Purchase property that was never recorded at Court house.

[Jeffrey Swecker]

Looking to purchase a piece of property that was never transferred/recorded at the court house. The property was purchased by a man in 1986. He passed away and now his wife has the property. She wants to sell to me but upon going to court house it shows still in prior owners name. It was a large company that sold to them. Records show she has paid the taxes since 1986 to present. Taxes are sent to her in another state ever since 1986. The company will not return calls or certified mail. What can I do or can I do anything at all? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Property is located in Missouri.

 

[quincy]

Looking to purchase a piece of property that was never transferred/recorded at the court house. The property was purchased by a man in 1986. He passed away and now his wife has the property. She wants to sell to me but upon going to court house it shows still in prior owners name. It was a large company that sold to them. Records show she has paid the taxes since 1986 to present. Taxes are sent to her in another state ever since 1986. The company will not return calls or certified mail. What can I do or can I do anything at all? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Property is located in Missouri.

The widow will want to have the property changed to her name.

 

[Jeffrey Swecker]

It is in the Company name not her husband name or hers.

 

[quincy]

It is in the Company name not her husband name or hers.

That certainly complicates matters. The widow does not own the property to sell.

She will want to speak to a real estate attorney in her area.

 

[Jeffrey Swecker]

That is what I thought but problem is she cannot afford a attorney and we live in separate states. Property adjoins me and building has become a hazard, falling down and draws down my property value. Was hoping I could do something from here or if I could buy her rights out and seek a attorney here. Was hoping paying taxes for 34 years carried some weight, Thanks for the info.

 

[STEPHAN]

She needs an attorney. You can offer to pay for one.

 

[Zigner]

An alternative would be for you to obtain power of attorney from the woman for this matter, then you can hire an attorney to straighten things out.

 

[adjusterjack]

Looking to purchase a piece of property that was never transferred/recorded at the court house. The property was purchased by a man in 1986.

What happened? Did the man get a deed and just fail to record it? Does his widow have the deed?

The company will not return calls or certified mail. What can I do

You can start by finding out where the company is located, who the owners are, and go visit them to see if there is any help there.

she cannot afford a attorney

Then you pay for one if you want the property bad enough.

Property adjoins me

Certainly gives you the incentive to pay a lawyer before paying her anything.

 

[zddoodah]

The property was purchased by a man in 1986. He passed away and now his wife has the property. She wants to sell to me but upon going to court house it shows still in prior owners name. . . . It was a large company that sold to them.

So...

In 1986, Smith Enterprises, Inc. sold the property to William Jones. However, this sale was never properly documented by a deed (or, if it was, the deed was never properly recorded).

Sometime between 1986 and the present, William Jones died, and his widow, Sally Jones, took possession of the property. Sally apparently never took proper steps to probate William's estate or, at least, failed to take proper steps to effect the transfer of title to the property from William to herself.

Now, you want to buy the property and have (somehow) discovered that the property is still in the name of Smith Enterprises, Inc.

Is all that correct? Note that wrote "somehow" because it leads to my first question. You wrote that "it shows still in prior owners [sic] name." To what does "it" refer in this sentence? Did you pay an attorney or title company to conduct a title search? Or did you just look at something at the courthouse? If the latter, what is the something that you looked at?

Taxes are sent to her in another state ever since 1986.

So...Sally didn't actually possess the property at any point in the last 34 years? Has anyone been living there? What sort of property is this (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, etc.)?

What can I do or can I do anything at all?

Start by answering the questions I asked.

Was hoping I could do something from here or if I could buy her rights out and seek a attorney here.

You can. Sally could execute a quitclaim deed that conveys all of her interest in the property to you (she would be a fool to execute anything other than a quitclaim deed). You'd then have to pay to take care of the mess that she and William seem to have created. That could involve filing a lawsuit for something called "quiet title." You'd have to sue Smith Enterprises and Sally. It wouldn't be too terribly expensive since, presumably, neither Smith Enterprises nor Sally would resist.

By the way, as far as I can tell, Sally has no need for a lawyer.

You can start by finding out where the company is located, who the owners are, and go visit them to see if there is any help there.

That gave me a good laugh.

 

[FlyingRon]

Make a purchase order contingent on receiving clear title. Put the ball back in the widow's court.
Do not complete the sale without a proper title search and owner's title insurance.

 

[quincy]

What the widow should do first is look for a final signed copy of the deed to the property.

The deed needed to be filed with the Registry of Deeds in the town where the property is located. There is no legally valid change of ownership in property unless and until the deed has been filed with the Registry of Deeds.

It is possible that her husband simply failed to register the deed. If that is the case, she will need a copy of his death certificate to get the property first transferred to her, then registered under her name.

 

[STEPHAN]

An alternative would be for you to obtain power of attorney from the woman for this matter, then you can hire an attorney to straighten things out.

Only keep in mind that the POA would not allow you to transfer the property to yourself.

 

[Zigner]

Only keep in mind that the POA would not allow you to transfer the property to yourself.

Right.

 

[quincy]

The widow really needs to consult with a real estate attorney. There is little she can do about selling the property until it is registered in her name - and it appears that this will not be a simple matter.

 

[adjusterjack]

That gave me a good laugh.

Happy to amuse you.