So I made a lot of miss steps purchasing my first ranch. Thought I Knew what I was doing when I signed all my documents and I did not go through a title company. I was sold two parcels of land. One of them contains a house and three acres and the other is twenty four and a half acres. Well upon discovering that there were three thousand dollars in backtaxes I noticed that it said "et al" After my name on the tax roll. I did some questioning and discovered that apparently I own an undivided interest with six other inheritors. Not 24 acres. This was obviously a disturbing revelation and I went back to the owner who insisted that the county is wrong. I've continued to make payments and it's been several years however she's never provided the documents. Things got to a head today and she stated that "there aren't 6 other owners" "she bought them all out" "she has all the paperwork" but she refused to provide it. Then she stated that 1 person actually does exist and own only "one acre of my undivided interest" (not how that works) but "it's not directly on my plat" though "it is on my title " and she can't remember the woman's name. Am I crazy or if somebody purchased this land in full ownership interest, would it be this much of a fight to get such proof? I was going to try to refinance but I was denied on the basis of a bad title.

I will never do it again because it's a total nightmare. She tried to tell me I had to be out in 10 days And claim that she doesn't have to follow foreclosure proceedings according to the law. This is because I fallen behind on the mortgage over the years. But i'm a little bit irked because i'm killing myself to pay for this place that I don't even own. The house with the 3 acres has a clear good title and is worth more than the whole deal so I can sell but then I'm homeless and market conditions are horrific. I would only net possibly sixty to eighty thousand.

Luckily I recorded the entire conversation that we had by setting my phone on the table with the audio recorder on. So all of the misrepresentations of the ownership and things are open to be considered by the court as evidence. I'm really hoping if it comes down to it that they will consider it because it's clear as day what happened And what she is saying on the recording makes absolutely no sense. She even goes so far as to say that even if the title is bad I still owe her everything on it. These folks have been buying land for decades there is no way they didn't know the title was bad.

No for some reason I convinced myself that I was competent to do this on my own. The owners told me it would save money on fees and somehow that was compelling. We met and I reviewed all of the documents and the term "undivided interest" on tract 2 did not raise any kind of alarm bells to me. To me that meant it was not divided. Obviously that's true in a way but it means its undivided for use between me and six other people The only evidence I have is my audio recording of her repeatedly asserting that they owned the land "free and clear" and numerous other statements as mentioned above.

Feel free to ask. It's a complete mess right now and a ton of stress. This place is my home, not just a house.

That sucks man. I'm happy to take a quick look at the title and see if I can at least help you figure out what the truth is.

Take Stan up on the offer to run title for you. If you send contact information (email) I'll post a reply the I've received it and you can edit post and take it down. Can then coordinate with Stan when he gets results of search and see what the best solution might be.

This reminds of this story that was posted on here a few months ago.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/heirs-property-black-owned-land-brazos-county/

That's an awful story.

That is a terrible story.

Sent the highlights to a title guy I'm working with on several industrial deals. Nothing surprising in his response, please hire the experts!

I have seen some ridiculous title issues over the years. It is rare. Most of the time, on something that has changed hands and been financed several times, there's nothing much to see but on those inherited properties, there is no telling what kind of craziness is in the records. I've seen extra kids show up in probates that nobody knew about… or crazy uncles that never sold their part of grandma's farm, or multiple ex-spouses that have clouded title… One of the heirs will keep living on the place and paying the taxes, and after a few years declares himself owner… which is never fun and won't stick. If there isn't a mortgage in place, it is definitely worth taking a hard look. If there are Minerals involved, all bets are off.

What County is your property located?

You should order a title report from a local title company or take one these offers from the generous folks on the Board for a title search.

Then, you can decide what you need to do. Filing a lawsuit against the seller is likely going to be a wasteful endeavor. Sounds like the seller may be judgment proof.

Sounds like Agilaw is giving you some good advise. What county is the property located?

ukbb2003 said:

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This reminds of this story that was posted on here a few months ago.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/heirs-property-black-owned-land-brazos-county/

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Thanks for posting this article from TM. That is a very interesting story from a legal perspective and a very sad story from a human perspective.

AggieStan said:

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In before- 27 acres is no ranch !

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There are small ranches, large ranches, and chicken ranches.

SW AG80 said:

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ukbb2003 said:

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This reminds of this story that was posted on here a few months ago.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/heirs-property-black-owned-land-brazos-county/

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Thanks for posting this article from TM. That is a very interesting story from a legal perspective and a very sad story from a human perspective.

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Yes and a lack of education/ refusal to spend a little to do it correctly is what caused all the problems/ drama.
I have an old high school friend with similar drama. His grandfather was a ww2 vet who came home and worked for the city his entire career. Bought multiple homes in his modest neighborhood and leased as rent houses his entire life. He enjoyed doing all maintenance and upkeep himself. He never recorded deeds or got title insurance because he knew the people he was buying from…. Now his heirs have tried selling some of the now valuable old homes and have run into multiple title issues. It's a complete cluster F. Throw in a couple divorces and family feuds and it becomes impossible.

But grandpa did it his way… never hired an attorney.

Stan Crowch said:

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You didn't run any title (even cursory) prior to closing?

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Was there even a closing? Even if owner financed you would think it would still go thru a closing with a title company?

Bueller...Bueller...