Taxes and title
Behind on property taxes, or a house stuck in someone else's name?
Not every house in trouble is in foreclosure. Sometimes the owner has passed, nobody has paid the taxes, and the county has put the house on its tax sale list. Sometimes the title has a problem nobody knew about until they tried to sell. Here is how it works, plainly.
How a tax sale works
In Indiana, unpaid property taxes can cost you the house.
When does a house go on the tax sale list?
Indiana property taxes are paid in two installments, in the spring and the fall. When a payment from the year before is still unpaid, the county can put the house on its tax sale list. The county treasurer can tell you exactly what is owed and whether the house is on the list.
What happens at the sale?
Bidders pay the back taxes and costs. The winning bidder does not get the house that day. They get a certificate, and the owner has a window to redeem by paying the county back the amount plus interest and fees. That window is usually one year from the sale, and shorter if the house sold at a later certificate sale. The county auditor has the exact date for any house.
What if nobody redeems it?
After the window closes, the buyer can ask the court for a tax deed, and the house becomes theirs. Notices about all of this go to the owner on record. When the owner has died, those letters often go to an empty house and nobody reads them.
What if it sold for more than the taxes?
The extra, called the surplus, is held by the county, and the owner (or the owner's estate and heirs) can claim it. Ask the county auditor how and by when.
How do I check a house?
The county treasurer shows the taxes owed, the auditor runs the tax sale and keeps the list, and the recorder shows the deed, mortgages and liens. MyCase shows any court case, including an estate.
Title problems
Something on record that has to be fixed before a house can sell.
The deed is still in a parent's name.
The county record doesn't change when someone dies. The family usually inherits the house, but someone needs authority to sign, which usually means opening an estate or recording an affidavit a probate attorney prepares. More on that on our inherited house page.
Some of the heirs can't be found, or have died too.
Every owner's share has to be accounted for. When a share has passed down two or three times, or someone has lost touch with the family, it takes research and sometimes a court order. A probate attorney or a title company can tell you what yours needs.
There are liens or judgments on the house.
A lien is a debt tied to the house: a mortgage, unpaid taxes, a contractor's bill, a court judgment against an owner. Most are paid from the sale at closing. Some can be settled for less, and some may not attach to the house at all. A title search shows what is there.
Someone owns a share and wants nothing to do with it.
A share of a house is still ownership, and that person has to sign or give up the share in writing. If co-owners can't agree, Indiana courts can order a sale.
The legal description is wrong, or a deed was never recorded.
Old mistakes on a deed, or a sale that happened on a handshake and never got recorded, can usually be corrected. Sometimes it takes a corrective deed, sometimes a court case called a quiet title action.
Ways this can go
Including the ones that have nothing to do with us.
Pay the taxes and keep the house.
Before the sale, paying the county treasurer takes the house off the list. After a sale, paying the county auditor within the redemption window gets it back. If the family wants the house, this is usually the cheapest way.
Clear the title, then sell it on the market.
Open the estate, sort out the heirs, and list it with an agent. It takes the longest and someone has to carry the taxes, insurance and upkeep meanwhile, but it can bring the most money.
Sell it as is.
Some buyers, us included, buy houses with the title problem still on them and work through it with a title company as part of the sale. It is usually faster and less money than the market.
Let it go to the tax sale.
The family stops paying and walks away. If the house brings more than the taxes, the surplus can still be claimed. Anything above that goes to the bidder.
Where we fit
Only if selling is the right answer.
We buy houses in northern Indiana as is, including ones with back taxes, a deed in a late parent's name, or several heirs in several states. If your family decides to sell, we work with every owner and the family's attorney, nobody has to clean out or fix anything, and we close at a licensed Indiana title company that pays the taxes and liens and each owner directly.
We are not attorneys and we don't do title work for anyone. We'll tell you whether we can make you an offer. Call or text James at (219) 419-4114.
General information about Indiana, not legal advice. Every house is different; the county treasurer and auditor can tell you what is owed and the dates, and a probate or real estate attorney can tell you what applies to yours. Free and low cost options are on our resources page.