Q: Two years ago we purchased a new home served by a septic system. Our builder purchased three adjacent lots and built three homes simultaneously in an established community. The septic drain field and reserve drain field for each of these homes are located on two vacant lots across the street. The lots are owned by the same person who sold the other lots to the builder. He granted an easement for installation of the drain field and reserves for the three homes in 1998. After they were built, the drain field lot owner refused to pay community accociation dues on the properties because he claimed he doesn’t own them anymore. Since then, the owners of the three homes have paid the dues on the vacant lots. I went to the treasurer’s office to obtain the address of the lot owner and discovered that the property taxes have not been paid since the first half of 1998. I have attempted to contact the owner several times by mail but have not received any response. I am concerned that the vacant lots will be put up for tax auction next year if the property taxes aren’t paid and I want to protect our interests. – S.D., Stanwood
A: You are right to be concerned. Washington State property tax law provides a delinquency period of three years before foreclosure action is taken.
For example, if the property taxes for the full year of 1998 had not been paid, action to foreclose on the property and sell it at public auction would have started on May 1, 2001. Since property taxes were paid for the first half of 1998, the foreclosure action would be delayed until early next year.
Once the foreclosure action has begun, the law requires that all of the past year’s taxes, interest, penalties and foreclosure costs must be paid in order to stop the foreclosure. If the property is actually sold at auction, whoever buys it will take title completely free of all liens and encumbrances on the property.
That means that even if there is a valid legal easement for you to use the two vacant lots as the drain field for the septic systems, that easement would be wiped out by the tax foreclosure.
You should contact an experienced real estate attorney to explore your options. I would suggest that you and the other homeowners immediately get together and pay the taxes on the two vacant lots to protect your interests.
Then you should contact the property owner and offer to buy the lots from him. If he refuses to answer your mail, you may need to hire a private investigator to track him down.
Then I would suggest that you and the other two homeowners go together and buy the two vacant lots. Each of the three homes could have an "undivided interest" in the lots that runs with the properties. That means that the two lots would essentially become "community property" for the three homes.
This is how the builder should have structured the deal to begin with just to avoid the kind of problems you are having now.
I know this sounds expensive, but the alternative is running the risk that you may lose the drain field for your septic system. As I said above, consult an attorney for further legal advice.
Mail your real estate questions to Steve Tytler, The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. Fax questions to Tytler at 425-339-3435, or e-mail him at economy@heraldnet.com
Steve Tytler is a licensed real estate broker and owner of Best Mortgage, Inc. You can visit the Best Mortage Web site at www.bestmortgage.com.
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