Unwanted Property

[LRDave]

My 96YO father is nearing the end of his run. The only real property he owns is a tiny piece of land in NE Georgia. He inherited it from his father, who bought it as a recreational lot in an early-70s development that went bust long ago. The lot is appraised at $3K and my father has been dutifully paying the property tax yearly - about $25/year.

We tried to give it away to several local charities/churches about 10 years ago. Locals know that the land is undevelopable and worthless and they do not want to take on the liability either.

An attorney friend (not acting as an attorney) advised my dad years ago that simply not paying the property tax would not be a cost-effective solution. (Liens, fees, etc.)

Anyone have any ideas how we get rid of this? I searched a a bit about legally relinquishing the property, but that just leads to passing directly to other heirs. Were my father to pass today, the property would pass to me and my two sisters, meaning three families have to deal with this annoyance.

Anyone have any ideas about how to get rid of unwanted property?

 

[finnski1]

Any chance of giving it to someone like The Nature Conservancy or similar conservation association?

 

[euro]

Put a few ads on Craigslist and offer it for “ $100, obo”. I almost guarantee that there will be people who are interested in owning it. Just for the sake of owning a piece of land. They may want camp on it, hunt(depending on how many acres), grow stuff, etc. Very possible that they will pick up the transaction costs.

 

[sengsational]

Maybe you could look up adjacent land owners... that's sometimes just a quick internet search. Might not be able to call, but there's probably an address you could write to. Of course, they could be in the same position as you, wanting to dump it

 

[OldShooter]

Ask the County assessor. This is probably not a new question for them.

 

[Jerry1]

Upon his death, can’t you just refuse the inheritance of the land?

 

[LRDave]

Ask the County assessor. This is probably not a new question for them.

We tried this 10 years ago. The folks we spoke to were polite but not helpful. They have a dog in the fight.

 

[LRDave]

Upon his death, can’t you just refuse the inheritance of the land?

I am not an attorney, but I think it is not that simple. With 3 heirs, inheritance passes to the other heirs. I don't see any easy way to return it to the county.

There is probably some legal machination we can undertake (times 3), but it won't be free and might be complicated (hence expensive).

 

[LRDave]

Any chance of giving it to someone like The Nature Conservancy or similar conservation association?

Good idea - called the GA chapter and left a VM. Fingers crossed.

 

[street]

I can't believe you can't sell it. There would be someone dying to get a small piece of property I would think.

 

[LRDave]

Maybe you could look up adjacent land owners... that's sometimes just a quick internet search. Might not be able to call, but there's probably an address you could write to. Of course, they could be in the same position as you, wanting to dump it

Alas, no online way to look up property deeds in this county. The only possible way this lot could have value would be to accumulate adjacent lots into a buildable plot. Lots of work and one owner not cooperating would result in a colossal waste of time.

My father actually had a guy contact him 20 years ago doing just this. He offered my dad $500 and dad thought that was too low.

 

[JRon]

Can you ask a Georgia attorney about the inheritance? I’m not sure someone can give you something without your permission. If you can refuse the inheritance it would go back to the county I would think.

 

[CRLLS]

I am not an attorney, but I think it is not that simple. With 3 heirs, inheritance passes to the other heirs. I don't see any easy way to return it to the county.

There is probably some legal machination we can undertake (times 3), but it won't be free and might be complicated (hence expensive).

So you "disclaim" it. Do you really care what the other 2 do with it? If the other 2 also refuse it, then who really cares at all? If all primary, secondary, tertiary etc. beneficiaries (according to the will or trust) "disclaim" the property, I believe it goes to the state.

 

[LRDave]

I can't believe you can't sell it. There would be someone dying to get a small piece of property I would think.

This is literally a tiny lot (0.2 acre) straight up the side of a mountain with no road access (dirt roads were cut in in the 70s and have long since grown over).

The value was sold as access to a community lake/clubhouse/recreational facilities, maybe even a golf course. The developer ran off with all the money. There were a lot of land scams in north Georgia in the 60s and 70s.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

This is literally a tiny lot (0.2 acre) straight up the side of a mountain with no road access (dirt roads were cut in in the 70s and have long since grown over).

The value was sold as access to a community lake/clubhouse/recreational facilities, maybe even a golf course. The developer ran off with all the money. There were a lot of land scams in north Georgia in the 60s and 70s.

I am not licensed as an attorney in Georgia but I have familiarity with Georgia and its real property/estate laws so if was in your situation, this is what I would do:

-I would refuse the inheritance. Information on this is available on the internet.

-I wouldn't execute ANY deeds (QCD, estate deed, or otherwise); leave it in the descendant's name.

-I would stop paying taxes on the land. At some point in time, (long after the estate has been settled and closed) the county *may* foreclose and sell at auction.

Disclaimer: This is NOT legal advice.

 

[sengsational]

Presumably the developer owned the land the roads were on, and the developer ran off, abandoning the property, maybe you should figure out how he ran off without being caught, and repeat that process


ETA: Not "proper", but if you do nothing when the bill comes (addressed to your dad), are the tax authorities really going to figure out the estate details and come after you for $25/yr? Personally, I'd pay the $25 and maybe hike to it, just to have a nice day in the woods.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I would give it away.

 

[flintnational]

Post removed.

 

[euro]

I can't believe you can't sell it. There would be someone dying to get a small piece of property I would think.

Agreed! The trick is to find that someone. Hence my Craigslist suggestion. I have sold several pieces of land that way. Just post it on Atlanta, maybe Charlotte and Knoxville Craigslists. It free!

 

[njhowie]

Ask the county/township if you can donate it to them as open space and they can do whatever they like with it. My township owns tons of land as open space and even pays to acquire and maintain. About 5 cents of every $100 of assessed value of our taxes goes towards the open space initiatives. Some of the land our township owns was donated.

 

[Bamaman]

Do nothing. If he has a will and his personal accounts have the executor as a check signer, you may eventually get away without any probate proceedings too. Just pay any end of life liabilities and split what's left.

 

[flintnational]

Do nothing. If he has a will and his personal accounts have the executor as a check signer, you may eventually get away without any probate proceedings too. Just pay any end of life liabilities and split what's left.

Bamaman, I recently heard about a property near you in Helen at a really good price!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

You could try posting on Reddit's offgrid and homesteading sub-Reddits and see if someone on there wants it or has suggestions. Also consider an ad in some place like Countryside magazine for homesteaders. Maybe someone would want it to just grow food on.

 

[38Chevy454]

You could try posting on Reddit's offgrid and homesteading sub-Reddits and see if someone on there wants it or has suggestions. Also consider an ad in some place like Countryside magazine for homesteaders. Maybe someone would want it to just grow [-]food[/-] marijuana on.

Fixed it for you. Seems OP is missing out on a prime cash business opportunity.

 

[Golden sunsets]

You can't find out the names of the abutters and contact each, one by one, and offer the land to them?