The Government Wants To Take Your House And Your Stuff
Joining policing for profit -- police using the cover of bad law to steal assets of people not proven guilty -- is Kalamazoo's instance of seizing this woman's property. They say they're following the law but it seems unlikely the woman was properly notified about the missed payment or the intent to foreclose.
A woman, Deborah Calley of Kalamzoo, had her home seized because she missed one property tax payment. She made the payments in 2012 and 2013, but missed the one in 2011. She says letters about the missed payment were sent to out-of-state banks and a title company. Daniel Jennings writes at Off The Grid News:
"To take my $164,000 house over less than $2,000, yeah I would say that's extremely excessive," Deborah Calley told West Michigan TV station Fox 17.Kalamazoo County foreclosed on Calley's home because she missed one property tax payment in 2011. She made the payments for 2012 and 2013 and told Channel 17 that she is willing to make up for the missed payment.
"When I paid the taxes in 2012 right there in Richland, no one said, 'Oh, well you still owe money for 2011,'" Calley said. "So, I didn't really have a clue. I thought I was right on time."
...The county says it followed the law.
"In this case we followed the statute and pursuing foreclosure is appropriate," Kalamazoo County attorney Thom Canny said.
Canny claims the county treasurer sent Calley seven certified letters alerting her to the missed payment, but Calley says the letters were sent to out-of-state banks and a title company.
The county contends it cannot stop the foreclosure because it followed state law. County Treasurer Mary Balkema and her deputy, Greg Vlietstra, went to the home and served a notice, but even that is disputed. Calley claims that she never saw the two or received the notice. In court testimony shown in a Fox 17 news story, Vlietstra said he couldn't remember to whom he gave the notice.
"The county admitted in this case, under oath I might add, that the certified mail that was sent to Deb's house came back," Calley's attorney, Ven Johnson, said. "In other words, she never accepted it. So, that means that the county knows it wasn't successful."
Johnson believes the officials may have given the certified letter to one of Calley's young daughters. If that happened, the action was not legal because the children have no legal standing in such a case.
via ifeminists
So I'm trying to figure out why the next 2 payments didn't automatically go to pay that missed payment?
gooseegg at September 30, 2014 6:26 AM
I am not sure how it works in PA but in many other places, a certain time after non payment, the sheriff will auction off debt to a third party who then pays your taxes and has a property right to the property in question.
Usually you can redeem the debt, by paying the third party back the original amount plus a lot tacked on.
I would suspect who ever paid the taxes in 2011 is forcing the sale. She probably ignored their letters also.
Isab at September 30, 2014 7:26 AM
She probably ignored their letters also.
I highly doubt this woman "ignored" "also" any letters.
And gooseegg's question on this is mine as well.
This woman is clearly not some delinquent. I get mail for other people all the time, which means other people are getting my mail. I deliver or repost the mail I get that doesn't belong to me. Not everyone does that.
Amy Alkon at September 30, 2014 7:58 AM
It's reasonable to wonder why she didn't remind herself (accountability!) to pay the taxes, but I don't see why a claim, however defensible, of a small fraction of a property value entitles the state to that property. If they seize the property and extract what's owed them, does she get the remainder in cash? I'd be stunned if that happened.
DaveG at September 30, 2014 8:21 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/09/30/the_government_23.html#comment-5164807">comment from DaveGThere need to be safeguards against taking somebody's home -- especially in a case where they are accidentally delinquent.
A person who "ignores" a $2K property tax bill on a $150,000-plus item is likely mentally ill or in some terrible straits. If they put this woman out on the streets, the state will possibly end up paying for their housing, costing far more than they'd get from any sale and upending her children's lives, etc.
Amy Alkon at September 30, 2014 8:25 AM
In AZ after a year anyone can pay anyone elses property taxes, if you get five years in a row you can foreclose
But only if the owner refuses to pay you back plus, I think the rate is currently 16%
Also if you only have a year or two or up o four they are required by law you pay you out if they try to sell or quick claim the deed to anyone else.
lujlp at September 30, 2014 10:24 AM
"It's reasonable to wonder why she didn't remind herself (accountability!) to pay the taxes."
