interesting. I agree with you, very few will share their own knowledge or experience on the subject and I am actively searching for a knowledgeable Attorney. Thank you Rich, I sincerely appreciate you!

Thank you Everyone for your feedback, I sincerely appreciate it. I guess the reason why some real estate Attorneys are uninformed about the topic is because, such situations are very rare. When I even tried to buy books on the topic, I was unable to find one that covers all aspect of the law in the USA. So there is a grey area of what is permissible and what is not.  I keep shopping around for a knowledgeable Attorney and will use caution when writing the QCD.   Thank you, I wish you all a Happy Holiday Season.