Has anyone come up with a process to deal with a property that the owner of record has passed on the heirs have not done the proper title work?
Have had several great lots I could not get as the person I am talking to is not on the title and the owner has passed with no will.
Thanks
@gablesland, are you closing through a title company (or intending to, anyway)? If it’s a pretty straightforward situation (only passing from one generation to the next, and all heirs are in communication and onboard with selling), then I’ve had good luck with 2 different title companies in 2 different states helping me and the sellers get the proper List of Heirs documentation completed and recorded for the sale to go through.
I do have one deal that I’ve pretty much put on long-term hold, though, because the last time someone properly recorded a transfer of title for the property was literally almost 100 years ago, and since then it’s passed through 3 generations, all without properly recording any wills or deeds. The current “owner” hardly seems to have any family info about his parent’s and grandparent’s generation that would help determine how many potential heirs there might be, and who they are. It was the great grandparent that bought the property and is on title.
I spoke with a couple of title companies about it. One indicated that they’d be willing to help, but would need family info, and would need to bill by the hour (they’re also an RE law firm) to resolve the title issues…if they could resolve them. Hence my decision to let that one sit while I focus on other priorities.