Title error forecloses La Caribe leases
BY VICI PAPAJOHN Gulf Breeze News vici@gulfbreezenews.com

Ten leases representing the eastern portion of La Caribe subdivision on Pensacola Beach were foreclosed upon last month due to unpaid MSBU taxes on only one lot, the pool deck of the adjoining Deepwater Cove Condominiums.

"The situation with La Caribe is the result of a erroneous legal description placed in a certificate of title generated by Escarosa Land Research and used in the certificate of title generated by the Clerk of Courts of Escambia County when the pleadings were filed by our office," says Steven West, Assistant County Attorney. "This is a terrible problem for the property owners, one which I hope will be rectified quickly for the 10 or so property owners."

"This is a human research error made from the result of a very difficult title search," says John F. Jackson, President of Escarosa Land Research, "by a certified land researcher (CLS) with over 30 years experience. I worked with him through the years and it is just an honest error. Mr. West is doing everything in his power now to resolve this. Based on my 40 years of experience, the problem itself should be able to be resolved. This is the first time something like this has happened at our firm since I've been in business."

As part of an effort to make contact with the 2002, 2003 and 2004 property owners who owed the past due MSBU assessments, the County Attorney's Office hired Escarosa Land Research to do a search on each property. The title company accidentally transferred the property description of the entire eastern portion of the LaCaribe subdivision to the documents being drafted for the pool deck lease foreclosure, and the judicial sale went through for the entire plot rather than the one lease.

"I received a letter from the Property Appraiser's office dated January 16 that the lease on my LaCaribe lot had been transferred to a Mr. James R. Miller as a result of an action filed by Escambia County due to delinquent Fire Protection Municipal Service Benefit Unit or MSBU annual assessments," recounts Pensacola Beach resident Marty Medve. "My heart nearly stopped. I had paid every tax and assessment on my property, and I had no idea where that could come from."

Research revealed the county's error, but it also revealed that despite constant assurances from the Tax Collector's office, Medve was on the verge of a foreclosure on another lot as well. The prior owners of Medve's lot on Calle Marbella had not paid 2004 MSBU assessments, and the closing agent had missed the lien, recorded as a personal tax, prior to Medve's purchase. According to Medve, all property and MSBU taxes have been paid since he has owned the Calle Marbella lot, but the County Attorney's office had begun foreclosure proceedings on the lease.

"I immediately went out and paid the prior owner's unpaid MSBU," Medve explains. "The recording error on LaCaribe is bad enough, but to find out that I was about to lose the lease on my Calle Marbella lot due to a 2004 unpaid assessment by the prior owner was almost too much. They may be going after the prior owners, but it's the current owner that loses the lease."

West says that Miller understood that he was purchasing the Deepwater Condos pool deck lease only at the time of the foreclosure, and did not think that he was purchasing the entire eastern half of La Caribe subdivision. Mary Bolman, Manager of the Administrative and Leasing Department of the Santa Rosa Island Authority, reports Miller told the SRIA he had bought deepwater cove and requested they transfer the eastern leases in the property description to his name.

"We directed him back to the county, and told him his certificate would not be enough," Bolman says. "We told him we needed a lot more information before we could do that."

Miller's trip to the county prompted a survey by the county surveyor which confirmed the faulty legal description and certificate of title that erroneously included the eastern half of LaCaribe.

This foreclosure may be one of many coming, according to Bolman. Bolman strongly recommends that beach residents check the records pertaining to their properties on the Clerk of Courts and Tax Collector web pages.

"We update our lease records all year, and once a year we send our information to county offices. Our lessees usually keep us posted, but many have not been in touch as many of them are displaced from the hurricanes, so it's more difficult. This is the first occurrence that I've heard of, but there is the potential for more."

According to Bolman, hundreds of properties still have outstanding MSBU liens, many of which are now inhabited by new owners whose taxes are paid. The liens are on the leases for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 MSBU assessments that remain unpaid regardless of who the current owner may be.

"My guess at what happened is that the Deepwater Condos were originally owned by Deepwater Corporation and was initially intended to be a three-phase development," West explains. "After the first phase was built, the second and third phases were sold to be the single family homes of LaCaribe. The original developer, Deepwater Corporation kept the pool lot in its own name, never conveyed it to La Caribe or Deepwater Condos."

And the plot thickens. According to West, not only do the eastern La Caribe property owners want to see the tax foreclosure vacated, the Deepwater Condominium Property Owners Association believe they were promised ownership of the pool and now the longlost original developers have surfaced, repaid past corporation fees and taxes and are expected to be at the hearing on Feb. 14 before Judge Michael Allen in the Circuit Court of Escambia County. Allen will hear the petition from the County Attorney's office to vacate the foreclosure of the lease due to the erroneous legal description used in the sales proceedings, and the property association and the original developers are both expected to argue for ownership of the foreclosed pool deck lot lease. The lot was never legally conveyed to the property association, but they have maintained the pool and pool deck for years. Deepwater Condos representatives claim that there is an arrangement, though not recorded, of implied ownership, according to West. They did not receive notices of the unpaid MSBUs, as the title did not reflect ownership. All communication to Deepwater Corporation was returned undeliverable.

"I'm optimistic the foreclosure on the eastern leases will be vacated," says West. " I don't know how the court will address this. Given the situation, it is clearly due to an error. Our concern right now is to help those 10 property owners, eliminate the error that has affected these innocent lot owners."

Of 600 original properties liened, only ten properties went to judicial sale, after every effort was made to contact property owners, according to West,

"Every measure was made to contact lease holders," West explained. "The County Attorney's Office steps in once the lien is in place. Before we actually get to the point of a sale, we exhaust every effort to contact the owner of record. I would recommend the advice of an attorney when closing any property," West urges. "It is more complicated with lease hold property. Title companies that are not local may not be aware. And there is some burden on the part of the owners - there is an opportunity for error and some lag time between sale and recordation."

West defended the process, stating "I think we are taking reasonable steps to try to find the correct owner. We follow up if the preliminary notice is not received, looking for samename properties, etc. We have to make reasonable effort to find people - not extraordinary means. People do need to keep track of these taxes and assessments - it's easier if we do not have to go to court."

"This has caused property owners problems," West summarizes. "It is an alarming situation, and some property owners have lost sales on their properties."