Note: BCP Real Estate is not a law firm and its employees/owners are not acting as your attorneys. The information contained on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
Some of our clients tell us they were planning to just let the property go.
“We don’t want it. We don’t live there. Nobody can agree on what to do. Just let the county take it.”
It’s an understandable position. If the family has been through years of trying to resolve the situation and gotten nowhere, walking away can feel like the cleanest option. But it helps to understand what walking away actually looks like.
When a property in a tax lawsuit goes to tax auction, the county sells it to satisfy the back taxes that are owed. The buyer at the auction is often paying close to the tax amount, not the property’s full market value. In many cases, properties sell for not much more than what’s owed in taxes, court fees, and legal costs.
If anything is left over after all of that is paid, it’s called excess proceeds. Heirs may be entitled to claim a portion of those excess proceeds, but that depends on the specifics of the sale, the county, and the lawsuit. In a lot of cases, there isn’t much left over, and what is left has to be split among everyone who has a legal claim.
The result is that families who let a property go to tax auction often walk away with nothing, or with much less than they would have if they had acted earlier.
Selling your portion of the property before it reaches auction puts money in your hands now. It also removes you from the lawsuit and the responsibility for the situation moving forward. You don’t have to wait and see what happens at auction or hope that excess proceeds materialize.
If you’re looking to remove yourself from a lawsuit and get paid for your interest, no cost to you, call or text us at (469) 708-8003 for an offer today.
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