In D.C., small tax debts lead to misery, loss of homes

[Vinnie From Indy]

More examples of the rich feeding on the poor in America.


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On the day Bennie Coleman lost his house, the day armed U.S. marshals came to his door and ordered him off the property, he slumped in a folding chair across the street and watched the vestiges of his 76 years hauled to the curb.

Movers carted out his easy chair, his clothes, his television. Next came the things that were closest to his heart: his Marine Corps medals and photographs of his dead wife, Martha. The duplex in Northeast Washington that Coleman bought with cash two decades earlier was emptied and shuttered. By sundown, he had nowhere to go.

All because he didn’t pay a $134 property tax bill.

As the housing market soared, the investors scooped up liens in every corner of the city, then started charging homeowners thousands in legal fees and other costs that far exceeded their original tax bills, with rates for attorneys reaching $450 an hour.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2013/09/08/left-with-nothing/?wpisrc=al_excl

[gopiscrap]

1. That is so fucked up

this shit needs to be stopped

[llinearw]

6. Change.org

Go to Change.org and start a petition and also ask everyone to call senators and the white house.

[kestrel91316]

4. You felt so strongly you said it three times! lol

[gopiscrap]

5. oops sorry my computer was freezing didn't neam to do thagt, I'll delete

[1-Old-Man]

7. Every November real property is sold here for back taxes, you don't have to be rich to buy

Here's how it works in WV. They sell tax delinquent properties on the Court House Steps, as they say. Its an open auction and anyone can bid. I've bought a few myself. I've also had mine sold, its not the end of the world. After your property is sold you've got a year to find the buyer and by it back. You have to pay the buyer his cost plus 1% per month (or any part thereof). The buyer signs off on the payment and you take that back to the County Clerk who will then record the taxes as paid in your name. Its a real pain in the ass.

Now, if you buy a property and the owner doesn't show up after a year you take the receipt for your purchase back to the Courthouse and after a good bit of horseshit they will deed the property over to you. Of the several I've bought over the years (keep in mind this is an investment that will either pay your 12% per year or net you a piece of property) every one has been redeemed by the owner.