All Forum Posts by: Sylvia Castellanos

 At this point, the man's  letter allows him to send his own team in to clear it and charge me $110 the hour for it. I am trying to reach the man to say I am working as hard as I can to get the lot cleared as soon as possible.   I have left him voicemail messages, but I can't actually reach him. When I call the number for his division, I again get voicemail and no one calls me back. How can Memphis government workers get away with something so disgraceful?

I want to share an experience I am having with Memphis. Some time back I purchased a property on Silas Rd. and when I got home from work on the evening of the 5th, I had waiting for me a violation warning from the Department of Environmental Enforcing. I life in Philadelphia, but fortunately I still had the contact information for someone who had taken pictures for me of properties when I was in the process of buying. I sent him an email that evening. By the evening of the 6th he had not answered, so I called him. He said he would check it out, take care of cleaning it up if not much was involved, and find me someone if it was a big job. Yesterday, he 8th, it occurred to me to check on the notice for the deadine I was given. I was shocked to find the deadline was, in fact, the 8th! Needless to say, when they put the notice in the envelope they had printed out, they knew full well it was going to Pennsylvania, where it didn’t arrive until the 5th.

The notice includes that if the lot has not been cleaned up by the deadline, the city will take care of it and charge the delinquent owner at least $110 an hour for the work.

I called my contact, Brooks, who went out to the lot yesterday. He is returning today with someone who will presumably do it, although not necessarily today.

Yesterday morning I called Michael Ward, the contact name provided, explained the situation, and asked him to call me back. Over the course of the day I continued leaving him messages and Brooks left him messages as well, but he never called either of us back. I made several calls to the main number provided on the notice, but I got voicemail again no one called me back. I learned that this office is under the Department of Housing, and when I called that third number I was surprised to yet again get voicemail and no one called me back.

Can someone familiar with the situation in Memphis comment on all this?

There are several vacant  lots there that I am researching with an eye to buying them, but before I do I would like to chat with someone who knows the area extremely well. I have a number of questions.  If it is your preference to send me a private message, that is fine.

Also, does anyone know of a Facebook group for people doing real estate in Lackawanna County? I would like to know.

There are some vacant lots there that I am researching with a view to making purchases, but I would like to discuss them with someone very familiar with that area of Clifton township and Covington township.  I have some questions I would like to ask them.  If you feel more comfortable sending me a private message, that is fine.  Also, does anyone know of a Facebook group for people doing Lackawanna County real estate?

I have had an issue come up in MIssissippi that has sort of thrown me for a loop, and I would like the feedback of people who are more familiar with the situation. When you buy tax deeds from county tax claim bureaus or land bank or the Secretary of State’s Office, these come with a quitclaim deed rather than a warranty deed. There are ways to address this for purposes of your buyer getting title insurance that are significantly less complicated than doing a quiet title action. For instance, in Pennsylvania you hold the property for a year and the problem goes away. So I have been surprised to find that Mississippi seems to be an exception to this. As best I can tell it compels the seller to go through what it calls a Tax Confirmation Suit, which is a specilized kind of quiet title action.

As a start I went online and found these estimates for a tax confirmation suit:

Average total duration:

• Uncontested: 6–9 months
• Contested: 9–18+ months, depending on disputes or appeals.

2. Cost Estimate

Total (uncontested): $3,200 – $6,500
Total (contested): $7,000 – $10,000+

Is the tax confirmation suit truly the only way to settle the issue? Do these estimates about the time and cost involved reflect what you have experienced? If anyone has personal experience with this subject, I would very much appreciate their sharing it with me.

How do I find the list of QI firms on Bigger Pockets?

I will soon be selling some vacant lots that qualify for capital gains treatment. I would like to work with a 1031 Exchange organization to  plow the money back into new purchases within the 45 day time window. Can someone suggest a good 1031 Exchange organization to work with?

I have two residential lots in Canton, MS, which I would like to sell. Their location and size are:

W. Dinkins St., 0.22 acre

Al Caldwell Road, 0.26 acre

I would like to find a realtor to sell them for me.  If you are interested in selling one of them but not both, that is okay.  I would consider doing seller financing. If you are interested, by all means contact me.

Chris, please explain why this is. My understanding  is that you go through an extra step to be able to close, then the buyer gets a warranty deed and title insurance and after that everything is the same as if he had bought the lot on the regular market.

I have bought several properties from the Shelby County Land Bank, which come with a special warranty deed. It is my understanding that selling them involves going through a special step that involves a more in depth title search, making sure that each time the property changed hands the Register of Deeds duly notified all concerned. I also understand that few title companies—perhaps just one—will handle the sale of properties with a Land Bank past. Of course, there is always the option of a quiet title action, but this is several times more expensive and can take over a year.

The Land Bank is a very worthwhile activity in its goal of returning vacant lots to active use. I am sure it follows the law on everything and it does not cut corners. However, it is what it is.

I would like to hear from other people who have sold lots they acquired through the Land Bank—what was involved and what institutions were used. Going forward, I would like to identify what all my options are, both in terms of strategy and in terms of the institutions I can go to.

You are welcome to private message me if you feel that is a better way to convey the information you have.

I really thank you in advance for sharing with me your expertise in this matter.