Good afternoon Tipsters! Has anyone ever encountered a property transferred previously via judgement deed?
Looks like a court awarded title to a property I’m acquiring in a court judgement about 10 years ago. The previous seller transferred title via a warranty deed but I know that’s no assurance title is truly free and clear. Doesn’t look like there are any active judgements or liens other than some back taxes. What do I need to look for to verify title is clear?
Thanks in advance!
I don’t have any experience with judgment deeds. But I typically pull a title report and have my attorney review it. The attorney can tell if if there is any impacts from the judgement deed.
I would contact a title company so they can do it right.
I foreclosed (using an attorney) on a tax lien certificate I received from a county tax sale. After foreclosing, I was given a Judgement Deed.
Unsure whether I could legally use a Warranty Deed when I sell the land, I contacted a title company and paid them $245.00 to convert the Judgement Deed into a Warranty Deed. It was no problem.
However, I am keeping my eye on a company (a lawyer’s office) that only has a Judgement Deed but has his land up for sale on the multiple-listing service. After it sells, I will search the county assessor’s public records to see which type of deed the seller used.
Thanks Sharon! I appreciate the insight! I ended up reaching out to a title company to see if this is something they’d be able to issue a policy on. This is definitely the last (and only) time I’ll self-close a deal when buying. I baked in full closing costs but thought I’d be clever and save myself a few bucks to increase profit - I’ll be right at what I modeled if title issues a policy, except I’ll have done much more work than was necessary! Lesson learned the hard way but I suppose it could be worse. Thank you so much!
RE Tipster Seth commented on one of these pages that he uses a title company and doesn’t self-close very often. I’m following his advice.