{"id":6276,"date":"2025-01-24T07:15:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T12:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6276"},"modified":"2025-01-24T07:16:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T12:16:27","slug":"can-i-get-the-deed-to-a-property-by-paying-someone-elses-unpaid-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/can-i-get-the-deed-to-a-property-by-paying-someone-elses-unpaid-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Get the Deed to a Property by Paying Someone Else\u2019s Unpaid Taxes?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You might have bumped into a \u201chack\u201d on social media: cover taxes for a home and receive the deed. A team of investigative reporters in Houston noticed get-rich-quick schemers touting the ploy in video ads. So the reporters looked into it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict from the news station? Simply paying off an old property tax bill does not make anyone a deed holder. These video ads are misleading because there\u2019s just a lot more to it. Making a profit out of unpaid property taxes<\/a> takes a good deal of attention and time. Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Tax Lien States: Where a Lien, Not the Deed, Is Auctioned<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As a general matter, you don\u2019t get a deed for paying property taxes. Every state has its own laws on this. Some states auction off claims on the title \u2014 but not the title itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A state will either have laws that (a) direct counties to run tax deed sales, or (b) auction off tax liens. Sometimes it\u2019s both. That\u2019s because in some states, unresolved liens progress into tax deed sales. So a threshold question is whether a property\u2019s county is in a state that actually runs tax deed sales. Because some states auction off lien certificates only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the states called tax lien states<\/em>, the investor who makes the highest bid receives the tax lien certificate in the mail. Unless the distressed title holder manages to step up to repay what\u2019s owed, the top bidder pays the overdue taxes to the government. At that point, the government has recouped the debt. But the investor doesn\u2019t get the title.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens is the investor\u2019s lien clouds <\/em>the title. Until the title is clear<\/a>, there can be no sale or borrowing against the home until the delinquent taxpayer makes good on the debt. Meanwhile, the investor should receive the interest on the debt as income. Interest rates vary by county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, if the time to repay winds down and the tax debt goes unresolved, the investor can use the lien to foreclose, and fully pay their bid. Only after all of the above occurs can an investor walk away with a deed to the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this way, getting the property deed by paying the taxes could potentially happen in a tax lien state. But there are numerous hoops to jump though. This is not exactly a get-rich-quick proposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get through the process, many investors hire professional tax lien firms to handle it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rites of Passage: What Happens in States That Do Auction Off Homes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some states have auctions called tax deed sales. The key word is deed. <\/em>Such a sale can eventually result in a transfer of a deed \u2014 the rights of ownership \u2014 to the successful bidder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are looking for a property in a tax deed sale state, here\u2019s how the sale process generally plays out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n