When you purchase a new piece of real estate, home, or other type of property, ideally the title to that property will be entirely clean and ready for whatever you have planned in the future. In reality, this is not likely going to be the case, especially if you bought the property directly out of a tax sale. You could easily get a title that is laden with undisclosed liens, complications, and financial burdens that prevent you from selling that property again later. What can you do to set things right? Get quiet about it.
Quiet Title Actions
A quiet title action is a petition filed with a court to clear off all other claims of liens on your property or title. Essentially, you are asking a judge to excuse all of these other burdens that weren’t yours to begin with. Once again, you need to do this if you want to have the option of selling the property down the line without using a direct land-for-cash deal; title companies would never put a title insurance policy on any bit of property with an “unclean” title.
Other reasons you might request a quiet title action are:
- It is unclear where the boundary of the property begins and ends officially.
- Another lienholder is trying to make a claim to the property you have purchased.
- A preexisting mortgage on the property was unknowingly transferred to you.
- An unrecorded easement on the property is causing complications.
After petitioning for a quiet title action, notice must be posted both on the property itself in plain sight as well as within a local newspaper or similar distribution. Anyone with an interest in the property can come forth and name themselves as a defendant against the quiet title. Arguments brought by these defendants will need to be defeated in court for the quiet title to be approved. If no one comes forth, the quiet title should finalize predictably.
Contact Us Today
Do you live in Florida and need help petitioning or understanding a quiet title? Let Your Advocates and our Fort Myers real estate lawyers be your legal guides from start to finish. We are dedicated to helping our clients and securing the best outcome possible.
Contact our office today to put more than five decades of collective experience in your corner.
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