Posted by Mike on March 02, 2000 at 16:32:48:
I acquired a tax certificate last year that eventually went to deed in Dec. '99. After I received the deed, I applied for, and received, a possession order that was signed by the same judge that heard the case regarding the tax deed. After doing all this, I went to the property last week with a locksmith to open one of the doors so I could get in and start working on the building. Here’s where the problems begin. While my contractor and I were going through the first floor unit, the person living there came home from work and claimed to be the owner. I explained to her that she lost the property and that I’m the new owner and I have an order for possession. She claims that she received no warning of this and that this is completely out of the blue. I presume she’s lying because I perused the court file on this case and saw a few certified mail return receipts with her name on it as part of the notification process that tax-lien certificate buyers are supposed to follow.
Today, I found out that she contacted an attorney who wants to look at the file because she feels she doesn’t deserve to lose the property. Here’s my question. Legally, I don’t think she has much of a case, if any. However, what can her attorney do to prolong my starting any work on this building. I don’t want to sink any money into repairs until I’m sure that I am 100% the legal owner of this property and this woman has been vacated. Is it likely that this will drag on and on? I’m concerned that this attorney will ask for a new hearing and that could take weeks if not months and then find loopholes to create extensions. Basically, a lot of delays. Can anybody tell me what to expect here?
Thanks.
Mike