New Jersey's tax sale law; city wins; property owner cannot get back his property

Tax foreclosure causes owner to lose title to real estate.

Municipalities earn most of their income through the collection of real estate taxes. In New Jersey, when taxes aren't paid, the municipality has the right, indeed the obligation, to collect those taxes by selling the lien representing those unpaid taxes. If the lien is not sold, the municipality becomes its owner. (The lien is represented by a tax sale certificate that is recorded in the land records.) If the lien remains unpaid, then the municipality has the ability to foreclose on that lien, take title to the property, and then sell it n order to recoup the unpaid taxes.

Sometimes, after the title has been acquired by the municipality, the owner "wakes up" and tries to reclaim the property. In a recent case involving Newark, New Jersey property, the former property owner gets it in the neck for a) not paying the taxes, and b) trying to bamboozle the court into reopening the case after title was acquired by foreclosure.

As discussed in the Court's Opinion involving an investment property, none of the foreclosed owner's arguments were persuasive and the Court would not set aside the foreclosure.

Our office deals with tax liens on a daily basis. Our advice, pay taxes when they are due!

We deal with municipal tax liens on a daily basis and over the past 40+ years.  If you think we can help you, or if you have a question regarding unpaid municipal liens in New Jersey, let us know.

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help!

For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

@vestedland

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