Tax Liens Sales

How do I buy a tax lien property in New York?

The property is worth $300K and the lien is for $375K (more than the value of the property). I was getting close to closing and then the title search revealed the tax lien. Do I have any claims I can bring against the seller's broker (the sellers apparently are illiquid).

Public Comments

1. You may have a hard time bringing any claims against the seller's broker because with recent changes in NY law the seller has more rights than ever before. If I were you I would walk away, obviously the broker was not being honest and with a debt larger than the value of the home it just doesn't seem like a wise choice. You should check out the new changes made to Home Equity Theft Protection Act of New York. It might come in handy in the future.
2. If you have not purchased then how much have you actually spent so far related to this property? If there are no financial costs so far then you will have little to claim. The broker should have known more about the property's title. You should have received info on the title plus any liens pretty early in the process. Unless you lost a lot of money I would just move on. I would learn from the experience and check the title early in the process going forward. You said the lien was a tax lien. That does not sound right unless you are talking about an income tax lien. Property taxes would never amount to more than the value of the property unless there were extreme circumstances.
3. Good job on getting a title search done and finding that tax lien. As for what claims, if he promised there was nothing wrong with the the title, then you could; otherwise, it's going to be difficult. This must have been an inexperienced seller, as most people will know that tax liens will show up at a search. For more information about tax liens, how to purchase them from the state and potentially owning the property, see the recommended reading below.