Real Property Tax Liens
When real property is sold for delinquent taxes, a wide variety of clients rely on Balch for guidance and problem solving. Whether the goal is redemption, quieting title, filing suit or handling an appeal, we have expertise in all aspects of this complicated and rapidly changing area of the law. Balch assists clients with issues related to real property tax liens, including banks and financial institutions, tax lien purchasers, property owners, title insurance companies, real estate developers, judgment holders and other lienholders.
There are few areas of the law with as many pitfalls and traps for the unwary as real property tax liens, regardless of whether you are the property owner, the title insurance company, the bank holding a mortgage, or the tax purchaser. Balch attorneys represent all of these clients.
Title insurance companies, landowners and lending institutions rely on Balch to protect their collateral or insured property after a tax sale. Our team has vast expertise in redeeming property that has been sold for taxes, regardless of whether an overbid was paid, improvements were made to the property or whether many years have passed since the date of the tax sale. We also litigate numerous cases involving the redemption process and improvements made to property after a tax sale.
We have extensive experience representing tax purchasers in a variety of situations, such as negotiating redemptions, liquidating tax lien certificates or quieting title to property that has been sold for taxes, resulting in clean title to the property.
Our Experience
Redemptions
Redemption is how the issue created by a tax sale is resolved. The redemption process is complicated and changes depending on a number of factors. We have expertise in both statutory and judicial redemption, as well as the process for dealing with improvements made to the property.
Quiet Title Actions
When property is not redeemed, a tax purchaser might consider selling its lien to another private party or instituting an action to quiet title to the property. Our team represents tax purchasers through this process, resulting in clean and insurable title to property originally purchased at a tax sale.
Litigation
The complicated and changing legal landscape of real property tax liens has caused much litigation. We litigate issues of real property tax liens in probate court, circuit court and at the appellate level.