My parents own a farm and made an agreement with an adjacent landholder to purchase some acreage on land contract. They have been making payments for some time, as well as separate payments to cover the taxes on the property. Last year, they found out that the owner had not paid the taxes on the land, and it was being foreclosed by the county for back taxes. I did some investigating and found out that there are also thousands of dollars of liens against the owner, but the liens were not put into place until a few months after the legal land contract. The owner entered into a payment agreement with the county, but soon reneged again, and the property was going up for sale for delinquent taxes. My parents stopped making payments at this time because they felt they were wasting their money, and we made plans to try to purchase the property at auction. At the last minute, though, the owner somehow came up with the money and paid all the taxes owed. However, in spite of my parents’ attempt to contact them and messages left, etc., they refuse to return phone calls. My parents offered to pay them the remaining amount in full, but they will not respond.
These people also sold some other land nearby to a neighbor. The neighbor paid for the land, but the owner refuses to give them a deed. He has even been ordered in court to give them a deed, but has not complied. He lives in a different state. At the most recent hearing, the judge ordered him again to provide the deed. At that time he said he was filing bankruptcy. I don’t know what that has to do with why he can’t provide the deed, but now we think this will allow him to keep the land, or even re-sell it, and be free from his liens.
Need some advice or help. Some way to get around this.