I self - closed on a property in Texas in September for $1500 and immediately received an offer from a buyer for a good bit more! :)
As the buyer's title company was going through the title, they noticed some title issues. Evidently, I wasn't thorough enough in my due diligence title search.
I looked around for a title lawyer, who referred me to another lawyer who wants huge amounts of money to file an affidavit with the judge to have it declared in my name. Just the attorney cost alone will eat up my profit.
I'm thinking of going back to the buyer and offering the land at a discount and letting him deal with the title issues (maybe he will).
Any suggestions or should I just go ahead, bite the bullet and pay the attorneys to fix it?
@robertpc77, I haven't dealt with this personally, yet, but I heard another prominent land investor mention a service called Tax Title Services (https://www.taxtitleservices.c...) on another podcast somewhat recently. He indicated that it was a less expensive route to clearing up some title issues, than going with an attorney and a quiet title action. That said, I have no idea how it works, how much it costs, whether it's offered everywhere, etc.
I hope it works out for you, and would be very interested in what you and others have learned in navigating through situations like this.
@robertpc77 - you could do some attorney shopping and see if you can find another one who will do it for less.
...or you could just inform the buyer of the issues and see if they're willing to buy it anyway and handle the problem themselves.
If they aren't, you could just as well hold out for another buyer who will (if you found a buyer this quickly, there are probably others out there who may be more open-minded).
@retipsterseth Thanks Seth! I spoke with the Buyer last night and I think we are going to work something out. I'll let you know the result! Thanks again!
You didn't mention what the actual cloud on title was? As you mentioned you can offer to sell it with a quit claim deed to your buyer. But if the problem is with the legal description or wording on deed, there are some provisions in Texas to create a corrective deed. For instance if the acreage mentioned is wrong. There are limits to what you can do with this but it could be an option.
Otherwise, you are right on a cheaper property the quiet title suit will eat your profits. Hope you find a solution!
@jawollbrink I'm sorry it has taken so long to get back to you on this....
The issues in question concern the chain of title.
I purchased the property in September from Person A who purchased it from his mother in 1992.
His Mother and Step Father purchased the property in 1944 and land was never developed. Step Father died in 1956 with no will.
I just found out in the past few weeks that there was a Step Sister. So, title company is saying that Mom may not have had full rights to sell property to her Son in 1992.
I also found out that 1/3 of the 1 acre property was sold to another party in the 1950s. The man I bought from had no idea about it, even though he had been paying taxes on the full 1 acre for years.
I did talk to my buyer and he says he may know a Title Company that only goes back 25 years.
It will be more reliable to turn to lawyers, but then you will not understand anything from this, but most likely you will also leave in the negative. I still advise you to try to negotiate a profitable price with the buyer and throw it on him this problem, so at least you do not risk remaining in the red.
Hmm … This is a really tricky situation. Since part of the property does not belong to you, questions arise about whether you are the rightful owner of this property. It will be very difficult to sell this territory to anyone. You should deal with the legal part in more detail, using the help of a lawyer. I usually go to https://www.thefosterfirmwins.com/personal-injury-attorney-college-park for advice on any legal matter. With a little support, I’m sure you will be able to sort out this situation and get all the documents on this territory.
@jawollbrink I have used Tax Title Services several times. They are cheaper than any Real Estate attorney. You can go to their site for a complete explanation of what they do. I’m certain that they will not take a case with this many title issues. It will cost you the initial, non-refundable sum of $750 for them to decline their service I see if you can offer a quit claim deed to the seller, at a discount, and let them struggle with it.