Articles

In 2015, officials in Hennepin County seized an elderly woman’s condo and sold it, over about $2,300 of unpaid property taxes, plus $12,700 in penalties, interest and fees. They sold that home for $40,000 and kept every penny, robbing elderly Geraldine Tyler of her home equity. And that’s just one example. From 2014 through 2021, ̷ ...

If you owe someone $14, should they be entitled to take a $100 bill out of your wallet and keep the change? Obviously not. Yet in a dozen states and the nation’s capital, the government collects delinquent real estate taxes that way. Take, for example, 93-year-old Geraldine Tyler. When she failed to pay approximately $2,300 … ...

Greed: an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power   The house on Diamond Lake was estimated to be worth between $3 million and $4 million. It was nestled on the shore with other multimillion-dollar houses in the postcard-perfect Michigan setting. “Diamond is a very appropriate name for this beautiful lake,R ...

The first time Mark Mucciaccio of South Easton, Mass., remembers hearing of Tallage Lincoln LLC was when he learned the real estate investment company had taken his longtime family home out from under him. … ...

When Deborah Foss, a 66-year-old grandmother in New Bedford, Mass., bought her home in 2015, she expected it would be where she would live the rest of her life in comfort and security. But by February of this year, she had been forced from her home and is now reduced to living in her car. … ...

A just government cannot oppress the poor or exploit relatively small mistakes to seize lifesavings at their residents’ expense. And yet, Michigan counties are fighting in courts across the state to do just that. After the Michigan Supreme Court ruled last year that counties violated property owners’ rights by keeping surplus funds from ...

Co-authored with Michael Fedorchak, the state director for AFP North Dakota. There is cause for celebration in North Dakota, as it joins the growing list of states that forbid home equity theft. Until recently, local North Dakota officials could seize and sell valuable properties when the owners fall behind on property tax payments and then … ...

To collect $1,200 plus interest, a Nebraska county took Walter Barnette’s land worth $25,000 and gave it to an investor. Walter didn’t get a penny of his equity in the land, and he had no idea he was in danger of losing it. According to Nebraska’s property tax law, this was perfectly legal. Given the extreme consequences, ...

In some states, missing a tax payment could cost you your home. That’s exactly what happened to one family from Easton, Massachusetts. Although brothers Neil and Mark Mucciaccio owned their house outright, they struggled to keep up with rising property taxes when their family experienced several medical and financial hardships. When the broth ...