Yes the town can take the property. you should be able to check with the attorney that handled the estate as well. You should also find out from the town how much time you do have, they would much rather have the taxes paid than the property. Good luck with working things out.

Harrell,
Back again. I have checked the Coos County Registry of Deeds and can find no record of property ever in the name of your father or brother. You can check it too by going to http://www.nhdeeds.com and selecting Coos Co. Then entering Grantee name Dodd.

Chuck

Yes, they can. You have three options here:
(1) If your father's estate has gone through Coos County Probate Court, then you can list the property for sale as the rightful heir. However, when you close on the sale, the back taxes and any other liens will be taken from your proceeds. A Realtor can put an analysis together for you to see if this is worthwhile based on the value of the property. One of my colleagues from GRI (the Graduate Realtor Institute) is active in that area.
(2) There is a state law governing town's taking of property for unpaid back taxes, but some towns are more lax than others in acting on this. When a town does take a property for back taxes, then the rightful owner has three years to claim the property by paying off the back taxes and interest. Since interest compounds at 12% per year, it is not a good idea to wait unless you are not in a position to pay the town now. Not sure, but the town may have the right to spend money on protecting the property and including that in the charges. If there are other liens outstanding when you reclaim the property, these will still be in force. However, lienholders need to take certain actions periodically to sustain their claims. An attorney can advise you on these last two points specifically, but the timeline for lienholder action is every six years, I believe.
(3) After three year period has passed, the town may continue to hold the property or may put it up for auction. At that point, the town will accept whatever is offered by the highest bidder as settlement in full for back taxes and interest and any other liens are wiped out. The town has a lot of latitude about what it has to do, when, so do not assume that this is a free pass.

Chuck Braxton, REALTOR

Hello Harrell,

You ask if the town can take the property from you if you don't pay the back taxes and clear the lien...and the answer is absolutely. If you are the heir to the property, you need to decide if the property is valued for more than the indebtedness. That determination can be made by a reputable Realtor--or you can get some idea by looking at the tax assessment and perhaps checking zillow.com.

If the property has value, then you will need to decide if you want to own the property, by paying the fees and liens, or if you would rather have the money the property is worth. You can check with the town regarding their tax foreclosure time frame, but I believe that if you chose to sell you will want to work with a Realtor to quickly list and market the property.

Good luck,

Dane Hahn