Deceased owner's help to get a quiet title?

If it was as simple as getting the former owner's son to sign a quit claim document then I'd say its well worth the time and cost to drive a few hundred miles to meet up with him, or hire a mobile notary in his area to go get his signature. You could also use a service like a FedEx store where they would print the documents at a store location close to him, he comes in and signs and the on-site notary stamps the documents then they send them back to you.

But the issue here isn't the physical distance between you and the previous owner's son. The issue is that Probate was never conducted and therefore he doesn't have a legal ownership interest in the house - therefore he can't sign away his ownership rights.

He could sign a document declaring that he doesn't have any ownership rights and will never challenge you, but that doesn't give you a clear title because it doesn't prevent someone else from coming out of nowhere to claim they're an estranged half-sibling that should have inherited a 50% share or that the deceased owner owed them money which should have been paid off when the house was sold through probate.

A quiet title suit as pictured in your document is the proper legal process to absolve any potential ownership claims that could pop up in the future and give you a clear title going forward which you can sell if/when you choose to.

If you've already filed a quiet title suit and gotten a ruling in your favor, and you just need the old owner's son to sign it, then definitely hire a mobile notary service to meet him when and where he wants. If you aren't sure how to fine a mobile notary, then call a local title/escrow company and ask if they have a reference for a network of mobile notaries.

Once the house was sold at auction, the owner's son has no more claim to the property or ability to claim it. That's up to the new owner. The new owner is who will need to pursue any title clearance. 

Documents can be signed in counterparts.  That means one person can sign in front of a lawyer in one city, and another in another.  Have a document drafted - he can sign where he lives and the current owner can sign where he is.

Have you tried offering him $200, or whatever, to sign (and get it notorized if needed).

It would be helpful to know how you are involved in this situation

Talk TO A LAWYER. 

South Carolina has a very low limit for "small estate probate".  If there is more than $25000 in assets the estate needs to be probated. 

- It's unlikely that the son will probate the estate at this time.  You can contact the probate court in your county for them to initiate the probate and appoint an administrator.

If the value of the estate of the property is less than $25K, the probate only involves one piece of paperwork.  In this case the property will likely go to the property tax lien holder.

The current owner is the deceased man.

The property tax sale DID NOT create a change in ownership - all it did was create tax lien for the property tax.

- If the tax lien holder has been renting out the property or using it in any way, they are doing this illegally.  They do not even have the right to step on the property.

- They purchased the property tax lien.  After a period of time, if the tax is not paid, they get the property (maybe 3-5years), until then they only get interest off of the property tax.

There is nothing that would make me want to get involved in this mess.

There must be another property that you can find that is not so encumbered. 

The property needs to be legally probated......... NOTHING can be done LEGALLY until that legal process happens