If you have a mortgage with an escrow account (and most mortgages do), the taxes are paid by the mortgage company from the escrow. Yes, it's your responsibility to make sure that they get paid, but it's not unheard of for a mortgage company to deduct it from your escrow but sorta kinda forget to actually send the check in. And in the county I live in, the tax assessor does not send out receipts or any kind of acknowledgement that the payment was received.
Which, actually, now that I think about it... I'm going to start calling the tax assessor every January and make sure my taxes have actually been paid.
Cousin Dave at September 30, 2014 10:42 AM
"The accident left Calley with brain damage and unable to drive."
suppose this might make memory a problem? The house is owned outright, so there isn't another entity paying the taxes, as most people have ever experienced, with a mortgage.
Who were the letters sent to, and why did they not inform her in 12, and 13 that she was in arrears?
So you know how people who have owned houses outright have been foreclosed on by banks that DIDN'T own the house? I'm sure they followed the law too.
Ultimately the issue is one of mixing things up, and there is no way the county shouldn't have simply said, um, remember 2011? we never got anything from you, so the bill is now x+y in interest, unless you can prove you gave us a check.
I had this problem once when my mortgage company messed up my property taxes...
And I went in and straightened everyone out. No muss/no fuss, except for the part where it wasn't my fault... but then, I'm sure my county would rather be having people IN a house and paying their taxes, rather than selling the house to get money.
Whereas... there is nothing in this story that would indicate that her county ISN'T DOING JUST THAT. They can make more money offa this one sale than they would EVER make if she paid her taxes.
They probably don't care that the buyer will either flip or make it a rental... and you can tell a rental house in my area, because they are generally the only houses where people will park on the lawn, until it's destroyed. They 'dun care, it'sa rental.
There may well be exigent circumstance that would flesh this out, like lady was sick or in the hospital when the taxes were due that year... sometimes things are forgotten.
But the simplicity of: "oh, you know, you still owe us from last year..." should not be lost... if your county is your neighbors, trying to make a nice place to live.
Looks like this is government vs. peasants, who should know their place.
SwissArmyD at September 30, 2014 10:56 AM
I would suspect who ever paid the taxes in 2011 is forcing the sale. She probably ignored their letters also.
*cough* there's this thing, called registered mail. You have to come down to the Post Office to sign for it. That's how delinquent property taxes should be handled.
About registered mail (from the USPS):
Provides a receipt showing an item was mailed.
Provides delivery date and time or attempted delivery for domestic mail
You can read more about it from the USPS website.
SwissArmyD has it right: this is insiders vs. outsiders. She paid cash for a house? how dare she!
I R A Darth Aggie at September 30, 2014 11:29 AM
SwissArmyD has it right: this is insiders vs. outsiders. She paid cash for a house? how dare she!
Posted by: I R A Darth Aggie at September 30, 2014 11:29 AM
I am sure thousands of people slip up every year. However, if the letter was not proper legal notice, a judge will stop the foreclosure.
I am bad about mail myself, which is why I do everything online.
Somehow I suspect, that if this had been a man, people would not be near as willing to listen to the litany of life problems, that this woman has had, which have absolutely no bearing on the case.
A man would be expected to man up about it, and shut up.
A man I knew several years ago, stopped making his house payments. He had become seriously mentally ill. He forced the bank to take him to court. It was a mess. Long story, but he lost the house.
Isab at September 30, 2014 1:39 PM
I've heard about things like this happening to both men and women. It is a big reason why government should be small and local. Bureaucrats don't care. They are just doing a job and getting a paycheck. At least in her case it is the county that messed her over. Could you imagine the trouble you would have if it was a no-face in DC?
In this specific case she needs to be proactive, retain a lawyer, and fight this in court. The lawyer will cost more than the property tax bill. But quite a bit less than loosing a paid off house.
Ben at September 30, 2014 5:00 PM
I do think the response is way overblown, taking a whole house for 1 year of taxes is overkill. But she does share some responsibility in not making sure it was paid. I'd say that the only penalty should be some fine and/or interest on top of the non-paid amount at most.
