This is in California.
There is a property that has two parcels. Each parcel is a separate number and taxes are paid on each separately. The property is about 90 years old and has one house that saddles both parcels.
The county held a tax lien sale on one parcel that had a clear disclaimer that the sale was only for the one parcel and that the house saddles both parcels.
The sale was delayed because of this before in order to sell both parcels at the same time, but the county decided to change their policy in order to sell just the one parcel.
After the sale was completed, the county issued a new document that says "corrected tax deed to purchaser" and means that the land and improvements of the parcel not included in the sale, are now on the deed of the purchaser and no compensation was given to the owner of the other parcel.
The issue is changing the terms after the sale was over. The bidders all hand knowledge of the clear disclaimer and the single parcel sold for far less than the value of the entire property.
The owner of the other parcel got nothing for the land that they owned free and clear as it wasn't a part of the sale.
Sorry for the confusion before. This happened in California and the value of the full property was nearly 3X the price it sold and the direct offers before the sale were over 2X the auction price. The county maps also listed the house as 900 sq ft, when it's actually 1200 sq ft.
The heart of the issue is the incorrect county maps concerning the size and location of the house. The records go back some 90 years and there were modifications to the house in the 1940s that don't seem to be on any maps or records.
I hope this clears things up a bit. I'd really like some opinions on this matter. It seems basically unfair to the original owner.
Edit to clear some things up: The 90 year old house was listed as 906 sq ft, it's actually 1200 sq ft and the sale price was < 1/2 the fair market price because it was listed on 1 parcel only and had a disclaimer. It didn't cover the fines that are being disputed.
