I just started on a project that involves maps and the property tax database, in various Pinelands areas. I've come across some properties in the tax database that I am unable to find on any map, and for which the state GIS department doesn't have geometry. I thought to ask the far-more knowledgeable and experienced people here about this. To me, it sounds like a crazy question, but who knows.
Is it possible for someone to buy a parcel in the Pinelands, hold it for a number of years while paying property taxes on it, then stop paying taxes, then the municipality gets a lien, and eventually forecloses on the property and takes ownership - while in fact that parcel does not actually exist? And nobody ever checked? Never looked for it on a paper map, a PDF scan of a map, a GIS database/map? Never tried to actually visit the property? Never had it surveyed?
Is it possible for someone to buy a parcel in the Pinelands, hold it for a number of years while paying property taxes on it, then stop paying taxes, then the municipality gets a lien, and eventually forecloses on the property and takes ownership - while in fact that parcel does not actually exist? And nobody ever checked? Never looked for it on a paper map, a PDF scan of a map, a GIS database/map? Never tried to actually visit the property? Never had it surveyed?