It does seem odd that there wasn't some kind of indication on each following bill (or the website,if they have one where she lives) showing that the 2011 taxes hadn't been paid.
Miguelitosd at September 30, 2014 6:10 PM
Ben: "The lawyer will cost more than the property tax bill. But quite a bit less than loosing a paid off house."
I wonder if the lawyer will be the one who ends up with the house.
Ken R at September 30, 2014 8:35 PM
The house is worth ~$164k. Legal fees for this type of problem usually run from $5k to $15k. If you don't have the money there are lawyers who take charity cases. Some will work on an installment plan.
But the worst thing you can do is ignore the problem and hope it goes away. You have to be proactive.
Ben at October 1, 2014 2:17 AM
This sound very much like an injustice - probably it is. But sometimes one does want to hear the other side of the story...
Just as an example, I know a guy who is having all sorts of trouble with the IRS. They keep revising his returns and telling him owes yet more money, plus yet more interest and fees. He'll tell you this story, and you are ready to go burn down the IRS. Right up until you start asking pointed questions. Turns out that the guy didn't bother filing any tax returns - or paying any taxes - for years and years. The IRS finally noticed and is now digging out records from all those years and sending him one bill after another for what he ought to have paid.
So - we have this woman's side of the story. Someone needs to ask a few more questions, but "Off the Grid News" ain't gonna do it. Other sources for this story are Fox News and a whole bunch of other web-sites I wouldn't trust to report 2+2=4. Who knows, maybe the county really is being unreasonable - but I don't trust this story to present the whole truth.
a_random_guy at October 1, 2014 5:21 AM
How difficult would it be to require ALL tax bills to notify the recipient of any delinquencies?
MarkD at October 1, 2014 6:04 AM
Are you going to require that be done with certified mail? Will a tax bill require a process server?
The reality is this is a rare occurrence. It is certainly an injustice and an imposition requiring a lawful owner to defend their property. But making the system more complicated won't really help.
Ben at October 1, 2014 8:42 AM
"Will a tax bill require a process server?"
Why shouldn't it? If forfeiture of the property is the possible outcome, then it's incumbent to be sure that due process has been followed.
Cousin Dave at October 1, 2014 1:19 PM
"But making the system more complicated won't really help."
True. Make it simpler: the tax assessor must hand you the tax bill in person and with a notary public to validate the delivery, or the government has no claim on your property.
There. Fixed it.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at October 1, 2014 1:36 PM
I can see Gog like the 'I don't see you and I wont touch that document in your hand' form of tax evasion. I personally think that ranks up there with the 'You have fringe on that flag in the corner. Therefor this is a military tribunal and not a tax court. So I don't have to pay.' form of evasion. Which incidentally I know someone who tried that. The IRS didn't find it humorous.
You also shouldn't need the costs of a process server to handle every tax bill. You should need one when there is a problem and you are moving forward legally. The added expense is really not called for in the majority of situations. Just looking at this situation and assuming the facts in the article are correct, the county has no proof they ever billed her. The treasurer and her deputy served papers, but they don't know who they served them to. A judge should throw the foreclosure out for failure to follow the law.
Ben at October 1, 2014 1:56 PM
A bit more information.
http://fox17online.com/2014/09/15/kalamazoo-mother-loses-home-over-one-missed-property-tax-payment/
http://fox17online.com/2014/09/16/kalamazoo-co-officials-say-home-foreclosure-is-out-of-their-control-after-womans-property-tax-mistake/
It does look like the county screwed up and is just doubling down on stupid.
parabarbarian at October 2, 2014 5:31 AM
Para thanks for the links. From the article at the second link, it looks like there's still an opportunity for a judge to throw out the foreclosure. The publicity on the matter could help.
Crazy that there's a large cash incentive for bungling the tax bill and foreclosure notification processes.
Michelle at October 2, 2014 9:12 PM
From the same news page as parabarbarian's links...
http://fox17online.com/2014/10/02/judge-gives-kalamazoo-county-green-light-to-sell-womans-home-after-property-tax-mistake/
flbeachmom at October 3, 2014 3:39 PM
Leave a comment