In a pickle and need help

FYI…This is long and complicated

Bought a repo from vanderbuilt about a week ago. Before closing I asked as if the taxes were paid in full. To move in NC you have to have proof of taxes paid in full and I always check. They said yes and I closed on it. When I went to get the paperwork from the county it turns out that 2400 dollars in back taxes are due on both the lot and the mobile home. The owners wages are currently being garnished to recoup this amount (it’s a private lot still owned by the repoed mobile home owner). The county says they do not seperate personal and real estate taxes when a mobile home is on a private lot and to be moved I would have to pay both!

I called vanderbuilt back and they said they show taxes are paid, I confirmed the county, and it turns out they are checking with the wrong county. It is actually in a neighboring county. I did a little research on the lot while I was down in this sleeply little county records office, and found one deed of trust on this lot. I called the beneficiary and she says there is a 8100 dollar balance and they are “slightly” past due, but not in default yet. So thinking I have the perfect solution, I contact the owners and offer to buy the lot and do a great land/home package. I called them and offered to pay off their taxes and loan balance in exchange for deeding me the lot. They didn’t think they still owned the lot, and told me they would get back to me the next day after making a few phone calls. Well that was 4 days ago, and it seems they are avoiding my messages and phone calls now.

So what do I do? I’ve already decided the only way i’m going to pay these taxes is if I get the land. BTW, doesn’t vanderbuilt escrow the taxes when they finance the home??? Maybe I need to give them a call and see if they have just been sending the check to the wrong county all these years??

Maybe I should just go ahead with the land/home deal. There are already people stopping in asking me if the home is going to be for sale/rent soon. Finding a buyer for this one is going to be a cinch. What is the worst that could happen if I do this??

holder on the Land and see if I could assume the present Owner’s interest in the Subject property. I would then get the present owners to assign me their interest in the Land. maybe take $500 in 10’s and 20’s with me and a Notary to speed things up. With wage garnishment cash talks.

If they refuse, see if Note holder wants to sell his Note (for discount) immediately foreclose, or if they get current see if the want to buy the L/H package on terms favorable to you. Just because they had a home repoed does not mean they are bad people or would make poor tenants. Health issues could put any of us in the poor house.

This could be a win/win/win. Need to finesse this a bit. For me these things go soooo much better face to face. I mistrust phone calls in these situations…they can begin to be"he said/she said" affairs and no one wins anything. Sounds like you could do alright here if you are cautious.

The phone calls not being returned coild be a bad sign…they realize they still own the land and may be trying to resell…time is of the essence if you are going to try to aquire the property. You will partly win even if they sell the land to someone else…past due taxes will probably be paid from closing if the judgent and lien are showing at the court house…

Good Luck,

Greg