Lien Disclosure by a County Government

[whgeiger]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Question:
When a lien holder sells a property, in this case, at a Tax Deed sale held by Escambia County, Florida, is it required by law in the state that the county must disclose all liens it holds on the subject property prior to sale? Any other liens on the property held by others is not at issue here, just the tax lien advertized plus others held by the county.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Question:
When a lien holder sells a property, in this case, at a Tax Deed sale held by Escambia County, Florida, is it required by law in the state that the county must disclose all liens it holds on the subject property prior to sale? Any other liens on the property held by others is not at issue here, just the tax lien advertized plus others held by the county.

**A: why are you asking?

 

[whgeiger]

8-Months, after purchasing a property from the county, at a tax deed sale where it was listed as vacant land, the county is now requesting payment of a punitive lien for code violations of a structure that was subsequently removed by the county several years earlier. During the same period both the property owner and estate executor perished. So both the tax and the code violation liens where never challenged nor otherwise settled. The issue at this point is, as I see it, whether the county can pass such punitive fines on to me, while denying me due process, because the means of conveyance is a tax deed?
Second, a "dwelling" when missing the functional appurtenances so charged in the lien, no longer fits the definition of a dwelling in the code so cited in the lien. Furthermore, the structure was not cited as unsound nor otherwise unsafe; only missing functional utilities necessary to make it a "dwelling". What I am looking for is anything in the state or federal statutes or related case law that can be cited to support a legal defense against such county fines as a third party deed holder.
It is apparent that the county knew that had this lien been discovered in a title search, a sale of the tax deed would have not taken place, because the total amount of tax and punitive liens approximates the book value of the property.

 

[whgeiger]

Still Waiting!

Observation:
Questions here get the no answer, answer.

Update:
In a meeting with the board of commissioners, we were able to obtain lien forgiveness and an interest free loan to pay for the demolition costs (about 10% of lien amount).
The answer to my original question is: The County is obligated by law to disclose all liens it holds on a property offered at a tax deed sale. A caveat emptor statement does not constitute a disclosure in such cases.

 

[HomeGuru]

8-Months, after purchasing a property from the county, at a tax deed sale where it was listed as vacant land, the county is now requesting payment of a punitive lien for code violations of a structure that was subsequently removed by the county several years earlier. During the same period both the property owner and estate executor perished. So both the tax and the code violation liens where never challenged nor otherwise settled. The issue at this point is, as I see it, whether the county can pass such punitive fines on to me, while denying me due process, because the means of conveyance is a tax deed?
Second, a "dwelling" when missing the functional appurtenances so charged in the lien, no longer fits the definition of a dwelling in the code so cited in the lien. Furthermore, the structure was not cited as unsound nor otherwise unsafe; only missing functional utilities necessary to make it a "dwelling". What I am looking for is anything in the state or federal statutes or related case law that can be cited to support a legal defense against such county fines as a third party deed holder.
It is apparent that the county knew that had this lien been discovered in a title search, a sale of the tax deed would have not taken place, because the total amount of tax and punitive liens approximates the book value of the property.

**A: did you review the current title search prior to buying the property? Did you buy title insurance?