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| Government Corruption |
| The State Took Her Home Because She Missed $900 in Property Taxes |
| 2022-05-06 |
| [REASON] Did you know that in some states, if you miss one tax payment, local politicians will take your home, sell it, and keep all the profits? Really. Tawanda Hall was behind on her taxes. She was on a payment plan but had missed $900. She didn't expect Southfield, Michigan, to take her entire house because of that. It was worth $286,000 more than what she owed. "I'm still in shock," says Tawanda Hall in my new video. "They took my whole house, my whole family's livelihood." John Bursch, a lawyer for the county, says while this practice may sound unfair (yes, it sure does), "It's also unfair to force those who pay their taxes to subsidize those who don't." "I pay taxes!" Hall responds. She works as a nursing assistant. "I lift people. I bathe people. I work hard." When Hall found out she was going to lose her home, she tried to pay off the debt. "I went to the mayor's office, I went down to the city county building," she says. "They didn't want our money. They said no." They wanted her house. Taking it should be illegal. "I think it's unconstitutional," says Christina Martin, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation. "The government can't take more than it's owed." The Foundation is suing local governments in six states for this type of home theft. Martin won one case in Michigan's Supreme Court. Oakland County had taken an entire home over an $8 debt. Matthew Hodges, the county's lawyer, argued, "There couldn't be anything more fair than informing property owners of what is going to happen, giving them time to act and then letting them make an informed choice." Martin's response: "Do you think if he knew he owed $8, he would have paid it? Of course! He didn't know, and there wasn't the proper incentive to let him know." In fact, the town has an incentive not to let him know. Officials rarely tell people: "Pay! Or we'll take your home!" Towns that do this write notices in legalese: "a tax lien acquired under a certain Instrument of Taking from the Collector of Taxes for the city...said instrument of Taking covers a certain parcel of land..." Hall doesn't remember receiving "anything other than, 'Get out.'" Despite the Michigan Supreme Court ruling, a judge dismissed Hall's case because the government itself did not make the profit. In her case, the town gave her home to a private business. That business, the Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, sold the house and kept the money. The business says it uses the town's donations to maintain attractive, safe neighborhoods, protect and raise property values. "Government shouldn't be able to steal from its own people and then give it over to their friends," says Martin. I ask her how she knows Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization officials are "friends" of the politicians. She replies, "The company is literally run by the mayor and the city administrator!" I wanted to interview them. Neither would agree to talk to me. I'm surprised how common this kind of government home theft is. If you are behind on taxes, even just $10 behind, 11 states allow local governments to sell your home and keep all its value. In Massachusetts, a 66-year-old grandmother is "sleeping in her car right now," says Martin. "The city took her property, turned around and sold it within days of evicting her." Although her debt was just $30,000, they sold her house for $242,000 and kept the difference. The Pacific Legal Foundation has gotten three states to stop engaging in this home equity theft. Good. Eleven more to go. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 I think P2K gets to the heart of the matter with the phrase "over a period of time". IOW, the county should not be allowed to take the home just because of one missed payment. The taxes have to be in arrears for a period of time. I could be wrong but I believe that period is five years in San Diego County. Kinda makes me wonder about the people who are running that county in Michigan. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2022-05-06 14:20 |
| #3 A class action lawsuit has been filed by Hall and others against several individuals and entities. The decision in a hearing before a Federal judge was not entirely favorable to the plaintiffs but the case was allowed to go forward against some defendants. Tawanda owes something north of $22,000 in back taxes. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2022-05-06 09:15 |
| #2 Nothing unusual about this. Unless you have an 'in' like Hunter Biden, when the property tax arrives, pay it. It happens once a year. Make sure you remember. It's how most counties across the country pay for fire, police, roads, etc that you take for granted. In some jurisdictions, delinquent property taxes are subject to Sheriff Sales. Upon public notice the sheriff appears on the courthouse steps and an auction is conducted on the claim against the title of the land. In other states, failure to pay property taxes over a period of time allows third parties to go to court and demonstrate that the property has been 'abandoned' and upon payment of back taxes, that party receives title to the property. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2022-05-06 07:42 |
| #1 "Home ownership" ....the truth of the matter. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2022-05-06 06:54 |