:eek: I own a house that was sold at a sheriff's sale because of unpaid taxes. I knew nothing at all about this until yesterday. The 3 year redemption period ended 2 months ago. I never received a bill or any kind of notice from the tax assessor or anyone else. My purchase of the property was on record with the Clerk of Court with my correct address. The assessor was mailing the tax notice to the previous owner. I know this sounds stupid on my part (and is), but I thought I had a usufruct on it for my son who lives in the house but that was not the case. I bought it for cash and we put a lot of blood, sweat, & tears into fixing it up. The sale passed it from the previous owner (a bank that signed the return receipt notices) to the "buyer." My correct address was on my deed and there should have been no trouble finding me. I bought it with a clear title. I am very upset.

Doesn't a Tax Assessor Office automatically get purchase deed records from a Clerk of Court's office? The tax assessor had no record of me owning this property. Isn't there some law that the correct owner by notified before such a sale. I would have corrected this in a heartbeat if only I had known. The "buyer" paid $200 + 3 yrs. Taxes for a house worth $120K. I know it was my oversight and am certainly willing to pay the taxes, interest, and penalties. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE APPRECIATED!

Well wish I was at that tax sale, Have you talked to the person who bought it, he may be understanding and take 5 or 10 K to let you have it back. There are some Christian buyers out there. ( and I say that because you are going to be out 7 to 10 K in attorneys to fight this, if you can even win)

You would basically get a copy of the deed you recorded, and sue the county and the tax assossor personally for their "error" many will have errors and ommission insurance to cover mistakes like this also.

The person who bought it, has a clear title basically since the county clears that, but since he would have "bought" it from the previous owner basically on records, and that was not the case this could cause some problem there.

But the fact you did not pay taxes for many years does not help your case.